subwoofers!

stangerang

New Member
Hi, I'm new here so please forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong area. I recently picked up an '07 PDS for my campground that had a stereo with amplifier & 2 10" subs! I wasn't interested in keeping the Subs at 1st but found myself unable to abandon the idea removing them... I have always been into obnoxious stereo's since young, professionally installing systems in the 12v auto world and now commercial space - total experience with wiring small to multi million dollar commercial systems for about 20 years now, however, I find myself with many questions regarding the correct way to wire this 36v system with heavy 12v draw components despite all my time in the A/V world.

Some Background on the cart; The previous owner added a deep cycle 12v battery parraelled off of 2 of the 6 volt battery's presumably to charge the 12v battery and provide additional power to the stereo under load. Unfortunately, I discovered after purchasing the cart the two 6v batteries that were in parraelle with the 12v battery were dead. I didn't notice a performance problem when purchasing the cart b/c the 12v battery was supplementing the 2 dead batteries lack of power. So after evaluating the cart in my garage, I realized that the last owner wasn't quite as smart as the workmanship / customization made him look.

Anyway, my question is this; assuming i replace the 2 defective batteries, would it be appropriate to add a 30 amp 36v to 12v converter to evenly draw down the 36v packs - providing additional support for the 12v battery while under heavy draw from the amplifier? I read that the converter has a enable wire that I was planning to trigger only when the radio is on. My other question is charging the 12v battery; can this be done by enabling the converter while charging the 36v pack or should I charge the 12v battery with a separate charger? lastly, it seems that the reed switch on the charge receptacle has been bypassed, what issues will this cause? I need to get a better grasp on exactly what the reed switch controls in the charging system. Any help is greatly appreciated to get this project done correctly without the need for a fire extinguisher...
 

TDAWG

Member
The best and easiest way to do it, would be to run seperate batteries for you stereo. Also a seperate charging system. That way the two systems are isolated. Anytime you start running subwoofers and amps it is good to step away from your golf cart battery pack.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
Welcome to the forum...
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I'm agree with TDWAG. Separate battery(s) and separate charging system...
 

stangerang

New Member
Can I get an explanation of why the converter is a bad idea? I understand why the separate charger but what is the down side to the converter? Let's assume that I don't bother with the subs and amp, & want to add head lights and lights under the cart -less current draw, would the converter to a seperate 12v battery be appropriate then? Also, can anyone comment on my third question regarding the reed switch? Is the reed switch normally open or closed when not being charged? What does it do? My guess is removes power from the controller while charging but would like confirmation. Thank you to all that are helping to clarify my situation.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
If you run a totally separate battery you'll have less chance of interference from the carts controller. Also with a converter and a big amp the amp/radio will probably cut out when you accelerate the cart or the cart is under a heavy load. Also the amp and other accessories put a lot of added wear on the carts batteries. Overall it's better to run a big amp and accessories off a separate battery.
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The purpose of the Reed switch is to keep the cart from running while the charger plugged in. It's really just a safety to keep the cart from being operated while the charger is plugged in. Bypassing it is fine as long as you don't forget to unplug the charger before driving the cart.
 

stangerang

New Member
Thanks for the input Hotrod. Just to clarify, I plan on installing a separate 12v battery for the accessories but wanted to add a converter to provide additional support from the battery pack when needed. Let me know if you think that would be bad idea.
 

HotRodCarts

Cartaholic
You could do that but like I said there's a good chance the amp and radio will cut out for a couple seconds when you take off with the cart and the voltage drops. You won't have that problem with a 12 volt accessory battery independent form the carts battery pack. If it was me I'd forget about the converter and use the cash toward buying a good 12 volt deep cycle battery.
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