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Circus clown car convert to electric

I want to convert my gas gokart to electric.  Fully loaded with me and the dogs, it weighs less than 500 lbs and does not need to go faster than 15 mph.  We drive on level ground and only need to go around 3 miles per day at mostly walking speeds.


The rear axel has a 9" sprocket with what appears to be #40 chain and I would like to keep that sprocket and chain if possible.  I see that the motors like the the MY1020 have 8mm sprockets.  Is it possible to change the motor's sprocket to fit #40 chain, or should I replace the axel sprocket to accept the 8mm chain?


How many volts and how many watts do I need?   Is that 48 volt 1000 watt motor a logical choice?

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OK.  Tomorrow, I will look into all of that.  I do have a multi meter, but no real experience in using it.  

Thanks for being there for us.  We go back on the road next week and I'm somewhat nervous about this.

Okay, that sounds great. We will do whatever it takes to get it running before you go back on the road again. I will check back in tomorrow for your update. 

"How about the connector between the reverse relay and controller - the one which previously had a meltdown. I would check to make sure that the new connector's terminals are properly connected to the wires"  

How about that's exactly what the problem was.  It's running now, so once again we say Thanks!   

It is great to hear that it is now running. Thanks for letting us know. 

I would still like for you to put together a heavy duty controller.   Now that we are back in business, I will be careful not to push it when the ground is too rough.  Actually, I will get out and push it to level ground.  What about adding a fuse to protect this controller?

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There is a fuse located between two of the batteries in the battery pack. The Amp rating of this fuse could be lowered to help better protect the system until the new heavy-duty controller is installed. There is most likely an orange 40 Amp fuse in the fuse holder right now which could be changed to a 35 or 30 Amp fuse. If after a fuse with a lower Amp rating is installed it burns out under normal use then the next size up would need to be installed. 


I went ahead and drew the wiring diagram for the heavy-duty controller kit. I eliminated the large white connectors between the battery pack and controller and reverse contactor and controller since those were one of the parts that previously failed. 


Please have a look at the wiring diagram below and let me know if I included the all of same small white connectors that are currently being used on the existing controller?



Once you let me know if I included all of the necessary small white connectors or not then I will go ahead and make the heavy-duty controller kit and post a link to it here. Thank you.

Tomorrow I'll look at my connectors and see if this will match up.   I did a little test ride today and my stock controller felt warm.  Is that OK?

Yes, that is OK. Controllers get warm under normal use and hot when they are used hard so that is perfectly normal. The new heavy-duty controller will run much cooler than the existing controller because it has a significantly larger and better-designed heat sink to help keep it cool. The heavy-duty controller will also supply more power to the motor so the car can travel on rough ground without slowing or stopping which can overheat the controller and wires. 


Sounds good.  In the diagram above, are the junction box and power contactor separate boxes?  
I have plenty of space in the engine compartment, so no problem if they are.

Yes, the junction box and power contactor are separate boxes. All of these parts have mounting holes so they can be securely attached to the car. Here are photographs of the parts.


I like it.

Your diagram showing the white connectors looks good.  I'll also need a male 2 wire connector because I have the charging port hard wired to my controller now.    We leave on May 15th for two weeks at a fair, so you don't need to rush this order. 

Thanks!

I just finished making the heavy duty controller kit. Here is the link: https://cart.electricscooterparts.com/36-volt-1000-watt-heavy-duty-speed-controller-kit


The male 2 wire connector you need is a combination of one housing item # CNX-W2.8FH-2T and two terminals item # CNX-2.8M. These connectors are available on our White Wire Connectors page. We recommend purchasing a couple extra terminals (they only cost 8 cents each) just in case one gets damaged during installation.


If you would like to order before you leave then we could make the kit and ship it at a later date that you specify so it does not arrive before you get back. Or you could of course order the kit after you get back.

I ordered the controller kit and some extra connectors.  I didn't see a place to specify a shipping date, but if you could wait until May 28 to ship it, that would be good.  


Yesterday, I ordered a new 36 volt charger that should be here Monday.  When I hooked up my original charger, the red light came on, but I did not hear the humming sound which I assumed was a fan.   I let it charge for a few minutes and the unit felt much warmer than I remember.   What do you think is going on with that?

Thanks for your order. We will ship your heavy-duty controller kit order out on May 28th. 


On the old charger, it sounds like something may have got sucked into the fan which caused it to stop spinning or maybe the fan just stopped working from natural causes. You might want to try looking into the fan with a flashlight to see if anything may have gotten stuck in its blades. Also on some chargers, the fan does not turn on until it gets warm so maybe the fan just has not turned on quite yet. 

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