Custom Golf Cart Build with Navitas and Eco Battery

Golf Cart Wizard

Golf Cart Wizard

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
Starting off with a 2021 Club Car Tempo, building it with a Navitas 600A / 4kW AC conversion and Eco Battery 105 AH lithium battery. To start I stripped down the golf cart and pressure washed everything clean. If you want a guide on how to take it apart go here: Club Car Tempo Teardown Guide
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Now you don't have to strip the golf cart down to do this, you can leave the rear body and underbody on but since we're building it it's easier just to have access.

So to start you remove the T40 mounting plate screw
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Now unscrew the 3 #2 philips screws holding in the charge port. Rotate and pull into the battery compartment. Then unplug the MCOR and clip the tie wrap under the passenger side cup holder and pull the harness into the battery compartment.
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Now unplug the speed sensor and remove the cables from the motor (1/2" and 7/16" nuts), pull the mounting plate forward and up, and feed through the motor cables:
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Now you can set the whole assembly onto your workbench for easy access to everything. More to come later
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Pulled everything apart, only the mounting plate and main harness will be reused.
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I also mounted the solenoid, I am using an Albright SU80P which can be ordered directly from Club Car with part number 47696033001. The discharge curve matches well to the discharge rating of the Eco Battery that will power the system, roughly drawn in green. This is an “uninterrupted” application so the blue curve would apply.
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You can mount it with the screws from the original controller. The threads are technically M6 x 1.25 however 1/4-20 is pretty much the same so you can use that.
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Mounted the charger to the side of the battery compartment using the included screws. I added a flat washer to prevent the isolator from sinking into the hole and added two rubber washers on the backside of each
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I also made an interlock relay harness to shut down the controller when the charger is plugged in. There is a two pin deutsch connector on the charger, this outputs a 12v signal while charging.
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If you perform a diode test with the polarity reversed you will see .42 volts indicating diode protection is built into the charger and not necessary on the relay
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Now I have the sockets and pins for both the deutch plug and relay but if you have extra MCOR jumpers around you can use the 2 wire part and just crimp regular spade terminals on the end
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Gray is coil positive which I put to 86 and coil negative is green going to 85. I did this because that is the polarity relays with integrated diodes have if one of those were installed. Black goes to 30 and will go to B-, blue goes to 87 and will connect to the blue wire with the bullet connector near the controller
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Everything hooked up and loomed, relay mounted to the battery compartment, push clip tie wraps installed to hold all the cables in place
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Time to mount the controller. The mounting plate only has two screws holding it along the bottom, not very secure. I decided to mark the location of another boss and drill a new hole so there would be support up top.
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Countersunk the hole and tapped the boss to 1/4 20 threads. A third screw was included with the kit there was just nowhere to mount it
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Also I grinded one corner so the hook for the controller cover will still fit
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Now you want to make sure the plate is sitting down flush. If it is not you need to file down the high spots in the stock plate. Then apply thermal compound and tighten the screws, use thread lock on the screws
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Now you can put thermal paste on the controller and mount that to the plate
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Now test fit in the golf cart to make sure everything fits, you will need to shave the area where the controller plug goes a little to clear
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Time to start wiring. I've started using this electrical spray lube rather than dielectric grease in the connections since it soaks in and gives everything corrosion protection and dries so that it won't attract dirt to the connector.
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I'll cap off the unused plugs for neatness and protection. One thing to note if you have a sealed connector and you don't have wires in all of the spots you MUST use a cavity plug to maintain the seal. If not it's even worse than an unsealed connector because not only will water get inside but it will get trapped in there with no way out and really mess things up
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I drilled out the two holes between the controller and solenoid slightly so I could install some more push clip tie wraps and secure the main harness. Also if you notice something missing in the second photo, I rerouted the 15 amp fuse to the opposite side of the plate so it can be accessed from under the seat instead of having to crawl through the back.
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Then I made and installed the 2awg marine grade battery cables. I replaced the included zinc plated terminal screws and lock washer with a stainless flanged serrated lock bolt similar to the original controller screws.
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Once I put on the solenoid to controller cable on the whole assembly will be ready to go back in the golf cart.
 
