Buying 1st cart

[hawki]

I am in the process of purchasing my first cart, and would like to know what to look out for. The cart I am looking at tomorrow is a 97 EZGO electric that had new batteries in 2007. It looks like in the pics I have that the f/r switch is located below the seat, and it does not have any dash switches or gauges.
The only thing the seller said is that it is kind of slow, but it charges fine, and goes 18 holes no problem. He also said he got it out of storage after a cold Iowa winter, and that it took off fine, no problems.
What should I look out for, should I take a multimeter and check batteries?

Thanks

 

[HotRodCarts]

Welcome to the forum.

Basically check for play in the steering, look under the cart for signs of damage, check the battery rack for rust/corrosion and make sure it drives like it should.
2007 batteries could go either way depending on the brand and how they were maintained. I would definitely bring a meter and check them.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Hot Rod covered your question well. I agree buying a cart with 5 year old batteries can go either way and to be on the safe side the purchase price should reflect the cost of buying a new set.

The cart is series as you noted by the F/R switch. It was 2001 when EZGO introduced the PDS line of carts. In Jan we picked up a 2007 Ezgo PDS cart with the OEM batteries for $1595 and the batteries will do 20 miles non stop carrying 500 pounds on pavement with some very steep hills.

I do not play golf but I think that is more than 18 holes. While series carts are cheaper to make into hot rods the PSD (shunt motor) has regen braking and other safety features they also go up hills faster.

Keep reading about carts so you do not over pay. I suggest one add $500 the purchase price when buying ANY electric cart with 5+ year old batteries. If that seems to be too much than keep looking.

Find a hill when you take the cart for a test run. As you were advised check the voltage of each battery and note it on paper the reading of each battery and you can do the same after a 15 minute ride.

Based on ours and other posters a cart charged overnight will run for about 90 minutes if the batteries are still OK. When our battery bank starts dropping under 31.5 volts on hills I know in 5 miles we will be pushing it.

Welcome to the forum and cart ownership. As noted we are new to carts too but have had some years of deep cycle battery issues due to an old large 48v UPS for the computer server room and motorhome use.

 

[hawki]

Thanks for the replies. I am definately going to drive it before buying, and also check the voltage of each battery. How about the charger, is there anything I can test or check? Also, he said he had a shop look at it because it isn't real fast and was told that that model year are slow and that there is not anything that you can do. I'm not too concerned with speed, but wouldn't that show that maybe the batteries are nearing end of life, or that maybe the cables could be loose or need replaced.

Thanks again

 

[Gale Hawkins]

hawki it could be poor battery condition and/or poor battery connections. After you take it for a test run and then pull in the charger you should see lights/needle/etc showing it charging away. Check the batteries before hooking up the charger too.

 

[hawki]

Okay, so I ended up buying the cart that I looked at today, got it home and have a few things that I would like to repair.

1st. the brake pedal does not come all the way out when pressing the gas. You can pull it out by hand, but it sticks when using the brake. Do you have to adjust the spring underneath, or could it be the cable or possibly at the rear brakes?

2nd. The foward/reverse switch to the front of the motor is very hard to move back and fourth. I saw that the linkage goes to the passenger side to a box. Is this adjustable to loosen up?

3rd. The steering works fine, but has some play from left to right. What is the best way to tighten up?

4th. The cart runs good, but sounds like last season it was used very little. I have had it on the charger for a few hours, and the amp gauge which started at around 20, is down below 5. Also, you can hear some boiling type noise from the batteries. Is this normal, and also how much water is too much?

I believe that is all.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I can help on #4 perhaps.

Before starting the charger the first time you need to insure the water level is at least above the plates. When fully Charged you can add distilled water but make sure at least 1/4 inch below the bottom of each filler tube. In GC 6v batteries I prefer even 1/2 inch of air space because that still leaves lot of water over the plates. 1/4" low is 1000x better than 1/4 inch too full. Most all messes in the battery compartment come from over filling the batteries. If your charger is working correctly and you are not overfilling but find the need to add water to keep the plates covered that is often due to sulfated batteries. The charger may work for days trying to get the batteries fully charged causing a lot of gassing.

"Boilding" is normal but it is not called "boiling" but is called gassing.

The boiling point of the electrolyte would be 300+ degrees as a guess which would mean the case had melted. :B

A battery must get to the gassing stage for it to be fully charged. The charger voltage may go as high as 16 volts but the amps will be very low.

 

[HotRodCarts]

For the brake pedal try spraying some penetrating oil on the rod that runs through the bottom of the brake pedal. Also spray the other pivot points on the linkage under the cart.

For the forward and reverse switch it depends on why it's hard to move. follow the rod over to the passenger side and remove the black cover to get access to the switch. You'll see a lock nut on the shaft on back of the switch. You can try loosening that lock nut 1/2 turn and see if it gets easier to shift. Don't go to loose as that nut it was preloads the contacts in the switch. If it still shifts hard after loosening the nut you'll need to take the switch apart and clean it up but loosening the nut a little should take care of the hard shifting.

 

[hawki]

So I was able to fix the F/R switch with the advice given, but am still having problems with the brake pedal. I removed the pass. side brake drum and sprayed all parts with brake cleaner, which needed it. I also removed the cable and checked it, it seems to be fine. I could not loosen the castle nut for the drivers side, so I could not check and clean inside the drum, but that cable seemed to be working fine also.
My question is at the rear of the brake cable where it connects to the drum brakes there is a small spring, would that spring being worn or old cause the pedal to not fully pop up?

Also, any advise for removing a stuck castle nut on the drivers side? I tried with the cart on the cement, and the wheel spins. I'm guessing they are right hand thread like the pass. side.

Thanks for the help so far, hopefully I can get the few remaining items repaired with your help.

 

[HotRodCarts]

Yes they're both right handed threads. Impact wrench is the way to go for the axle/hub nuts. If you don't have a impact try locking the hill brake and using a BIG breaker bar. Make sure you tighten the nuts to 90-140 ft lbs.
Did you oil the brake pedal and brake linkage under the cart?

 

[hawki]

I have oiled everything from the pedal to the brake drums. I guess I will have to get the drivers side apart and cleaned, I was just checking to see if the springs that are part of the brake cable assembly that are on the very rear, are what pushes the brake cable back foward when you let up on the brakes. It does not seem big enough, but they seem worn out.
Also, what kind of oil / grease should I reassemble the drums / spline with. I used silicone and lithium grease which is what I have on hand, is there something else I should be using.

Thanks again

 

[HotRodCarts]

Yes those springs help the brake pedal return. There's also a return spring where the pivot pin is on the brake pedal. You could have a bad return spring or the cables may be frayed. Try taking the pins out at the back where the cables attach to the lever coming out of the backing plate and see if the pedal returns.

 

[hawki]

I have not had a chance to check my other brake, but had a question regarding the battery cables. I have checked all the cables between batteries, from the controller to f/r switch, and the cables going to the motor. I removed the f/r switch to inspect and clean, and noticed one of the smaller 18ga wires had a bad connector. It was green and looked to be going from front to rear with the other wires. I spliced it back together, and have not noticed any difference. Also, when checking the cables, they have all read about 3 to 4 ohms, is this typical?

 

[HotRodCarts]

I'm not sure about how many ohms you should see on a cable? If they look bad, corroded, have been hot, etc. I change them.