In this book, entitled Electric Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half), the author, Ron Staley, describes Techniques, Tools, Tips, and Tales that he experienced during his life as a golf cart Repairman.
This book is currently available in two formats. The first is as an eBook from the Amazon Kindle bookstore. Click the following link for more information about the book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095Z43DQW
Click on the following to understand: WHY AN EBOOK?
The second way that the book is available is as a hardcopy. It is plastic comb bound so that it can be laid out flat to facilitate its use while working on a golf cart. Click the following link for information about the book in hardcopy format: Book: Ronald L Staley: 9780578560557: Amazon.com: Books
The following is a list of the chapters and a brief description of their contents:
Chapter 1
Being able to use a meter, in at least a limited capacity, is required to get the most that you can out of this book. This chapter helps you get acquainted with a meter and how to use it. An electric golf cart repairman without a meter is like a plumber with no pipe wrench.
Chapter 2
This chapter provides an overview of golf carts in general and especially how the batteries become our source of energy for the whole process of getting this cart moving.
Chapter 3
This chapter goes a little deeper than the second chapter into the workings of an electric cart and introduces the use of small switches (called microswitches) to control the carts operation. It gets you started with using the meter and what it should read at various places in the circuitry for the cart.
Chapter 4
Because the batteries are such an important part of the system of an electric golf cart, no book about electric carts could possibly avoid explaining how they work in depth and showing how they should be treated. That is what this chapter does, along with explaining the importance of good connections between the batteries and other components.
Chapter 5
Another extremely important ingredient in an electric golf cart is called a solenoid. Solenoids are often referred to as “main-contactors” and they provide a method of supplying the energy from the batteries to the motor under a controlled environment. This chapter goes into a lot of detail about how all of that works.
Chapter 6
With so many makes and models of carts around, this chapter attempts to help you identify the type of system that the cart you are working on has.
Chapter 7
This chapter provides the starting point at which troubleshooting should take place. It very important to start at the beginning and not just jump blindly into the middle of the process if you are going to be successful at fixing one of these things.
Chapter 8
In the very early days of electric golf cart production, the motor’s speed was regulated by adding “resistors” in series with the motor’s connection to the battery. This chapter discusses, in detail, How the early Club Car models accomplished this. Get your “technical hat” on. It gets very detailed in the operation.
Chapter 9
As the years went on, Club Car improved the speed control system by adding a part called a V-glide. This chapter goes into the differences it adds to the circuitry.
Chapter 10
The next big improvement in the speed control department for Club Car was to eliminate the resistors (which consumed a bunch of energy) and use an actual electronic speed controller. It is introduced at length in this chapter.
Chapter 11
Club Car also made carts with 8 volt batteries instead of the traditional 6 volt versions that it originally used. With this model of cart, there was also another device added called an On Board Computer (just what we needed, something to make things even more complicated). This chapter gets “way deep” into describing this system.
Chapter 12
The plot thickens again. Instead of using a “series” motor, they started making carts with ”shunt” motors. I guess it worked, because as time went on, all of the carts used some variation of shunt motors and controllers. This chapter covers the earliest (and most problematic) version of this system. It also sets the stage for all of the carts to come later.
Chapter 13
As the production of shunt motor carts developed and improvements were made here and there, this chapter deals with a later version that Club Car used.
Chapter 14
It had to happen. They eventually had to make it next to impossible for the “shade tree” mechanic to work on the major control system of the cart without specialized equipment and knowledge. Here came the Club Car IQ system. It is a much more sophisticated system, and even has programmable features, if you have a hand held reader (which nobody does except an authorized dealer). This chapter’s approach to working on this kind of cart, however, stresses the things that can be done with conventional tools and common sense. What a concept?
Chapter 15
At this point, the book goes from dealing with Club Cars, to their counterparts produced by E-Z-GO company. As time passed, they followed pretty much the same pattern of evolution as the Club Car did. They started with the speed of the motor being controlled by adding resistance in series. Their techniques were a little different than Club Cars, but much the same principle was used. This chapter will take you through it.
Chapter 16
This chapter deals with E-Z GO carts that introduced their version of an electronic speed control system.
Chapter 17
In this chapter, E-Z- GO had moved up to an improved electronic speed controller that worked with an improved throttle control system referred to as an Inductive Throttle Position Sensor (a big improvement over the “potentiometer” that was previously used).
Chapter 18
At this point, E-Z GO added a model that (like everybody else) featured a shunt motor and motor speed control system called the DCS system. At this point, the DCS used an actual microprocessor-based design that was much more efficient than their older series controllers.
Chapter 19
Another microprocessor-based speed controlled system but with more features that could be “programmed” and even some self-diagnostics that the mechanic could use to help him troubleshoot the cart.
Chapter 20
At this point, we turn our attention toward Yamaha, and their version of a series motor and electronic controlled system.
Chapter 21
This chapter deals with Yamaha’s version of their shunt motor and control system.
Chapter 22
I threw this chapter in to help those who might be trying to support one of the old Hyundai carts (of which there are still many around). This cart is pretty much like the E-Z GO type series motor and speed controller systems (with a few little quirks).
Appendix 1
This appendix stresses and explains the importance of battery charging and just what happens when you do it.
Appendix 2
The operation of a DC motor is a little more complicated than it might seem at first examination. This appendix gets into all of that.
Appendix 3
If I need to check out the motor in my golf cart, just how do I get the darned thing out of the cart? This chapter deals with that.
Appendix 4
Pulse Width Modulation is a very interesting subject and is at the base of all of the electronic and microprocessor-based control systems used in carts, so why not understand how they work? You will if you study this appendix hard enough.
Appendix 5
This chapter reflects the authors attempt at developing a simple tool to use to help isolate problems with electronic and microprocessor-based carts. No one wants to order a $1000 motor speed controller just to “see” if that “was” the problem. Isolation of defective components can be a real challenge.
Appendix 6
This chapter describes the process that went into discovering the techniques used in the previous appendix, and offer a more challenging tool that can be used.
Appendix 7
How the heck am I going to read a voltage where I can’t get to a bare wire or connector? Read this appendix and see.
Appendix 8
This appendix deals with adding accessories to golf carts. It can be a little more involved than you might think.