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FAQ
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You sent me here from ebay. What am I looking for?All of the information contained in the FAQ is useful to anyone working on their cart. Many answers to common questions are located here. Also located here is the SHOP link on the top of this page. There you can find things that are not available on ebay.
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I need help. Should I call or email?I get a lot of emails about stupid quesitons. There are NO stupid questions. I'd rather you asked 100 questions and got it right than asked none and get the wrong product. It cost me money, you money and both of us time. That being said, the single best manner of contact is email. While I would absolutely love to personally speak to each and every single one of you about your carts, I simply do not have the time to do so. We are a small, family owned shop. I make all the cable kits myself. The reason for this is, quite simply as the old adage goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." I have tried letting others simply cut the cables to length and strip them, while I would solder and finish. And well, I simply wasn't happy with the results. I want it done right for you the same way I'd want it done right for me. That being the case, it is very hard for me to pull off working on orders and talk on the phone. I have found over the years that each phone call I take averages out to over half an hour. Some folks get right to the point and it's done in 5 minutes. Others just keep talking and talking and talking and while I enjoy conversing with them about their carts, it makes my turn around time on orders suffer. I want you to get your product in 3 busniess days or less, preferably less. I generally take all orders placed between 5pm EST and 10am EST and get them made, packed and shiped by 12pm EST the following day. In cases of high order volume, that can turn into a one day delayed shipment. Our mail carrier picks up around 12 noon. Sometimes she's early, sometimes she's a little late. Mostly she's spot on 12 noon or earlier. In many cases, I have taken orders to my home mailbox as it runs about 2 hours after my office just to get them out same day. So I want you to know that requesting you to email rather than call is not to try to avoid talking to you, it is to keep the orders flowing as quickly as I possibly can. When you send an email, please include the following; The year of your cart, the make and model of your cart, the serial number (if possible) and the drive system if you know it. For example, it could be a 2006 EZGO TXT with the PDS system serial number 123456xyz. (that isn't the actual setup of EZGO serials, just a random example) Or, a Club Car Precdent 2009 with the IQ system serial PQ1209-XXXXXX (that is the exact way the Precedent IQ serial would look) That information GREATLY assists me is assisting you. If you don't have it, no worries. I can figure it out from the year in "most" cases. If all else fails, and you simply feel that you have to talk to someone, then call. I my certainly am not saying don't call. Even I feel the need sometimes to call a vendor. But please keep the calls short and to the point as much as possible in order to better facilitate your order, and everyone else's orders in a timely manner! Thank you!
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How strong are your cables?Our cables are designed to be the strongest available on the market. We have had many customers who have sent us photos of their carts after a rollover where their battery hold downs broke and ejected the battery pack however the cables held the pack together saving from a complete disaster. Here you can see an EZGO rollover where the roof, windshield and mirror were broken off. As you can see, the batteries were ejected however they did not scatter. The connections were so strong that the controller was actually ripped off it's heatsink mount intact. After a thorough inspection, the cables were determined to be unharmed and were reinstalled during the rebuild and still run today.
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Why should I use bigger cable?Your carts cables are like the highway that the electricity from your battery pack travels through. The bigger the cables, the lower the congestion to slow it down. Factory cables are typically 6awg. We upgrade to 4awg or 2awg based on your setup. When we create a larger path for the power to travel down, it means we incur less resistance which means less heat. Less heat means more power is used for motion. And all that makes for a longer lifespan for your batteries and electronic components!
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Why should I buy Soldered cables?Pictured above in the "How strong are your cables?" is a cart that experienced a rollover accident. The owner had purchased and installed a set of our cables a few weeks before. The battery hold downs failed, ejecting the batteries from the cart. The strength of the cables was put to the test during the ejection, and they held the entire pack of 6 batteries together and kept them from launching out and possibly injuring any passengers. The cables weren't designed to be put to this kind of force, however it only proved the strength of the soldered joint and added an extra layer of safety in the event that an accident should occur. No one wants to bath in acid! There are two main types of cable connections; Soldered and Crimped. In some cases, some companies will crimp the cable and then apply some solder to the exterior joint. What we have found after reading all the studies and through our own trial and error is that crimped joints weaken the inner core strands of the cable and over time they tend to fail sooner, especially when exposed to intense heat when there is a problem in the system. Think of it like you put a tin can over a hose and beat it down until the can is stuck in place on the hose. Then turn the hose on and let water flow through it. The water will over time force the can to expand and contract and at some point, the can will break loose from its crimped bond. Instead of smashing our lugs on, we solder them. Using the same analogy, slide that can over the same hose but this time use an unbreakable adhesive to hold the can to the hose. The same flow can then flow through the hose unobstructed and that makes the bond permanent. We only use the highest quality Silver bearing electrical solders in our connections.
