Thanks for the kind posts. There is no need for that, but
This long post lacks the technical details of the project, but I share anyway. If for no one else, I share for my friends and family back in MA who cannot comprehend a grown man getting so much joy from fixing a then driving a golf cart
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The whole story has to start with how I found my project cart. In hindsight I think I got very lucky here, but no one ever knows where a different path would have led.
As I mentioned, my Dad and I had always talked about trying to put 8 – 6 volt batteries in a Club Car DS, but like many things time passes and nothing happens. We both had working carts (2000 Par Car for me) and a 2003 CC for him, there was no urgency. Then my wife and I decided we really wanted to get a second cart. This was the fall of 2009. My wife made a great case for a new cart instead of used, so we began to look around. There were a couple of hot topics in electric golf carts at that time that drew our focus. First was the LSV government rebate and the second was this new AC motor EZGO RXV.
I spent quite a bit of time looking at both. My Dad and I visited the EZGO dealer on 441 and the also the “Town and Country” dealer around Spanish Springs. We drove the EZGO RXV quite a bit to test. We really liked the cart, the feel of the AC motor and braking system. That cart would even put you back in your seat going up the golf cart bridge over 441. I was really considering it, but two things kept me back:
- The RXV with AC drive did not yet have a track record to evaluate
- We were unhappy EZGO used 4-12 volt batteries. We wanted to go from 6 batteries to 8, not the other way.
EZGO almost got us when they had a sale on the leftover 2009 models. The paper even stated that the cart could go 60 miles on a charge. I went back to the dealer on 441 north of 42 and was really close to buying. I went as far as to tell the salesperson/manager, I did not need the cart to go 60 miles, if they could stand behind the cart going 40 miles on a charge I would buy it (they would not). My Dad had drifted into the service area as I talked to the sales folks. He chatted with some mechanics about things they were working on, unlike sale folks, mechanics know the facts. It became clear they were having some issues with the batteries that they or corporate did not understand. I did not need the issue further defined, for me that was the end of story. I love the fact that my Dad thought to do that. He loves talking to folks about technical stuff. A long time mechanical engineer, in retirement he works 40+ hours a week as head engineer at a great golf course on Martha’s Vineyard, MA. His one visit to Augusta National was not to play, or see the clubhouse, or the locker room some of the greatest players visited, it was to the maintenance barn to talk to the mechanics and greens keepers.
Next I turned my focus to the Par Car LSV. I owned an old Par Car already and “we the people” were going to pay me to buy one. If I recall correctly the government was going to give me a rebate of about $5300 to buy a new Par Car LSV. I went as far as to borrow a cart from a salesman named Jim. When he went to work, he let me take his cart for the day. This cart also had great torque and power on hills compared to my 2000 Par Car and my Dad’s Club Car. If it lost speed going up hills it was negligible. This demo cart is the only cart I have ever run out of juice in. I cannot remember all the details, but the only way I could pull out of a tunnel was to go about 1 MPH, anything more and the cart did not have enough voltage and would cut out. I managed to get it home by creeping and charge it enough to return it. I told JIm about it and did not consider it a reason to not buy one. As close as I could figure I had gone 50+ miles and this incident did not deter my interest as this cart really did meet my requirements. In the end, I never felt comfortable that I understood all issues related to registration and insurance requirements and to be honest it was still a large chunk of change for us even after the rebate.
I came very close on both, but got neither. At the time, I knew nothing about Tomberlin or I would have definitely tried them out.
Next I get a call from a good friend who is asking what I learned about the Par Car LSV. I told him and unlike me he bought one. As part of the deal he traded in his original Par Car for $3000 (I forget exact price). I think it was a 2004 or 2005 and was in great shape. I have said before I am not in love with Par Cars for
DIY projects because of the availability of parts, but this did sound like a good deal and did not need work. I told him I would take the cart for what the dealer would give him. He agreed. Now I had a “new” 2004’ish Par Car coming. At the time this would be perfect. It was a cart with great range, the down side was that I had no cart that needed a conversion; now what would I do with my free time? The next thing took me by surprise, my friend decided to keep his original Par Car as a second cart. At the time I felt a bit slighted as “we had a deal”, but I understood and a part of me knew it was not the perfect cart for Linda and I.
Soon after, my neighbors began having issues with their electric cart. They asked me to come over and take a look. At that time I still was not reading golf cart web sites. I knew some stuff, but not enough to diagnose a battery issue. I do not even remember if I had a multi-meter or hydrometer in my arsenal. As I stared at the batteries, I suspect I looked like most men do when their car does not start and they open the hood and stare blankly at the engine compartment hoping to see a wire that is disconnected
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It was clear from the description their batteries were toast. It was also clear they had no idea how to properly maintain the batteries, water everywhere, acid on rails, etc. At this point these folks were SICK of their electric cart. Soon they bought a brand new Villages Yamaha gas cart. If I recall correctly, The Villages Cart store did not take trade ins, so they sent someone out to buy their cart. The person offered the $1000. They knew I was looking for a cart and asked me if I wanted it for $1000, they had no interest in putting in paper or trying to sell privately.
I go from looking at beautiful new golf carts that need no work to one that does not run, has battery acid corrosion everywhere and will not be ready for some time as I want to use as a project. My wife knows this is not going to be a quick journey. You have to understand my lovely wife has seen this before. When we bought our first home, we looked at many that were new, lovely, perfect. The one we bought was just plain awful. the walls had writing in crayon, the kitchen hideous. We were young, I promised I would fix it up. It took us a couple of years, but we gutted that place, added a bathroom and it did end up beautiful. We did all of the work ourselves and in the end my wife could wire a three way switch with no consulting. When we were looking at new homes in TV, we found a lovely home for a good price that really needed work, all I had to do was glance at her when the realtor was showing it to us. As I began to say, “I think we cou……”, she said no. Next thing I knew we were looking at new homes in Mallory.
In the case of the cart, she let me take it home and now I had a project. I was very close to getting three carts in this process and ended up with the junker. It is not often you catch such a lucky break!
Next we pull the cart apart and see what is there and what we want to do….