![]() The cable resistance causes the voltage to drop (E=IR) and results in lost power to the motor. ![]() Unfortunately all cables have some resistance. In an ideal cable and to transfer max power, the cable resistance (R) should be zero ohms. As the current increases in a conductor, power is lost in the form of heat at a rate of I2R, where R is the cable resistance. Unfortunately, this is where the resistance of the battery cables come into play. Since the voltage cannot go any higher than the battery’s 48volts (or 36volts), the current increases in order to satisfy the power demand of the motor. If you remember from science class, power (in watts) is voltage (E) multiplied by the current (I). High power motors have a lower internal resistance than stock, which in turn draws more current. The motor is only there to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy (not very efficiently either). Unfortunately, that additional performance requires additional power. Keep these in mind because we will come back to them.Īftermarket “high torque” or “high speed” motors installed to increase the carts performance are commonplace these days. The Battery Pack and Motor windings are pretty much fixed values. ![]() There are four things that limit that maximum current the resistance of the internal windings of the motor, the current capacity of the battery pack, the controller capacity and the resistance of the battery cables. Typically though, the motor begins to spin immediately, and the current drops down to 20 or so amperes within a few milliseconds (on a stock cart). If the motor were to stay in the stalled state (if there was some mechanical restraint that would not allow it to turn) the high current would continue to be absorbed by the motor until it actually burned up the windings. When the motor is in a stalled state, it requires tremendous energy to get it spinning to the rated RPM. At that point in time, the controller puts out the max power it is capable of, and the motor experiences what is called “locked rotor” current draw, which can be hundreds of amperes. The maximum current that will ever go through your cables is when the cart is at rest and you mash the gas pedal to the floor. Ok, now for you guys that want better performance, we’ll get a little more technical. The finest cables we have found so far are made by, which are super flexible and made for extreme duty electric vehicle use. Most cart manufacturers use 6 AWG cables. For example, a 2 AWG cable is larger than a 4 AWG which is larger than a 6 AWG. The smaller the AWG number, the larger the diameter, and hence, larger current carrying capacity. Wire (cable) size is measured by a standard called American Wire Gauge or AWG and relates to the diameter or cross sectional area of the copper conductor itself. If the cart is absolutely bone stock (all original with no upgrades) and is used primarily as originally intended around the local course, the standard 6 AWG (aka 6 gauge or #6) cables are perfectly fine. The short answer for us is, yes and no, depending upon what we expect from the cart or if modifications to the motor or controller have been made. For those of us who have the more plentiful, battery powered carts, the answer is somewhat more complicated. So that answer is no, the originally installed cables are plenty sufficient in size. For gas powered carts, the cables need only be of sufficient size to operate the starter motor, which is only for a few seconds at a time.
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