Electric Golf Cart Evolution -6-
In the last post, we discussed carts with the most sophisticated “series” speed control systems. The controllers contained microprocessors and were capable of being “programmed” to fit the needs of the cart and its driver. What do we mean by “series”? There are two major components within a DC motor that make things work. They […]
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Electric Golf Cart Evolution -5-
In the last post in this sequence, I talked about the first electronic speed controllers that were used in series golf carts. The first series controllers to come out were totally electronic, but they were not “computerized”. Therefore, nothing was adjustable in terms of the cart’s operation. As time went by, these controllers became more […]
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Electric Golf Cart Evolution -4-
In the last post of this sequence, we talked about carts using an electronic speed controller instead of resistors to control the speed of the motor. We discussed the technique that the motor speed controllers use to vary the voltage to the motor. The technique is called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). In order to know […]
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Electric Golf Cart Evoltuion -3-
In the last post of this sequence, we talked about carts that still used resistors to control the speed of the cart but didn’t have a solenoid and its circuitry for each resistor. It was a big improvement from the maintenance point of view over their predecessors. This month, we’ll talk about the next step […]
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Electric Golf Cart Evolution -2-
In order to get rid of most of the solenoids, but still be able to utilize the resistors for motor speed control, Club Car came up with a configuration called the V-glide (by most people). It was a big improvement over the previous system in terms of maintenance. The following is a diagram of a […]
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Electric Golf Cart Evolution -1-
This post is the first of several on the subject of the evolution of electric golf carts. According to Wikipedia, it was in the early 1930’s when it all began. A guy named JK Wadely noticed the convenience offered by a three-wheel electric cart that had actually been designed for helping somebody disabled get around […]
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E-Z-Go Rear Hubs
Many E-Z-Go owners have experienced hearing a grinding noise at the rear end of the cart when trying to take off. A cart with this symptom will usually either not move or will only lunge a bit but won’t make it very far. This symptom is caused when there is a problem with one of […]
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Gas Cart Battery Testing
A recent comment that I received reminded me that I had never really discussed how to test for a bad battery in a gas golf cart. I go into a lengthy discussion of battery testing in the “Electric Cart Stuff” section, but there is nothing there about a gas cart’s battery. So, here it is. […]
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What is this Relay all about?
In the old days, most people just wired the lights up on a golf cart similar to the diagram below: Because the 36-volt cart consisted of 6 6-volt batteries strung in series, it was easy to “steal” 12 volts (that’s what most golf cart lights are designed to use) by just connecting up to 2 […]
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Why Do I Need a Meter?
In a book that I wrote about golf cart repair, “Electric Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half)”, I began the first chapter with a statement that a “Meter is a Must”. That book was written with the “do it yourself” mechanic in mind and the statement was certainly true. However, even if you never […]
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