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Post by biggkidd on May 21, 2022 14:54:53 GMT -6
Shade tree regen braking would be great but over my head unless someone could talk me through it and show me what to use. All I know about electrical is just enough to be dangerous! lmao What little I do know mostly pertains to house hold wiring and automotive wiring. Nothing at all about diodes resistors capacitors etc. other than the most rudimentary.
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Post by papaof2 on May 21, 2022 19:51:43 GMT -6
Do you know whether Club Car has the wiring diagrams for your carts available? I might try diving in with a meter if I had the vehicle in the garage but I need a better "map" to try to design anything remotely.
If I can't figure out true regen braking (generally needs a different motor than the older cart designs), perhaps the motor can be put in "generator" mode when you hit the brake pedal and have it do part of the braking to reduce wear on the brake shoes.
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Post by biggkidd on May 22, 2022 7:26:26 GMT -6
So far I haven't found one for the 88 I did get one for the 99 but it uses a different method. Let me do some searching.
Thanks
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Post by papaof2 on May 22, 2022 16:19:38 GMT -6
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Post by biggkidd on May 22, 2022 18:01:05 GMT -6
LOL Great minds! I found this one not sure it will have enough detail but you tell me. This is the setup on the 88 I am using. gaminde.net/clubcar/sch/88-03-36v-vglide.jpgThe 99 has a different setup. It also appears to have a bad motor. Maybe the brushes but one at a time.
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Post by papaof2 on May 22, 2022 20:32:57 GMT -6
There's another site with golfcart in its URL that has some good wiring diagrams - some even labeled with motor terminal designations and wire colors (probably not readable on a 20-year-old cart).
I'll have to do my looking and thinking another day. Woke up feeling OK but decided to get another 30 winks and my back/leg/whatever was in the wrong position and triggered pain that I'm still dealing with - Rx painkiller 3 hours ago still hasn't relieved more than half of it :-( Terrible to be afflicted with O-L-D and that ailment is known to get worse annually ;-)
I think it was the gaminde site that had some "motor test" diagrams giving a setup powered by one 12 volt battery. A bit simpler to work with and less likelihood of the motor spinning itself off the test bench and onto the floor - or your foot.
The biggest battery powered vehicles I've worked on were the Power Wheels cars I got from Craig's List and reconditioned for the grandkids. There are a lot of aftermarket bits for those, the most useful being the rubber tire wraps for use on paved surfaces because they have better traction than the plastic surface of the original wheels - one reason kids can spin the tires on the stock versions of those vehicles. I ddn't need those but I did replace the dead original $$$ batteries with UPS grade batteries that usually lasted as long as they kids wanted to ride the Jeeps and I used a decent charger that didn't kill the batteries in the first year.
I have an idea for an "old man's grocery cart" based on a Power Wheels chassis. Much of the decorative part goes away to allow mounting a small electric scissor lift topped with a basket a little smaller than a grocery cart basket. The Power Wheels is converted to remote control - driving and the scissor lift. Basket down while I walk the half mile to the nearest grocery store. Basket up as I go through the aisles and checkout. Then basket down as my heavy load of groceries precede me on my walk home. That design would get the rubber tire wraps because the plastic wheels would have little traction on the floor at the grocery store and would need better traction on the road or sidewalk to go up or down hill. Having a heavy load of groceries means I might need to add more braking than the short across the motor that the Power Wheels traditionally have used for braking - when the kid takes her/his foot off the pedal, the switch there shorts across the motor. Remember that I did mention another way of doing motor braking ;-)
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Post by biggkidd on May 22, 2022 20:44:16 GMT -6
Hope you feel better.
The wiring is fairly simple. I actually understand how the system works after studying the diagram for a bit. Well I had it pretty well figured out already but this concreted everything for me.
