Powacaddy fault (won't stop) - any advice?

Waesfjord

Hi all,

I've been using one of the original Powacaddy's (you know the white ones that don't fold up, simply attach handle & third wheel to body..).

Anyway tonight, whilst playing, the trolley doesn't stop when I turn the knob to off position, only stops when I disconenct the battery.

I'm guessing that it is a gear issue possibly, in that it cannot come out of gear, hence keeps moving.

HAs anyone experienced this before and is there a quick fix - I will probably call a service agent tomorrow to see what they say, however hoping someone in the know on boards can advise.

Cheers!

whizbang

I assume the speed knob clicks off at the end of its travel.
does the speed control work ok otherwise? If it does then its most likely the switch part of the control knob.
If its at full speed or low speed all the time , then its the wiring up to the handle damaged.
If the switch is separate, theres often an adjustable inside the electronics box.
Most probably the control knob tho. believe it or not these things cost about €2 from electronics supplier, if you know what to get.

whizbang

forgot to say, If your up to it, get a good pic of the bit inside the control knob and i'll buy a bag of them

Waesfjord

whizbang wrote: »

I assume the speed knob clicks off at the end of its travel.
does the speed control work ok otherwise? If it does then its most likely the switch part of the control knob.
If its at full speed or low speed all the time , then its the wiring up to the handle damaged.
If the switch is separate, theres often an adjustable inside the electronics box.
Most probably the control knob tho. believe it or not these things cost about €2 from electronics supplier, if you know what to get.

thanks for reply

yeah, the speed knob is fine, has full travel, but when returns to place where trolley shoudl stop, initially the trolley kept going at very low speed. Can still speed upand slow down to this min speed. Only way to completely stop it was to discnnect battery.
Then over next half hour, the lowest speed was actually probably closer to a third full speed, can still speed upto fiull speed, reduice to this one third speed, need to break the battery (and soon my back connection for full stop.

Co from what you are saying, there is a switch behnd teh control knob that shoudl sense when knob in 'off' possition, then switch presumably breaks power supply to the motor. Switch now bust, so battery not being disconnected.

This may explain why not stopping, however do you know why the minimum speed I as able to reduce to actually changed (i.e. increased) ashort time afer initial fault developed - at a guess, this would seem to be something other than a switch. Possbly the control knob itself is broken, in that its working at higher part of its travel, not workking at lower part of its travel, woudl explain the possible change in min. speed, also failure of switch to completely stop trolley.

Waesfjord

whizbang wrote: »

forgot to say, If your up to it, get a good pic of the bit inside the control knob and i'll buy a bag of them

why not, I'm a bit of a tinkerer myself. however just hoping to confirm the source of problem beofre starting to tinker

Waesfjord

whizbang wrote: »

forgot to say, If your up to it, get a good pic of the bit inside the control knob and i'll buy a bag of them

hi whizbag, been away on holiday till today. Now will be back playing golf in earnest

Regarding a picture of the internals of the control knob, I presume that you mean what's behind the rotating knob on the hand hold, yeah? Or is the switch located somehwere between the powered wheels near ground level?

mags1962

Have a Powacaddy also and I sometimes have the opposite problem that it won't go when using the on/off switch regardless of where the rotary knob is. It seems to happen more in the rain and I am assuming that it is the electrical connection not being complete. As yours is an older model perhaps your issue is that the electrical connection is inconsistent and mostly always on. Your knob acts a a sort of coil that increases the power the more it is turned and is consequently becoming stuck in the On position at different stages.
Not an electrician but could it be rust or corrosion of some sort jamming the power On.

Par71

These older models do have electrical issues when it rains. Best thing is to wrap it best you can with some insulating tape, make sure its been fully dried out first tho. if you like to tinker open it up and dry it out with hairdrier make sure all connections are nice and clean and wrap it up good and tight.

Waesfjord

problem I have has nothing todo with rain, just started to fail during a fine day, so most likley the switch problem .When I described symtom to a Powacaddy repair place on phone, they said that it is the switch that is gione, needs replacing, that's all.

whizbang

dismantle the handle, and spray ED40 into the potentiometer, and work it in. then test. (trying to post pic, not sure)
If it makes it better, then its the potentiometer(pot.) otherwise known as the speed control.
the WD40 only lasts a short time, but wont do any damage. there are special sprays that last forever but they can cost more than the trolley is worth.

if its the switch then you can check easily yourself by shorting the 2wires.

Jacket111001

Hi Whizbank,

Sorry for jumping in on the thread.

I have a golf glider and the control knob has broken off. It still operates fine but would you know where I can get a replacement?

Jack

Waesfjord

whizbang wrote: »

dismantle the handle, and spray ED40 into the potentiometer, and work it in. then test. (trying to post pic, not sure)
If it makes it better, then its the potentiometer(pot.) otherwise known as the speed control.
the WD40 only lasts a short time, but wont do any damage. there are special sprays that last forever but they can cost more than the trolley is worth.

if its the switch then you can check easily yourself by shorting the 2wires.

I pulled it apart the other night and put it together, after which I brought it to alocal service agent. He put in a different speed controller ( i.e. the pot), problem still persisted, bsaially full speed if the handle with pot on it is unplugged, operates from half to full speed bsaedon pot setting if handle plugged in. He concluded that the controlelr box was caput (the one with the three lights), €80 new, so hardly worth it on an old Powacaddy.

The repair man offered me a Powacaddy 2 (without battery and charger) for €250, dunno if that's a good deal though?

whizbang

Jacket111001:
http://www.thegolfworkshop.com/Powakaddy_Potentiometers_switch/Powakaddy_Control_Knob_and_Yellow_Cap___PK345AS
for the effort of it, you should get a spare pot with knob

brian1976:
worth checking if you control box has a trimmer inside, something like this:http://ie.farnell.com/productimages/nio/standard/4320282.jpg
try adjusting with the wheels running to see if it adjusts the motor off position

Waesfjord

whizbang wrote: »

brian1976:
worth checking if you control box has a trimmer inside, something like this:http://ie.farnell.com/productimages/nio/standard/4320282.jpg
try adjusting with the wheels running to see if it adjusts the motor off position

thanks whizbang

I took apart the control box a couple of days previous and took a photo. I could only see the circuit board, nothing else. I didn't see how the circuit board was secured to control box frame, so didn't check underneath. Unsure whether I will break circuit board if I try to remove manually - is this the same control box you are referring to?