02 Club Car DS Series 48V with Lithium Batteries Stutters

S

Switch

New Member
Hi,

I have an 02 CC DS Series 48V. Lift kit, big tires, 4-seater that folds down to dump bed, new D&D torque motor, new HD solenoid, new HD F&R switch, lithium batteries, and stock controller. When I punch the accelerator the cart stutters or jerks and then it smooths out. When I slowly press on the accelerator no issues. When I have the rear of the cart jacked off the ground, it works fine when punching the accelerator. It did the same with lead-acid batteries. I'm lost as to what to check next?
 
Golf Cart Wizard

Golf Cart Wizard

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
What is the amp rating on your controller? Most of those came stock with 225 amp controllers which is is not enough to turn large tires and a high torque motor. It is probably hitting the current limit and cutting out under the load. You need to have a controller with an amp rating equal or greater than the amp rating on the motor.

If there isn’t an amp rating you can get a rough estimate using your peak horsepower number. For example a stock DC Club Car Onward has a motor rated for 13 peak horsepower. Convert that to watts and you get ~9700, then divide by 48 volts and you get 202 amps. Those have a 250 amp stock controller so the math lines up.

Controller amp ratings are peak ratings so that is why you look at peak hp not continuous. Adding to the confusion, solenoid ratings are continuous, but we won’t go into that now. Horsepower and watts are interchangeable just like meters vs. feet, they’re both measures of power. Watts are a function of amps and volts just like horsepower is a function of torque and speed. Amps are like torque, so a high torque motor is going to need a lot of amps.
 
S

Switch

New Member
Ah, makes sense. I was going with an out of adjustment V glide or controller. Stock controller is Curtis 1204-412 at 300A.

Here is the motor:

D&D Part Number:
170-010-0005
 
Golf Cart Wizard

Golf Cart Wizard

Cartaholic - V.I.P.
I looked up your motor and fortunately D&D provides the specs and testing on their website, here is the torque curve:
IMG_3527.jpeg

As you can see below 1600 RPM the motor is capable of drawing over 300 amps which your controller is not capable of supplying. Also note how amps and torque follow each other almost exactly. Looks like you would need at least a 500 amp controller to get full torque out of your motor.

Battery/BMS cutout could be a concern however you said the golf cart had the same symptoms with lead acid batteries so that isn’t going to be the problem. It could become a problem however if you put a larger controller as your BMS may then become the limiting factor, we need more info on your battery setup to know.
 
P

Pat911

Cartaholic
Golf Cart Wizard said:
Battery/BMS cutout could be a concern however you said the golf cart had the same symptoms with lead acid batteries so that isn’t going to be the problem. It could become a problem however if you put a larger controller as your BMS may then become the limiting factor, we need more info on your battery setup to know.
Click to expand...
Missed that, sorry.

2 x Eagles, 160A continuous, 320A, 6 second peak. Should be ok with an upgraded controller but if not, you could easily add a third.
 
S

Switch

New Member
Cool. So upgrading the controller should fix my issue? Any recommendations on which controller I should go with?
 
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