Questions about my EZGO Golf Cart

TrailWatcher

New Member
Hey guys, newbie here and I really like the forum and hope I can get some suggestions to the questions I have. I have a '95 'EZGO golf cart without the diagnostic mode (not sure which model it is). I have had the cart for about a year and use it off road on my hunting lease. I am wanting to do a motor and controller upgrade for more power along with a lift and bigger tires but for now want to get it running. After sitting for the winter I pulled it out this spring and found the batteries completely dead, I jumped it from another cart enough to get the charger going and they charged fine, my batteries are a set of trojans about 6 months old. Last year I rewired everything with 4G wires also. After charging the batteries I could not get the cart to move, not even a click in the solenoid. I friend of a friend told me to jump the two large posts on the solenoid with some jumper cables and it worked perfectly! I asked him if that meant my solenoid was bad because I had replace it less than a year ago, he said no that it wasn't my solenoid but to try a micro switch, that didn't help. I haven't been able to get any more suggestions from him so here I am. Could it be the solenoid even though it is less than a year old? Or other suggestions.

Thanks,
David
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Welcome to the forum...

Does you cart have a run / tow switch on the controller cover? If it does it's a DCS system if it doesn't it's a Fleet / series system.

Chances are good that the solenoid is bad if the cart runs when you jump it and the micro switches are good.
 

TrailWatcher

New Member
Thanks for the welcome HRC! It doesn't have the run/tow switch, at least I have never seen it and I have crawled over it pretty good.

When I jump the solenoid it runs like a champ. I replaced the micro switch under the drivers feet, is there another one? What would cause the solenoid to fail so soon? Does anyone make a heavy duty one, I am assuming that I would want to use a heavier duty one when I upgrade the power.

Thanks for the help and sorry for so many questions! :thumbsup:
 

gornoman

Well-Known Member
We are here to ANSWER questions, so, no apologies needed.

A solenoid can go bad anytime. Why was it replaced in the first place?

99% of the time when the solenoid jump works, the solenoid is toast and needs replacing. If the new one fails quickly it MAY indicate other issues.

There are HD solenoids in both 36v and 48v flavors. Try some of the board sponsors, or if you need other sources we can help you out.

And, WELCOME!
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Seeing how you use the cart for hunting and off road use you should replace it with a White Rodgers 586. That's the HD solenoid that Gorno mentioned. I put them on any cart I lift and have never had one fail yet.
The only down side is the controller cover won't fit unless you mount the HD solenoid in a new location. I left the covers off of my own carts with the HD solenoids and never had problems with the stock controller getting wet. EZGO Marathons didn't have a cover from the factory. If anything it will help the controller and solenoid stay cooler.
 

TrailWatcher

New Member
Thanks guys. The solenoid was replaced when I rewired the cart and it wouldn't move afterward, it is possible that it wasn't the problem but it worked after I swapped it out.

I checked the sponsors and can't find a WR 586, I goggled it also and didn't find anywhere that had one in stock. Any suggestions on who may have one? Will this solenoid be sufficient with a motor and controller upgrade?

I have been looking at the D & D 4:1 Beast Motor and an Alltrax 650 amp controller. This is purely from reading online and no experience. Any comments on this combo would be appreciated or another combo suggestion. I am looking for more torque with the bigger tires to come and hilly terrain.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
The Altrax 650 is a very good controller and that's what I'd go with. As far as the motor goes what will you be using the cart for. Do you want speed or torque? The D&D beast with the 650 Alltrax will give you a 80% increase in torque and a top speed of about 16 MPH on 36 volts. It's a very good combo. If your going to be doing a lot of off roading, hunting or like wheelies this is a great setup. :thumbsup:

The White Rodgers 586 solenoid is also what you want to use on this setup.
 

TrailWatcher

New Member
I have a solenoid on the way, thanks fore the link. It will be used 90% for off road hunting situations. Maybe a little running my granddaughter around the neighborhood! :naughty: I used it in stock trim last year and it was very anemic, there were places that I wanted to go but it refused.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
You won't have any problems climbing hills with that set up.
Also you need HD buss bars in the forward and reverse switch and no smaller than 4 gauge cables. I'd use #2 welding cable. You can get the cable and lugs at any welding supply.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
They tie the contacts together in the forward and reverse switch. The stock buss bars are thin copper and will get hot with a high amp controller and motor you plan on running.
 

TrailWatcher

New Member
I received my new HD solenoid yesterday but didn't install it until I got an opinion. The bolt pattern is different on the new one, it still has 2 large and 2 small studs but how do I know where my wires from my standard solenoid swap over to the new one?
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Just make sure you keep the wires together like they were on the old solenoid. It doesn't make any difference which posts as long as you keep the same wires on the same posts. Make sure the diode aims at the same wires as it did before.
 
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