Cart brakes itself and reverse warning beeps

[Real McCoy]

Hello, I am a new guy and this is my first cart. I am retired and just want a decent cart to fool around with. I have worked in industrial maintenance repair for 40 yrs and have a good tool assortment and test equipment to help me. It is a 1998 Club Car 48 volt electric. I bought it last Sunday and I am not even sure how it is suppose to operate when everything is right. I have never driven one before and it came with no instructions. I test drove it and at times the throttle seems to stick. The cart was attemting to go at light throttle when the throttle was not applied. I could bump the throttle pedal and it would quit. It was a intermittent thing, not all the time. Other than that it seemed OK but the brakes were touchy. I have cleaned it up and made some repairs to the aluminium framework for the rear seat and drove it some and the throttle seemed to stick at times riding around the street. I found the linkage from the pedal to the potentiometer seemed to be set wrong and wasn't letting the potentiometer go to the full off position so I adjusted it. I also tried to adjust the brakes. It seems they auto adjust so I test drove it again tonight. Now I think at times when coasting with the throttle not depressed the cart starts to auto decellerate somehow and the reverse buzzer beeps a couple times while it goes into a reasonably hard decelleration. Driving up and down my road it doesn't do it every time just occassionally. Now I am thinking the touchy brakes may have been this problem all along. Any suggestions? I am pretty mechanical/electrical minded and years ago had some real basic forklift repair experience. Any help is appreciated. Joe McCoy

 

[StreetGlide]

Hello Joe and welcome!

I have a 2002 Club Car with IQ system. Not sure if they made them IQ in 1998 (I'm fairly new too), but I know they made re-gen. I assume you have a "rocker" type switchfor Fwr/Rev. If it has a "plugged" connector on the bottom side of it, you have IQ. Either way the cart is re-generating when going faster like going down a hill, letting-off accelerator, etc. On my IQ the amount of auto breaking can be adjusted. I had it turned all the way down. (a computer type instrument connects through the plug on underside of Fwd/Rev switch.) Top speed can be adjusted on the IQ up to about 19.2. (dealer has to perform) You will note driving along when the system begins limiting speed. Everything I have read indicated NOT to let cart roll backwards when in forward. The reverse buzzer (other than reverse indicator and state of charging indicator) warns when cart is doing something it shouldn't be doing. The tow/run switch under the seat should be in run position when operating the cart. In tow position it cuts off power to the On Board Computer. Charge in Run position. If the cart is pushed or towed in Run position the motor will turn and not good for the system (plus makes it evry hard to push.

I suggest searching site for topis you mentioned and you should find a lot of info. You will find some wiring diagrams, etc. under the Club Car/ Repair and Trouble Shooting / Resources.

I'm sure youwill get other responses from the "experts" on your cart, but thought I would give you some prelim info.

Again, welcome!

 

[Real McCoy]

Thanks for the reply Low and Slow. My forward reverse switch has no plug in the bottom and just a couple wires coming out the back side in the battery area. I can feel the governor effect going down a grade and it seems to control speed fine. The reverse buzzer never goes off it just mainatins speed with the throttle wide open. My problem , if it is one, is just coasting along with the throttle off and the cart starts to brake itself sort of in stages. You can feel stages of more braking then as it gets to braking hard the reverse buzzer sounds a couple times and it stops. It does not do this all the time either, just sometimes. Joe McCoy

 

[StreetGlide]

Hello,

Then you don't have the IQ, but do have regen. The buzzer issue as approaching a stop I am not familiar with. Your braking sounds normal. Batteries good and charged I assume. Perhaps someone with a little more experience than me will jump-in.

 

[Real McCoy]

Update of the problem. I was out riding around today and everything seemed fine. It was governing speed on downhill and nothing was doing anything unexpected for a while. Then after 10/15 minutes it started acting up. It would overspeed downhill with no braking actionat WOT or with the throttle released. Then when you apply the brakes to get it slowed down it would reach a speed where the reverse alarm beeped and it applied the brake til it stopped. Once it started doing that it continued til I parked it. Maybe that clarifies my problem. The batteries are suppose to be a year old, they are Trojon brand and the hydrometer says they are all charged with no issues. Thanks for your time. Joe McCoy