Ruff n Tuff 4x4 Cart Suddenly Lost Speed

dalaux

New Member
I have a '09 Ruff-N-Tuff Hunter 4x4 48 volt cart that suddenly lost speed. I have run this thing hard daily and had no problems untill now. I started with a full charge, ran around the ranch for about 9 miles, stopped for an hour or so for lunch, got back on the buggy, things started fine and then suddenly lost speed while moving and now can go no more than 10mph. This unit has always gone 22-25 mph with no problems, now when you reach 10 mph it tops out. All batteries read a full charge, all accessories work fine including the shift on the fly 4wd. It will still run 40 miles on a charge, just no faster than 10 mph. Is there any way the governor could have suddenly reset itself from 25 mph to 10mph? or is there some kind of reset on the controller?
 

dalaux

New Member
The cart rolls and even drives fine, just not over 10mph. Nothing seems to be getting hot. I have done some more research and identified the controller to be a Curtis SEPEX 1268, 500amp, 48v. I am getting a trouble code on the LED saying "Throttle fault 1", Wiper signal out of range (pot low fault). It lists three possible causes 1. Throttle input wire open. 2. Throttle input wire shorted to B+ or B-. 3. Throttle pot defective. I think this means I have to locate and test the wires coming from the "gas" pedal.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
The Curtis 1268 controller can use eithe a 0-5 pot box or ITS for its throttle input. I'm not sure what Ruff-N-Tuff uses on their carts. Ruff-N-Tuff has a 2 year warranty and so does the Curtis controller so if the cart is less than 2 years old I'd take it to a dealer. If not you'll need to figure out what type of throttle input the cart uses and start doing some testing.

Anyone else here have any info on the Ruff-N-Tuff throttle input?
 

dalaux

New Member
Problem Solved!! I will post the very difficult procedure on here just in case someone else has this problem. There is a 1/2 speed switch in the passenger glove box. This switch is not mentioned anywhere in any consumer manual or online for this vehicle. Apparently something in the box shifted and hit the switch, I simply switched it back and am again crusing at 20-25mph. Thank You for your help, I feel like an idiot after finding it to be so simple, but I had no idea such a switch existed! I can now say I have this vehicle for almost a year, run it hard daily through some very rough terrain and have had no problems! I have even had to pull the gas powered polaris ranger out of some situations with it. I highly recommend it.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
That would suck but it wouldn't surprise me if they get involved in the China market. Things are booming over there... :unsure:
 

06z400rider

New Member
Hey Rad- I heard the same thing from an EzGo wholesaler who I deal with. He said it was a done deal, as well. I couldn't verify it in any way, but that's what I heard several weeks ago.... :twocents:
 

David Rahm

New Member
I know this is an old thread but I am having a similar problem. My ruff and tuff only goes a few mph and I’ve changed the controller and the speed sensor. Can anyone help?
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Problem Solved!! I will post the very difficult procedure on here just in case someone else has this problem. There is a 1/2 speed switch in the passenger glove box. This switch is not mentioned anywhere in any consumer manual or online for this vehicle. Apparently something in the box shifted and hit the switch, I simply switched it back and am again crusing at 20-25mph. Thank You for your help, I feel like an idiot after finding it to be so simple, but I had no idea such a switch existed! I can now say I have this vehicle for almost a year, run it hard daily through some very rough terrain and have had no problems! I have even had to pull the gas powered polaris ranger out of some situations with it. I highly recommend it.
Does your cart have the half speed switch the OP mentioned was the problem with his Ruff N Tuff? Welcome to the forum. :hattip:
 
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