Ok- a bunch of good numbers, Let me soak it all in.
I did not do the B+to B- test brake test, but will.
Awww… You were almost there!! This would also be useful data.
Your observation of it running longer when wheels up is most interesting.
Put your meter on the B+ and B- (directly on controller), note the reading and see if she’ll run (Wheels up). Watch that V and what does it do all the way to wheel stop.
Then take a reading right off the battery pack B+ and B-. Is it different?
Ha. I actually did that reading with the wheels up test. No significant changes in voltage during run or after drop out.
I re-read your last text and you referred to doing a B+/B- reading while testing the brake light switch issue, which I will do today.
Now I’m pouring over the schematics and will chase down the complete pathway of the ig sw circuit. Answer is in that circuit somewhere. Just hoping it doesn’t lead me back into the controller!
I repair motors with problems as shown
Rodney
I junked everything in that photo, the magnesium case had a crack in it too. I found a new/used end cap with all the goodies inside, replaced the brushes and just got it back in the car yesterday.
Break light switch test at B+/B- shows no drop in voltage.
Testing voltage at ig.sw.:
Or/gr to B- off=79v, on=0v. To chassis off=0v, on=13.3v.
Rd/gr to B- off=0v, on=0v. To chassis off=79v, on=13.3v.
I’m getting the same oddness on these 79v readings where v starts in the low 60’s and slowly creeps up to 79v. Think I’m chasing the ghost of the controller capacitor bank as it builds up a buffer charge. Anyone know if it’s normal to be getting this reading off of B- or do I keep looking for a bad wire somewhere?
Confusing readings at relay. Double check me here.
Green feeds switched 12v through charger cut-out to black at relay, connecting 72v white to gray/white going to MH10 connector.
According to the diagram I sent (above)
Looking at the keyswitch relay
Something also that should be checked out is the proper operation of the Delay Off Timer. When it sees 12v on the Green wire, it grabs +12v from the Or/G wire and sends it out via the Blu wire to (pin 3 on the converter). This activate the Switched side of the DC Converter (pins 7&8). When Green Wire goes to 0v, this module will hold power on the output for the time set on the dial.
I’m back, and with good news! I’ve finally had success, and the cart is running!! What a journey it has been. myriad of issues including misleading advice on hooking up my new charger from ride4fun, to having to dig into my controller to replace some mosfets (never heard of a mosfet!) to rebuilding my motor just because it might be an issue (thanks for that tip!). turned out 3 of the 4 brushes were frozen in their guides and the commutator bar needed serious love.
I can’t thank you folks enough for the endless productive advice given that always pointed me to one issue or another with this cart.
I was so pleased to get her running again that I gave her the paint job I’ve been promissing for 5 years.
Thanks for coming back with the progress report.
That’s a nice looking '00-04. Not often I see them with the front wheels standing straight.
Now we just need to get you some more juice and speed… 
Thanks again for all your help. It was invaluable. The modified wiring diagram was vital in helping me connect dots.
Believe it or not, I also learn more from doing this too.
Concerning speed. I’ve got a Ride4Fun 7hp motor, plus some (apparently rare) super tall gears in this. Been clocked at 42mph, which is a hairy ride given the wheels, suspension & lackluster brakes. Problem is that I think its a bit overgeared, so pokey off the line. May see about throwing in some lower gearing at some point.
Seems a bit down on power since the rebuild. I freed up the frozen brushes and cleaned up the commutator on the motor armature, but did not do a continuity test on it.
Did we figure out what gear set is in there? (Don’t make me scroll back up looking for it).
Measure height of tires?
Clocked at 42 using GPS? Chase car? Comparing against the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden swallow?
(With these bits of info we can determine motor speed and decide best path to go next)
If it feels slower, check each wheel for a dragging brake.
I’m back. 42 mph using gps app.(Large Speedometer HD). 30MPH on gps reads 20 on the bdi.
Can’t find any notes on the gear set, but ride 4 fun guy hadn’t heard of gearing that tall.
Cart is purring like a kitten since the rebuild
No way dude, a Deus Ex Machina transmission? wow man… That’s radical…
/smh
So, seriously…
I scrolled up a bit and saw a picture or two… that’s as far as I bothered to go.
