Golf Cart Starts Sluggish

[gadawg312011]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2003 ezgo electric cart that I have no idea what has happened. In short, went to take it out yesterday and as I backed it out of the garage it seemed fine until I pressed the pedal to go forward and it would do nothing but slightly trimmer and creep very slowly. I thought maybe since it had sat up for about a month the batteries were dead but the idicator read full. So I plugged in the charger anyway and tried it again this morning and the same thing happened. I put it up on blocks and ran it this way and all seemed to be in order. I put it down and took it out for a spin and at first it was very sluggish but I could feel it wanting to kick in and go. Finally it starting running good until I hit a hill and then I heard what sounded like the motor click and then it was back to puttering along slower than a walk and sometimes I had to get out and push. Any ideas as to what my be causing this? It sounds like there is something clicking in the motor when I press the gas pedal and sometimes it goes full throttle and others it will only putt along. Thanks.

gadawg31

[dougmcp]

Sounds like a bad/loose/corroded connection, low charge or a bad battery.
1) Make sure your cables are all clean and tight including the ones to the F-N-R switch, the controller and the motor.
2) Check the electrolyte level in your batteries.
3) Take a voltmeter and post the reading from each battery. They should be around 6.37v. each.

[gadawg312011]

Thanks. I will start there and post my results. Also, I noticed when I was test running it on blocks that there are two switches under a plastic cover and when it was running in reverse, I removed the red wire and the motor ran faster in reverse. When I replaced the wire back it slowed it down. Is this switch some type of govenor? Thanks. More to come.

gadawg

[dougmcp]

Yes that's the half speed reverse wire, it's supposed to do that.

[gadawg312011]

Thanks doug, that makes me feel much better. Hopefully now I only have a bad connection or worse a bad battery. More to come. Thanks again.

gadawg

[gadawg312011]

Ok, checked all the water levels and they were fine and also the voltage seemed to be ok as well. All batteries were 6.23 - 6.33. All cable connections are tight. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

[dougmcp]

Your batteries are between 80% and 90% charged so they seem to be OK.
The possibilities are still a bad connection, bad battery, failing solenoid or controller failure.
Which cart do you have? Is it a series cart (F-N-R switch down by your knee) or a PDS cart (F-N-R rocker switch on the dash)?
Did you take the cables off to clean them or just look at them?
Next test would be to attach the meter to the pack voltage, it should be around 37.7v and take the cart for a ride and see how low the voltage dips under acceleration. If it drops below 32v you likely have a bad battery. You can then repeat these steps for each battery to see if it drops below 5.4v.
If all of those test out OK then we can try bypassing the solenoid.

[gadawg312011]

Doug, I have the cart with the F-N-R lever by my knee and is controlled by a long rod under the seat. I did disconnect every cable and clean, re-attached and applied more corrosion control spray. As for taking it for a ride, it will not go forward now without me having to push the cart. Yesterday, I was able to get it running almost full speed, but as soon as I went up a small incline it cut out and start sputtering, almost to a dead stop. Now I am curious as to where the pack voltage you are referring to. I take it that is is under the seat, correct. Thanks.

[dougmcp]

You have a series cart. The rod runs to the F-N-R switch and there should be large cables on it.
You must have a bad connection or cable on the large cables of your cart.
I would tug on each of them and then make sure they are all clean and tight.
This includes about 11 cables, batteries, F-N-R switch, solenoid, controller and motor.
The pack voltage can be measured at the charger port or the positive of the first battery and the negative of the last battery.

Here is how your batteries are wired:

[gadawg312011]

OK doug, here is what I was able to come up with. I went back and double checked all cables and all appear to be in good shape and all were tight. I tested the voltage at the charge point and it read 37.1. I left the volt meter in the charge point and backed it out of the garage, reading fell to around 33ish, next put it in forward and all the cart would do is creep very slowly and it seemed to vibrate. The reading then was a constant 31. Does this sound like a bad battery? I am trying to get my hands on a load tester, but I may have to take it up to the dealer and let them do it. Any thoughts? Thanks.

gadawg

[dougmcp]

Yes it's likely a bad battery. The next thing is after you get it vibrating stop the cart and do an individual voltage check to find the lowest battery. Then put the leads on that one battery and try to drive the cart noting how low it goes.
If any of them start below 6.25v and end up under power at or below 5.3v, you have found the problem.

[gadawg312011]

Alright, I hope I found the culprit. I went back and tested each battery as before and all were around 6.3v and then I did the load test. I took the cart out and started on the the front row working my way across towards the passenger side and tested. All the batteries never dropped below 6.1 under power except the last battery by the left rear tire. As soon as I put power to the cart, the voltage dropped out all the way down to 1.5, then it would bounce up and down from 1.5 to 4.01 and back and forth. I take it that this could be the problem? I will take it to the dealer tomorrow and let him load test it with a machine and see what his reading are and go from there, unless you have any other suggestions. Just let me know, since you have been right on the money so far. Thanks.

gadawg

[dougmcp]

Bingo, you found the problem. Congrats!!
You can probably replace that one battery with a used one that is the same manufacturer and age if possible.
I would also double check the cable connections and the 2 cables on that battery.

[gadawg312011]

I'm gonna try and get one tomorrow and see if that does it. Thanks very much for the help. I know this had to have saved me tons of money and also I learned a little more about this dang cart. Thanks again.

gadawg

[dougmcp]

I'm sure you'll have this problem behind you and enjoying your cart soon.
Let us know how it works out.

[gadawg312011]

Confirmed yesterday that it was in fact the bad battery. WOW!, didn't realize how expensive these batteries are. $85 for one battery; however they suggested that I find a used one so I would not kill the brand new. I found a used one around the same age as mine for $25, so I think I gonna go this route and save up for all new batteries later down the road. Thanks for all the help.

[dougmcp]

Take the used battery, a new one is worse for your cart and will overcharge when it goes through the charge cycle.
$85 is a good price for batteries, the least expensive I've seen is at Sam's Club, $72.
Time to start saving your money for complete replacement when yours finally die out.
Batteries generally last in the 5-7 year range, how old are yours?

[gadawg312011]

Right now the tag on them states they are May '06, it seems I am getting close to the 5-7yr window. I checked at Sam's in my area and they don't carry them, but battery source here in town is where I got the $85 price. They have been really good to me, so I think I will save up and go for a full replacement with them. This is where I bought my cart and like I said, they have not done me wrong yet. Thanks for all the help.

gadawg

[dougmcp]

I would buy the $25 used battery for now and you may get another year or two out of them before having to replace the pack.