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Should I have heatshrink on my cables?There are a few companies out there that claim heat shrink traps corrosion. To put it bluntly, they are idiots. Heat shrink is used specifically to stop corrosion. They want you to buy their cables, suffer corrosion related failures and come back to buy more. And to show that, I've included a couple photos. Cables that had no heat shrink, cables that had heat shrink, and the difference is obvious. The first photo shows three cables from one cart. They are shot. And the corrosion runs into the shielding and was about 8 inches deep. The second photo shows the one cable on that cart that had heat shrink. I removed it for the photo. You can see that the corrosion was stopped dead in its tracks right where the heat shrink started. The lug has lost all of it's tinned coating where it was exposed to corrosion, and looks like new where the heat shrink was covering it. Heat shrink is critically important to protecting your cables should corrosion become present. Cables without heat shrink are simply a future expense waiting to be replaced. Do not ever buy or use cables without heat shrink. I hear people say, well my factory cables didn't have heat shrink? Well, to that I say they were also the smallest possible size that would work and most overheat and melt batteries during residential use. The big manufacturers build things to last 3 years. Why 3 you ask? Because that's how long the warranty lasts. After that, they want things to fail. That keeps you spending that hard earned money on repairs, or drives you to want to buy a new cart.
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Why not use cables from the auto parts store?Shown above is a set of cables purchased from an auto parts store. They were removed from a cart that came into my shop with a melted battery post. Cables designed for cars use about 25 strands of 14 gauge copper wire. These are designed to send one big jolt of power to a car's starter to get the engine running. Once the car is started, those cables aren't carrying any load. When used in a golf cart, the cables are placed under immense loads and simply are not capable of handling the amount of heat generated. Ultimately, they will fail and you'll end up with a melted post on your battery which will cost you more than a set of quality cables would have to begin with. We use premium quality welding cable to create our cable sets. Our 2 gauge cable has 624 strands of 30 gauge cable in it. This is designed to handle up to 600 volts. The ultimate goal is to use cables that offer very little resistance and dissipate heat to stay cool. Many people get away with auto style cables for a few years, but sooner or later they will fail, they will melt a battery post and you will be stuck replacing the battery and at least that one cable.
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I see cheaper cables that are advertised like yours online?In everything in life, there will always be those searching for cheaper. Cheaper cars, cheaper cokes, cheaper toilet paper (not a product to skimp on!) Cheaper is exactly that, cheap. Some things you can buy cheaper and be ok. Some things you buy cheaper and you get what you pay for. People selling cheap automotive grade cables don't care if your batteries meltdown. They really hope they do and when that happens, the cable gets damaged and you'll buy another one from them. I can't even begin to tell you the number of MAJOR golf cart companies selling those crappy cables. It baffles me when I see it, and when I ask why they say that same line.....people wanted the cheapest ones. Can you get something similar to what I make for less? Absolutely without a doubt. Will they help you down the road when you have a failure and need some guidance? Not a chance. They will happily sell you all the overpriced parts you want, all the cheap junk cables you want, and love to charge you $150 to come out on a service call. I go above and beyond to help my customers diagnose and fix issues they run into during their ownership of a cart. I don't sell these people carts, I sell them cables. The issues may be controller related, or motor or some other component but I still take the time to help them diagnose and repair their problems. Call another vendor and ask them for diagnostic help and see what they say. Mostly you'll hear crickets chirping in the background or someone laughing at you. I sell only the highest quality cable that is made is the USA, silver bearing solder for the ultimate in conductivity and high quality heat shrink to keep corrosion at bay.
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Do you offer other parts?I have access to every part made for golf carts. However I am a smaller fish in a very large pond. In most cases, I cannot resell parts to you with shipping for the price you can find them elsewhere. In some parts, I can match or get very close to online prices. This is mostly items that can be shipped inexpensively. Whereas big players can ship you a backseat that weighs 150 pounds for free, I simply cannot. My margins are slim as is, and when you take shipping and creditcard fees into account I'd be losing money. What I do offer is a level of support that no one else does. I make myself available by phone to assist my customers in any way possible. And when I know I can't get you a product for a good price, I will point you in the direction of the most reputable dealer with the best price. That's part of my service to you. Many customers elect to pay a little more and buy from me solely due to my level of service, and I greatly appreciate them. Ultimately, I am here to help you as best as possible and will in any way I can!