Golf Cart Wizard said:
Time to start wiring. I've started using this electrical spray lube rather than dielectric grease in the connections since it soaks in and gives everything corrosion protection and dries so that it won't attract dirt to the connector.
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I'll cap off the unused plugs for neatness and protection. One thing to note if you have a sealed connector and you don't have wires in all of the spots you MUST use a cavity plug to maintain the seal. If not it's even worse than an unsealed connector because not only will water get inside but it will get trapped in there with no way out and really mess things up
View attachment 15959

I drilled out the two holes between the controller and solenoid slightly so I could install some more push clip tie wraps and secure the main harness. Also if you notice something missing in the second photo, I rerouted the 15 amp fuse to the opposite side of the plate so it can be accessed from under the seat instead of having to crawl through the back.
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Then I made and installed the 2awg marine grade battery cables. I replaced the included zinc plated terminal screws and lock washer with a stainless flanged serrated lock bolt similar to the original controller screws.
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Once I put on the solenoid to controller cable on the whole assembly will be ready to go back in the golf cart.
Click to expand...
this may not do what you want but it has been my favorite for decades
Really good for re-storing continuity in connectors

this can is several yrs old , i only use it repairs

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Golf Cart Wizard said:
I've started using this electrical spray lube rather than dielectric grease
Click to expand...
I have been using aerosol silicone on electrical components for years. Cars, trucks, boats and planes and now carts as well. Coils, solenoids, plug wires, magnetos, distributor caps. ECUs. Where ever you don't want moisture. It does every thing you mentioned and sheds water and moisture like no other product IMO. The one drawback is if you get it on a surface you intend to paint you have to clean it off with some serious solvents or you will have more fisheyes than a Koi pond or paint that just won't stick
 
More progress. Brakes cleaned lubed adjusted, heavy duty leaf springs installed in back. Normally with the lithium weight reduction it cancels out the rear seat and you can keep the stock springs, however because this is a high speed golf cart and the customer only intends on using it on well paved roads we have spec’d heavy duty springs front and back.

AC motor installed now too, for the 3 x 1/4-20 motor bolts I switched to grade 8 since the motor is more powerful. I got 2-1/2” instead of 2-1/4”, the threads on the Navitas motor are deep enough for the longer screw. The AC motor also has the 4th mounting tab so you can use a 5/16-18 x 1” screw to utilize that. You need a socket head due to the mount being recessed in the motor casting
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Also component plate and battery are now in the golf cart for good, reducer is installed, and wiring in the battery compartment is secured.
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Golf Cart Wizard said:
More progress. Brakes cleaned lubed adjusted, heavy duty leaf springs installed in back. Normally with the lithium weight reduction it cancels out the rear seat and you can keep the stock springs, however because this is a high speed golf cart and the customer only intends on using it on well paved roads we have spec’d heavy duty springs front and back.

AC motor installed now too, for the 3 x 1/4-20 motor bolts I switched to grade 8 since the motor is more powerful. I got 2-1/2” instead of 2-1/4”, the threads on the Navitas motor are deep enough for the longer screw. The AC motor also has the 4th mounting tab so you can use a 5/16-18 x 1” screw to utilize that. You need a socket head due to the mount being recessed in the motor casting
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Also component plate and battery are now in the golf cart for good, reducer is installed, and wiring in the battery compartment is secured.
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Click to expand...
i like your crimpers
i have had one with the same jaw shape for decades
it is all i use on #12 or less
i have a set of manual up to #1 for the big wires
handles are about 3 ft long and selectable dies
 
Got my lugs in so I could finally make the motor cables. I don’t understand why it is so hard to find quality lugs, I like to use the type that are stamped from a solid sheet of copper and then rolled to form the barrel. But if you look online all you find is this type that is made from a copper tube. I dislike this style because the “ring” portion is just where the tube was pressed flat so you have this split in the end, also this means the crimp wall is half as thick as the ring vs. the stamped type with a full thickness wall. You can see this side by side.
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So now that I have my cables made I test fit them to the motor:
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Then I fed them through the cover and tightened everything down:
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Golf Cart Wizard said:
Got my lugs in so I could finally make the motor cables. I don’t understand why it is so hard to find quality lugs, I like to use the type that are stamped from a solid sheet of copper and then rolled to form the barrel. But if you look online all you find is this type that is made from a copper tube. I dislike this style because the “ring” portion is just where the tube was pressed flat so you have this split in the end, also this means the crimp wall is half as thick as the ring vs. the stamped type with a full thickness wall. You can see this side by side.
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So now that I have my cables made I test fit them to the motor:
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Then I fed them through the cover and tightened everything down:
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Click to expand...
Totally agree on the crimps
and so many ppl use the cheap ones ....

lookin Awsome !!
 
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