That body could be from anytime between 2000 and the end of 2004.
00-01 had 8.9:1 gears and an anemic 3hp motor, 02-04 had 10.35:1 and an equaly dainty “5hp” motor.
Those appear to be 12" stock rims and stock tire height. These were 02 through 04
00 - 01 had 10" rims.
I also saw you mention a T2. Those showed up sometime in 02. I’ve seen 02’s that had T1s, while the late ones, like mine which was built on Dec 27th 2002 according to the VIN decoder,
An R$F 7hp blue has 5500 on the nameplate, and will spin just fine all day long every day at at least 1k over that.
Here’s my guess: late 02 to 04, that someone stuck a 00-01 gearbox in.
8.9:1 not so much rare, as they are not often seen for sale because anyone who is on flat ground and wants to go fast, tends to keep them,
Thanks. Think I’m keeping up on this. As soon as the next cart crash mandates, I’ll recount the cogs. Current testing is to recalibrate range with my wet cells that have been idle for almost 2 years (semi-maintained). So far 5 mile range zooming to 34mph drained to 28%, but seems to be improving as I use cart more and more. I am trying to be vigilant on water levels.
Any suggestions on de-sulfiding/re-conditioning wet cells to maximize life and performance?
Any suggestions on de-sulfiding/re-conditioning wet cells to maximize life and performance?
I scrolled back through all 57 posts in this topic ans must have missed where you might have described what your battery pack was (other than wet cells).
What brand, size, and how old are they?
It also sounds like it might be time to do a full pack checkup.
How balanced are they?
If not properly balanced, as you are running along happily whistling show tunes into the wind, if your weakest battery drops below it’s lower threshold it begins to do damage and may never be the same again. This may have happened two years ago, or just last week. It is common belief that a 12v battery is considered fairly exhausted when it reaches 12v (I know. Weird huh?).
Battery guys will tell you that for maximum life and performance you should never drain the batteries past 50% capacity. So basically you go in and buy a pack of 100 ah batteries and you are only allowed to use HALF of it?!?!?!? This is the big rip-off for sure!!
In a e-cart installation batteries are never treated more horrible. Because these cars are so much fun, there are times when these things get run until flat and pushed home, or put away and ignored for months and found down around 9v when needed again. No prob, they will be good after a good hot soak, right???
So far 5 mile range zooming to 34mph drained to 28%
Two notable comments I have for this statement…
Granted, I don’t exactly know how the PID is coming up with this magic number but It is one of those devices that shouldn’t be trusted as much as people do. It is not a definitive float on a gas tank like people would like to believe, but more of a guesstimate device. It is most likely looking at a reading of the whole pack and not each individual battery as it should.
In this fictional unbalanced pack example, you could have batteries at 12.21, 12.30, 12.28, 12.16, 12.20 and 11.75. Your car would still run at 72.9 and at an avg of all still puts you in the green above 50% SOC @ 12.15, but the BDI doesn’t know about the battery taking a damaging dive at 11.75.
To be most accurate it needs to be tapped into each individual cell like they are on the Lithium packs using BMS systems being assembled by others in this forum.
If your batteries all check out ok, they are all relatively new, and you want to putz around a bit more, Search the archives for “7th battery” and see if this is something you want to play with. I think Ol’ Houseboater is still running this setup today. Since you have a 4 seat car you might be able to make up a tray to hold a battery installed from the bottom. The extra battery inline will give you more range and the extra volts will make your car feel like a teenager.
Or, if your batteries turn out to be getting tired, consider upping the game to Lithium and be done with it. Having an early 4 seat car makes it a bit complex tho, but Inwo always seems to be working on a solution.
Hi. Batteries are DekaDC31DT purchased 6/19. MCA@32*=800; CCA@0*=650; mins’@23amp=225.
Cart died around 8/19, just now resurected, so plenty of time to screw them up. Batteries individually charged until new ride4fun charger installed around6/21. Pretty much only maintanance has been keeping electrolite level up.
if the charge level on the cart BDI reads 100% R4F reads 100%
if the BDI reads 80%, the R4F reads 24%. At this level, performance has dropped by about 50%.