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Post by biggkidd on May 23, 2022 19:03:39 GMT -6
It's been a solid week since I've plugged the charger in on the cart. It was cloudy all day while I used it and still high enough voltage tonight that I didn't bother plugging it in. I must say this is certainly turning out better than expected so far. These batteries actually seem to be getting a bit better with the long slow charging of the solar panel. They are certainly not self discharging as fast as they were. Before installing the panel I was charging at night to full charge to only have 49.1 volts the next morning 12 or so hours later. It's been over 50 volts the last few mornings. I think it was 50.68 this morning. There was light but no direct sun.
If any of you need a good way to get around your homestead I'd recommend a golf cart setup like this in a heartbeat. Sure beats the noise and fuel use of a 4 wheeler, side by side or tractor and easier to get in and out of. Plus you have roof and maybe even a windshield & radio. A whole lot less maintenance too I bet.
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Post by papaof2 on May 24, 2022 2:06:08 GMT -6
A less-than-sunny day might give 10-20% of the solar panel's full sun output. Depending on the amount of use versus time spent charging, that might be enough.
Your success with keeping the golf cart charged on solar power makes my mental image of a solar trike for paved surfaces more realistic - solar panel(s) for a roof, clear plastic for a windshield (bugs and rain). No design for side curtains to keep the rain out (yet). The basket between the back wheels also needs a cover so maybe another (smaller) solar panel there - that panel might be for keeping the battery for the lights charged.
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Post by biggkidd on May 24, 2022 7:38:17 GMT -6
Go for it Papa it works.
I have been toying with the idea of a purpose built trailer to go behind the cart. If I end up building one it may well have another panel for it's roof. My thinking being if I'm using the trailer more power could be handy.
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Post by biggkidd on May 24, 2022 11:01:23 GMT -6
Rain finally slacked off enough I got out to feed the critters, way late. It's been coming down by the bucket full! The back tires I put on the cart worked pretty darn well. The original front tires may as well be roller skates on ice. I think I better move tires up on that list some. I slid around pretty bad a few times almost doing a 180 once and I was driving as slow and careful as possible. Slick red clay and hillsides just don't mix well with straight tread tires no matter how deep the tread is. They caked up with layers of mud immediately.
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Post by papaof2 on May 24, 2022 11:30:52 GMT -6
Red clay is marvelous for thwarting those that might follow you offroad. You do need the proper tires ;-)
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Post by biggkidd on May 24, 2022 11:38:42 GMT -6
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Post by papaof2 on May 24, 2022 12:00:22 GMT -6
As long as you have the specified 6" lift, it says it fits Club Cars.
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Post by biggkidd on May 24, 2022 12:16:43 GMT -6
Yep the 6" lift was put on a week or two ago. Without it or the AG treads there's no way it would have moved today! I really didn't want real aggressive tires but the conditions here demand it I'm afraid.
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Post by papaof2 on May 24, 2022 12:48:06 GMT -6
That's why they make street, mud, snow and Ag tires - whatever your location needs.
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Post by biggkidd on May 24, 2022 19:21:23 GMT -6
I don't want AG tires but in all honesty they are probably what I need. This place is under constant SLOW construction. Slow because that's the only way one person can get things done on 36 acres. Always to much to do and to few hands.
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Post by papaof2 on May 24, 2022 20:35:09 GMT -6
I'm on a much smaller plot in the unincorporated suburbs and I have days that feel like I'll never get it all done - but some of that my be my level of O-L-D :-(
You need the ability to get wherever, whenever you're needed there, which probably means tires agressive enough to get through most of your muddy conditions.
I have chains that fit the truck's tires but I've only put them on twice in 14 years (once to check for fit) - being good for several weeks without going for groceries helps ;-) I could make it to the two closest stores in *most* of our winter weather with the chains but it's so much easier to have stuff put back ;-) If you're not out in the icy mess, no one asks for a ride to <wherever>.
My favorite story about driving on ice in Georgia is from when one kid was a student at Georgia Tech and needed to get to the airport. Someone she knew from Tech said "No problem. I grew up driving in Michigan!" He had a helluva time even getting to her apartment to pick her up. Driving on northern snow is NOT training for driving on southern ice with all the little hills in the area. Except for the polished intersections, snow on the road provides *some* degree of traction. Southern ice lands on the road polished like those intersections - the tempertures are usually just at/below freezing so the pressure of a vehicle starts melting the surface of the ice and you have instant slick...
