2010 EZGO 36v won’t move forward or reverse

[Bill Bearley]

I have a 2010 36v ezgo that will not move. When I press the go pedal there is a click at the controller. A little green light will flash. If I press the pedal all the way down the green light changes to a light yellow color and a couple seconds later it turns red, then goes out. I disconnected the battery cables and re-connected and nothing changed. I can’t find a reset button anywhere. I would appreciate any input on this matter. Thank you, so much in advance!

[golfcartg]

I have a 2010 36v ezgo that will not move. When I press the go pedal there is a click at the controller. A little green light will flash. If I press the pedal all the way down the green light changes to a light yellow color and a couple seconds later it turns red, then goes out. I disconnected the battery cables and re-connected and nothing changed. I can’t find a reset button anywhere. I would appreciate any input on this matter. Thank you, so much in advance!

Is it a TXT or RXV and which setup do you have? See attached chart

[Bill Bearley]

My cart is a TXT. To be real honest, I’m not real sure about the chart. I think it’s series.

[golfcartg]

My cart is a TXT. To be real honest, I’m not real sure about the chart. I think it’s series.

No worries about the chart, I’ll walk you through it as we go if you're up for the challenge. Now, just to make sure I'm on the right path, does your cart have a run/tow switch under the seat? That’ll confirm whether we're dealing with a series or another setup.

[Bill Bearley]

It doesn’t have a run/tow switch. I want to tell you when this first started. I was using the cart to pull a bush out. I tied the rope onto the rear seat foot rest, and then around the bush. Took most of the slack out, then pushed the go pedal all the way down. It pulled the bush part of the way out. After that the cart wouldn’t go forward or reverse. Evidently, that wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

[golfcartg]

It doesn’t have a run/tow switch. I want to tell you when this first started. I was using the cart to pull a bush out. I tied the rope onto the rear seat foot rest, and then around the bush. Took most of the slack out, then pushed the go pedal all the way down. It pulled the bush part of the way out. After that the cart wouldn’t go forward or reverse. Evidently, that wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

Ah yeah sometimes we push these carts a little too hard, right? But hey, that’s how we learn!

First things first, for safety, go ahead and jack up the rear wheels just to keep things safe while we test.

Next, grab your Digital Voltmeter and set it to measure DC voltage. You’ll want to set it high enough to read up to 36 volts. Let’s check the pack voltage first. To do this, probe the main pack terminals (the positive and negative terminals of the entire battery pack). Make a note of what that pack voltage reads.

Now since you're hearing the solenoid click, let's move to the controller. We want to check the voltage across the B- and M- terminals on the controller. Put the black probe on the B- terminal and the red probe on the M- terminal. Once that’s set, press the accelerator pedal until you hear the solenoid click, write down the voltage at this point. Then, keep pressing the pedal to the floor and note how the voltage changes.

[Bill Bearley]

Okay, here we go. Entire battery pack read 33.6. At the solenoid click voltage jumps between 26 and 27. All the way down it would jump real fast between 13, 14, 15. My battery voltage would always be between 37 and 38 after full charge. I put the charger on it and within just a couple minutes it would turn green like it’s fully charged. I don’t understand why it’s reading 33.6?

[golfcartg]

Based on your voltage readings it looks like the pack voltage is sitting below a 50% state of charge, which is likely the source of your issue. With lead acid batteries, you want to avoid dropping below 50% charge. They should be considered dead when they hit that threshold because the deeper you discharge them, the faster they wear out. When your pack is below 36 volts, it means the batteries are in that danger zone.

There are a couple of potential scenarios here. First, dirty, loose or corroded connections could be causing power to leak, which would explain why you're seeing inconsistent voltage readings. Of course its also possible that a battery or the batteries themselves may have a dead cell or they are aging and losing their capacity, which would explain why they can't maintain a solid charge. Another possibility is that your charger may not be working correctly. When any of these situations happen, you'll start seeing the kind of performance issues you're describing, as the system tries to pull power but there simply isn’t enough available.

From here I’d recommend cleaning and tightening all your large gauge connections between the batteries thoroughly. Corrosion, even a small amount, can have a major impact on performance. Check the cables for any breaks or wear, and make sure everything is making proper connection. You can then use your DVM to check the positive and negative of each individual battery while pressing the pedal. If one of the batteries drops significantly under load (say, below 5.5V), that could be your culprit. Identify if you’ve got one bad battery dragging down the whole system.

Once you sort out the batteries I think you’ll notice a big improvement!

[Bill Bearley]

Based on your voltage readings it looks like the pack voltage is sitting below a 50% state of charge, which is likely the source of your issue. With lead acid batteries, you want to avoid dropping below 50% charge. They should be considered dead when they hit that threshold because the deeper you discharge them, the faster they wear out. When your pack is below 36 volts, it means the batteries are in that danger zone.

There are a couple of potential scenarios here. First, dirty, loose or corroded connections could be causing power to leak, which would explain why you're seeing inconsistent voltage readings. Of course its also possible that a battery or the batteries themselves may have a dead cell or they are aging and losing their capacity, which would explain why they can't maintain a solid charge. Another possibility is that your charger may not be working correctly. When any of these situations happen, you'll start seeing the kind of performance issues you're describing, as the system tries to pull power but there simply isn’t enough available.

From here I’d recommend cleaning and tightening all your large gauge connections between the batteries thoroughly. Corrosion, even a small amount, can have a major impact on performance. Check the cables for any breaks or wear, and make sure everything is making proper connection. You can then use your DVM to check the positive and negative of each individual battery while pressing the pedal. If one of the batteries drops significantly under load (say, below 5.5V), that could be your culprit. Identify if you’ve got one bad battery dragging down the whole system.

Once you sort out the batteries I think you’ll notice a big improvement!

Found and fixed the problem! One bad battery. I’m so thrilled that is all it was. I didn’t know that one bad battery could bring down the whole system. Thank you, so much for all the help you gave me. The world needs more people like you!!

[golfcartg]

Thanks for the followup