HD Electric golf cart ?

I used the search & couldn,t find any info here on carts . So I,ll try asking here . I,ve tried other places & they sent Me Links to several forums to where the same question was asked but no answers . So hopefully someone here can help .

We have an old 3 wheeled Harley Davidson electric golf cart , I,ve had several years back but cant remember much about them now. The Guy I bought it from said there was something wrong with it, he thought & said it had no high gear , I didn,t remember it having more then one speed so I wasn,t worried about it .

After having it for a little while & seeing others have had a problem with just the low speed. I know somethings wrong with it, wether its a micro switch , Cellenoid , I dont know . It has perty new batterys in it , they take a charge fine . But it just dont go as fast as I think it should as well as the slightest incline it has problems with .

I,ve checked the obvious , But Im not very smart when it comes to multiple batterys & cellenoids . If anyone has any idea of what I should check other then just throwing new parts at it I,d appreciate any input . It has 6 -6 volt batterys & a series of 6 cellenoids & is a 36 volt system . Thanks in advance .Bob

Hey Cowboy, I don't know the answer but I saw you sign up over on Forums Forums. You might want to ask over there also. I'm pretty sure a few members over there have a cart or two.

Yes I did join over there Doc & thanks looks like another great sorce of info & great people . I seen it in You Sig so I figured i,d give it a shot , You have some perty neat sites , Just what I need another forum to look at . . I,ll try it over there too. Thanks again . Bob

Try this link Cowboy. http://www.golfcartcare.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=wEhd

Cowboy said:

I used the search & couldn,t find any info here on carts . So I,ll try asking here . I,ve tried other places & they sent Me Links to several forums to where the same question was asked but no answers . So hopefully someone here can help .

We have an old 3 wheeled Harley Davidson electric golf cart , I,ve had several years back but cant remember much about them now. The Guy I bought it from said there was something wrong with it, he thought & said it had no high gear , I didn,t remember it having more then one speed so I wasn,t worried about it .

After having it for a little while & seeing others have had a problem with just the low speed. I know somethings wrong with it, wether its a micro switch , Cellenoid , I dont know . It has perty new batterys in it , they take a charge fine . But it just dont go as fast as I think it should as well as the slightest incline it has problems with .

I,ve checked the obvious , But Im not very smart when it comes to multiple batterys & cellenoids . If anyone has any idea of what I should check other then just throwing new parts at it I,d appreciate any input . It has 6 -6 volt batterys & a series of 6 cellenoids & is a 36 volt system . Thanks in advance .Bob

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Cowboy, I'm not familiar with Harley's, but have 2 Club Car golf carts that are 36 volts.

Your symptoms could be caused by a bad battery or two. Check each battery to ensure it is good. Assuming you have a 36 volt system with six 6-volt batteries: each battery should read around 7 - 8 volts when charged.

The way to test the micro switches and solenoids is like this:

As you slowly depress the accelerator, you will hear the micro switches click on. (You might need to disconnect the batteries to hear this, or at least jack up the rear end.) As each micro switch clicks, it turns on another solenoid. I think mine has 5 micro switches and 5 solenoids. As each solenoid comes on, more voltage is sent to the electric motor, thus causing the motor to run faster.

The solenoids and micro switches are not terribly expensive, unless you buy them from Club Car - about $80 each. I found a new set on ebay and paid around $100 total for 5 solenoids and micro switches. Installation was easy as long as you pulled one solenoid out and replaced it with a new one, then repeat the process until all are installed.

Another thing to check is the electrical cables between all the batteries. With all the battery acid it is easy for the cable ends to deteriorate and not let all the current through.

One fall when I was in Wal-Mart, they had a bunch of riding lawn mower battery cables on clearance. I bought all they had as they were only about $2 each. Got them in a bunch of different lengths so I would have spares. If you can't find a deal like this, you can go to NAPA or one of the auto stores and they will make a set of cables for you.

So I would check all the cables first. If that does not fix the problem, you can start checking the micro switches to see if they are working - you'll need a volt meter to check them. Once you know the micro switches are working, you can start swapping solenoids. If the cart runs slow that is an indication the first solenoid is working. If it picks up speed when the second micro switch kicks in, then the second solenoid is working, and so forth.

If it is not running as fast as you want, probably your last 1 or 2 solenoids or micro switches may be bad.

Remember though, these things will only run about 15 miles per hour.

Hope this information helps.

Bob

I had a HD and it's either a battery (or 2) or a solenoid. I'm betting solenoid and they ain't easy to find these days!

Wow ! Thanks for the Replys . cleatusj Thats the kind of link I was looking for Thanks .


Great detailed post rlk , Easy for even Me to unserstand , Thanks for taking the time . I,ll start by checking everythin You recomended .

Thanks Big Dog as well , for the info , It looks like the link that was posted Might have the cellenoids & other parts as well I might need . If nothing else They have a very detailed Electrical Diagrams , So I first need to find out what year & model I have.

Thanks again to all & I,ll report back with what I find. . Bob

Mom and Dad have a 2000 E-Z go. It is also a 36-volt system with 6 6-volt batteries. They were complaining about the same thing last year. This year when they went to get it out it wouldn't take charge. Turns out what was happening a little bit of corrosion from the batteries had eaten the ends of the wires. They were still connected but down to single strands. Went to Wally World and picked up all new battery cables and it is almost back to normal. They will probably buy new batteries next year. That should take it back to new condition.