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Post by biggkidd on May 25, 2022 20:52:26 GMT -6
Oh yeah I've lived through an icy year or threeeeeeeee here in the south! We are in MUD season currently. I had to plug the charger in and it's been running hard for several hours! We have also been days without sunshine. Pushing through a few inches of mud requires a lot more power than rolling over hard ground. I questioned if we would make it back to the house tonight after we went looking for piglets. Had a few litters lately and one amazing little two tone lightly striped blond American Guinea Hog. All my pigs are AGH. All her parents, grandparents etc. are solid black for at least 5 generations that I know for a fact. They were all been born here and I have a closed herd and no other pigs within several miles. So she is a real mystery! Wish I could afford to get her DNA checked. Far as I know she is 100% AGH and they are solid black 98% of the time with an occasional pink sock.
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Post by papaof2 on May 25, 2022 21:06:54 GMT -6
Traditional Southern question: Does she look like the mailman? ;-) Better answer from: livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/heritage-breeds-list/american-guinea-hog/ Some piglets are born with a reddish cast that fade to black before maturity. Some have reddish tinges to their ears or develop maroon shading or even look bright red before age one year. Inevitably these individuals mature as solid black or with red tinges only. Two things cause the cart to use extra power in mud - it's soft, so the wheels go into it instead of over it and they're effectively digging a trench. It's also sticky, so the wheels have to break away from the "glue" on every revolution You need some aggressive tread tires that are at leat 10-12 inches wide and wheels that can mount those tires on the cart. You think those might be called "Ag flotation tires"? If you sell that design to some tire builder, I want $1/tire royalty for the use of my design ;-)
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Post by biggkidd on May 25, 2022 21:33:08 GMT -6
I'll have to get you a picture of the tires on my GT er garden tractor. It has riding mower rear tires for fronts and and I don't honestly know what the back tires were meant for but they are HUGE on the GT! I need to get the tri rib tires on the front. I bought them a few years ago but never managed to get the bearings adapted. Tri ribs steer well in mud if I remember correctly and turn a LOT easier on dry ground. These front tires do neither!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by biggkidd on May 25, 2022 21:55:51 GMT -6
Traditional Southern question: Does she look like the mailman? ;-) Better answer from: livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/heritage-breeds-list/american-guinea-hog/ Some piglets are born with a reddish cast that fade to black before maturity. Some have reddish tinges to their ears or develop maroon shading or even look bright red before age one year. Inevitably these individuals mature as solid black or with red tinges only. Two things cause the cart to use extra power in mud - it's soft, so the wheels go into it instead of over it and they're effectively digging a trench. It's also sticky, so the wheels have to break away from the "glue" on every revolution You need some aggressive tread tires that are at leat 10-12 inches wide and wheels that can mount those tires on the cart. You think those might be called "Ag flotation tires"? If you sell that design to some tire builder, I want $1/tire royalty for the use of my design ;-) Boy that sight sure has changed since I was last on it. There was nothing about blue or red before. I guess they are learning as they go too! But I have a feeling she is not what they are calling red. I also have my doubts about her turning black by age one.
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Post by papaof2 on May 25, 2022 23:00:34 GMT -6
Make notes day by day, take pictures several times a week and in a year you can write an illustrated article about how your red AGH developed over the first year - and SELL that article to the AGH website ;-)
Gotta make those bucks where you can...
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Post by biggkidd on May 26, 2022 16:57:29 GMT -6
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Post by biggkidd on May 26, 2022 17:17:56 GMT -6
Actually the low temp shut down may not be an issue. Looking back over my notes I have another way to handle that with a set of silicone heater mats and controller. I also need to see just how programmable the Renogy charge controller is. My only real concern is NOT letting the cells go over a certain set voltage. I really want to try and keep these cells in that middle range to extend their life as long as possible. These cells are rated for 3500 cycles.
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