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I'm thinking about a new controller, what is the best?"That is a very subjective question. Everyone has an opinion about this or that or the other. I will give you my opinion here and you can take it for what you think it is worth. There are two major players in the controller market....Navitas and Alltrax. Alltrax has been around for quite some time, and they offer a lot of different combinations. Navitas is a little newer to the industry, but they put more money into the R&D of their products from the get go piggy backing off the information already known about todays technology. In my shop, Navitas is what we use. Their products are a little more costly, however their technology is, in my opinion, light years ahead of Alltrax. Alltrax became complacent when they had no real competition and as such their R&D suffered. Then Navitas came onto the scene and suddenly Alltrax was playing catchup. My biggest gripes with Alltrax are 1) they have 100 different controllers and 2) their most performance oriented require the use of fans. Navitas on the other hand has two major controllers and offers adaptors for each cart model. This means smaller numbers of expensive stock has to be kept on hand and lower prices can be offered to the consumer. Navitas also does NOT require, nor even recommend, the use of fans for their controllers. Navitas spent a large amount of time, money and effort to create the best possible thermal dynamics so that you wouldn't need fans to cool your controller. That's less crap to wire in, and less of a draw on your pack. At the end of the day, all else being equal, Navitas is the way to go for the best performance, best warranty and overall value for your dollar.
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How do I know you are a legitimate company?My company name is CaddyShack Golf Carts of Georgia. While this particular name has only been in use since July 2018, previously we operated another golf cart company under another business we ran that was sold in June 2018 after 17 years in operation. We also sell cables and part on eBay and Amazon. Our eBay feedback rate is 100% positive with almost 3000 feedback to date, being in operation for the last 6 years full time. And the number of purchasers on ebay who leave feedback is only about 25% so you can figure that 3000 would be more like 12000 if everyone actually left feedback. Our Amazon store is much newer and didn't come online until 2018, but is also 100% positive. You can view our company information profile from the Georgia Department of Commerce website where we are registered. We are located in Cumming, Georgia about 30 miles north of Atlanta.
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I want a new motor. Do I want speed or torque?Electric motors come in one of two ways....1) Higher speed 2) Higher torque Higher speed motors will get you going faster on the top end. As such, they have reduced torque and won't take off with a heavy load as well, nor will they pull any excessive weight very well. Higher torque motors will pull small trailers, carry heavy loads of people and/or gear up hills with a more constant speed and have no trouble starting on a large hill or incline. There is no way to increase speed and torque in one motor. Increasing speed costs torque, increasing torque costs speed. The closest thing to a happy medium is the ES52 type motor offered by D&D motors. This is where the customer has to decide what is most important to them. We can build carts that will run excessively fast, and as long as you don't stop on a large hill with a full load of people or cargo will have pretty good torque to pull your cart anywhere.....but these are not cheap builds. You can expect such a build to run about $2000 after all the parts and labor.
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What brand of battery should I use?Well, this is more of an opinionated question than anything. What we can determine based on measureable data is that not all batteries are created equally though. I have sold several brands over the years, including Trojan, Duracell, Interstate and a few no names. In the end, I have stuck with US Battery over all others. They sell a quality product, with a solid warranty and have very few issues. (at least in my experience, I think I've warrantied about 5 in 5 years and a couple of those were really customer misuse) I actually took a few batteries and put them on a scale to see the difference. I weighed Powertron, Interstate and US Battery. Full disclosure, the Powertron and Interstate were used batteries (which probably made them heavier from the build up of sulfates over the years) I included photos of the batteries and the readout of the scale. Powertron showed a weight of 53.9 pounds. Interstate showed a weight of 55.9 pounds. The new US Battery showed a weight of 61.2 pounds. More lead in the battery means more power and longer run time. This is why most carts use a 6 x 8 volt configuration. (and some use an 8 x 6 setup) Powertron, in my opinion, is junk. Interstate is overpriced. Trojan is massively overpriced and is the only battery maker for golf carts that has a replaceable post design. The reason for it you ask? Because they have so many melted posts would be my best guess. I see melted Trojans 5 to 1 over other brands. After experiencing quite a few meltdowns when I sold Trojan, I moved on and never looked back. Don't get sucked into brand name purchasing. Research is your friend here. And if you want to use US Battery, buy the mid line unit like you see in the photo. The 6 volt is the US2200. They make a cheaper black colored battery, but they are the "Economy" line. There are some things you just shouldn't cheap out on.
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The baking soda myth and batteriesFor some reason that is beyond my comprehension, over the years I have seen a multitude of people cover the top of their batteries with baking soda. This is a horrible idea. Baking soda is a base. Hydrogen Sulfide is an acid. Any time your mix the two, you are going to get a reaction. First off, it makes a giant cake like mess and it's a pain to clean off. Second, if you cover the top of your batteries with a base like baking soda, then charge your cart which produces hydrogen sulfide gas you will get a foul smelling chemical reaction from the resulting mixture. These are those who are proponents of using baking soda and water to clean battery terminals.....I am not one of them. If you really are to cheap to buy a corrosion cleaner/remover for $5 then just use plain old CocaCola. The acids in the coke will eat the corrosion and can be wiped away. They will not react with the gases emitted from the batteries during charging. Just as an FYI, when I get a cart in the shop that someone has done this, I charge $100 to clean it up. You may wonder why so much, and the answer is because the resulting mixture is acidic and irritate skin as well as get down in the battery rack on EZGO's with steel frames and accelerate the deterioration of the metal. DON"T DO IT, EVER.
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