Thanks Jim , I,ll start there . It looks like new batterys , But its allways been stored inside so hard to tell . Hopefully it will be something simple . Bob

jwstewar said:

Mom and Dad have a 2000 E-Z go. It is also a 36-volt system with 6 6-volt batteries. They were complaining about the same thing last year. This year when they went to get it out it wouldn't take charge. Turns out what was happening a little bit of corrosion from the batteries had eaten the ends of the wires. They were still connected but down to single strands. Went to Wally World and picked up all new battery cables and it is almost back to normal. They will probably buy new batteries next year. That should take it back to new condition.

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I can tell a funny story about bad battery cables. One evening I hooked up the battery charger to let the batteries charge overnight. Went out early the next morning and disconnected the charger, and started to drive away. Heard a loud explosion that scared the dickens out of me. Opened the seat over the battery compartment and saw a battery had exploded, and the top was barely hanging on. The explosion was about as loud a 12 ga shotgun.

Talked to my golf cart repair person, and he thought that when the batteries charged, they must have given off some hydrogen. Since the battery ends were frayed, when I started to drive off, this must have caused a spark which ignited the hydrogen and caused the explosion.

Oh well, I needed a new set of batteries anyway, but I don't recommend this course of action.

Since then, I've been very careful to make sure all the battery cables are in good condition.

Bob

Good to know Bob , I,ve had it on the charger all nite , I,d better look at it before turning the switch back on . Thanks for the warning. Bob

Ok , Just getting into checking it out a bit , I never really looked at it very close before . On the inside of the cellenoid cover it has a trouble shooting deal . Shown in the first 2 pics. 3rd pic is the Cellenoids & wiring .

It says if it has low speeds but no 3rd or 4th its the delay switch . A little black looking tube like thing top middle left of the 3rd pic. It has 1 red wire going to the far right cellenoid & a black wire thats disconnected .

As well as 2 More wires thats disconnected that run behind the panel in pic 3 . Goes to a deal that looks like an old radio tube socket but nothings in there . Now I,m really lost .


The Serial # is 69DE5642 Which from what I can find out from the site cleatusj Posted , It means its a 69 DE / DC model 36 volt . Here is the wiring diagram for it .

"DE" Electric Cart '67 to '70

If it will show . If not its on this page http://www.golfcartcare.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=wEhd

I,ve still got to check the batterys & connections but this seems to be the Likelly problem. I just cant read wiring diagrams & figure out where the black wire from the delay switch should hook up , as well as the other thing that has 2 loose wires . I Apreciate any Input or advise . Thanks again to All. Bob

EDIT , After looking at it Here, I,m not sure I,m not missing first & second gear & only have 3rd & forth. Because it only moves on the last 2 Out of the 4 Brass Slide connectors if that Makes sense.

Ok , After checking everything out more , Making sure all connections, Cables & Batterys are filled & up to par . I,ve decided it only has 3rd & 4th Gear . The Troubleshooting Guide shows that to be caused by Cellenoid A being stuck , Which I,m not sure what that means . if it can Be unstuck or if its bad .

Anyway It does look Like I can order them from the link posted Earlier & appears to be the cheapest of the 2 35 bucks , so I guess I,ll get 1 ordered & see what happens . Thanks again . Bob

Hey, you get lucky once in awhile. Glad it is the cheapest one ....now lets hope if fixes your issue.

since it's already stuck, can you hit it with a shot of kroil or liquid wrench (if it's a solenoid with a visible plunger) and lightly tap it with a punch to try and unstick it?

EriK I dont see any kind of Plunger , it Looks Much like the old ford cellenoids . I thought about trying to tap it , But Since its hard to get the wife off of it . I figured I,d live longer if I had a new one sitting here just in case .

Thats what confuses Me when it says its stuck .I,ll Post when I figure it out for sure . Thanks Bob .

I Gota get back to My barn burning party , Well Kind of I,m Dragging it to the burn pile As I,m tearing it down. LOL

sounds like more fun than I was having today...

Erik said:

sounds like more fun than I was having today...

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It was a bit fun for awhile Erik , But I,m sure wishing now I would have got the rest of the stuff out of the shed before & started Demolition . But do to the concern of it caving in on me & 30 plus years worth of wasp nest & other critters , I decided to do it the easy way . Now I have to pick out stuff through the rubble. . I,ll start a thread in the Projects section Of the Demolition.

I,m Curious if You had a chance to check any of the radios out or get one installed yet Erik ?

haven't tested the radios yet - had a couple of late nights at the office and a couple nights with rain. (which is supposed to finally head South from here today)

Erik said:

haven't tested the radios yet - had a couple of late nights at the office and a couple nights with rain. (which is supposed to finally head South from here today)

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Yep , Thats the main reason I started the shed Project Because there was no rain in the forcast, I figured I,d have it Down & all the rest of My old truck parts out & stored inside one of the garages before the next rain . NOT , it been raining though the night & Pouring right now . Oh well. . Bob