What’s Up This Month?
A few weeks ago, we started a sequence of posts describing the evolution of electric golf carts. The last post in the sequence talked about the fact that as the controllers used in series carts advanced, they became computerized and offered the ability to “program” many features of the operation of the cart. This provided the advantage of being able to “customize” the operation of the cart to suite the desires and requirements of the operator. We went into the types of adjustments that could be made and how the process worked. To read that post, just click the following link: Electric Golf Cart Evolution -5-. In this new post, we will describe another technology used in later model golf carts. Instead of operating with a “series” motor and controller system, the carts we will discuss in this post operate with a “sepex” or “shunt” type of motor and controller. These newer systems offer even more “programmability” and operate more efficiently. Of course, they create a new environment for the mechanics who maintain them, requiring different troubleshooting techniques and usually some specialized tools. Stay tuned and let’s take a look at what they are all about. Click this link to net to the newest post: Electric Golf Cart Electric Golf Cart Evolution -6-.
For information about books written by Ron Staley about both electric and gas driven golf carts and their repair, visit the following links.
Electric Golf Cart Repair, both as an eBook and in Hardcopy:
Book: Ronald L Staley: 9780578560557: Amazon.com: Books
Gas Golf Cart Repair, both as an eBook and in Hardcopy:
Gas Golf Cart Repair Book: Ron Staley: 9798987911303: Amazon.com: Books
What is this site all about?
Although this website is primarily devoted to golf cart repair, we do wander off into some other areas from time to time. I guess the word “Hodgepodge” is the operative term for the website. The website is set up as a blog, so as I enter posts, feel free to make comments in the area just below the post. I welcome any questions that you might have and I will strive to answer the questions (if I have a legitimate answer that I think would be helpful). There is more information about how to contact us on the “Contact Us” link at the top of the page.
The way that I got involved with golf carts was that several years ago, a friend of mine decided to add a few golf carts to his used car lot. He found that he could drive just a few miles from where we live, to where there were some large golf cart dealers, and in many cases, buy up carts that they had accepted as “trade-ins”, but really the dealers had no intention of remarketing themselves. Of course, most of them didn’t run or at least didn’t run right, so he needed someone to be able to fix them up to where he could sell them.
He found a local golf cart mechanic, in the beginning, but unfortunately, the mechanic had some personal issues and didn’t work out. When the mechanic left the scene, my friend was left with no one to take his place, and was left with many carts that had been taken apart and still needed to be fixed and put back together.
We live in a small town and I think that mostly out of desperation, my friend asked if I would get involved. At the time that all of this was going on, I was sort of in between projects, so I agreed to give it a shot.
My background in college (many years ago) was in Electronics. I spent many years in electronics related jobs; including as a technical writer in the aerospace industry, musical instrument amplifier and effects repair, gaming machine service and sales, computer repair and Information Technology. Throughout my career in these fields, I have always had hobbies involving gas engines (hot rods, motorcycles, lawnmowers, chain saws, etc.). This combination of electronics and mechanics seemed to be a good mix to get me started in golf cart repair. Golf carts have evolved through the years from VERY mechanical to VERY electronic. So, experience in both areas is helpful.
Many of the discussions that I will bring up on this site will reflect the information in a book that I published called: “Electric Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half)“.
This book is now available in two forms. The first of which, is as an eBook from Amazon. Just click on the menu item on this web site: “A Book About Electric Golf Cart Repair” for more information about the book or click the following link to go directly to the Amazon Book Store to read about it or purchase it.
The eBooks are very reasonable in price and can now be viewed from any computer or smart-phone. For information about why I made it available as an eBook, just click HERE.
The book is over 200 pages in length and contains over 100 drawings and pictures for illustrations. It shares many of my experiences in running a golf cart repair business for the last several years. The business was called Hodgepodge Electronics and was located in Okeechobee, Florida.
The second form that the book is available in is as a hard copy. The following link will take you to its information.
Book: Ronald L Staley: 9780578560557: Amazon.com: Books
As per my last post, the reason that I put it back out on the market as a hardcopy is that many people who purchased it as an eBook have expressed a desire to have a copy that they could open up and look at the various drawings while working on a golf cart and the eBook doesn’t fit that scenario well. It’s difficult to handle a “reader” and work on a cart at the same time. Many people want to be able spread the book out on a table or the cart itself so they are able to see what they are working on AND see the drawings of the book at the same time. The book is intentionally bound with a plastic comb so that it can be laid flat without damaging it. The eBooks are great because of pricing and portability, but not as easy to use as a hardcopy for troubleshooting.
It is possible to print a copy of almost anything you want to from an eBook on a computer, but it takes a little work. I don’t have the slightest idea how you would print it from cellphone, but there might be some way. For a description of how to copy a page of an eBook click here.
A second book called Gas Golf Cart Repair 101 (and half) is also available through Amazon. It has been available for some time now as an eBook, but I recently rewrote the book to include MUCH more information and I have published the new version in both formats (hardcopy and eBook). In its hardcopy format, it has over 140 pages. To get to the description of the book on Amazon, just click this link Gas Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half): Techniques Tips Tools Tales , Staley, Ron – Amazon.com . For more information about the book on this website, you can also click on A Book About Gas Golf Cart Repair.
A third book called “Those Darned Slot Machines”, has also been added. I know! It doesn’t make sense to see a book about how slot machines work on golf cart repair web site, but what the heck (this is a “hodgepodge” type of web site). The author (Ron Staley) also worked in the gaming industry for a long time and the book reflects some interesting things that go on with slot machines and other gaming equipment that lots of people find quite interesting. For a description of this book and its contents and availability, just click “What Do Slot Machines Have To Do With Golf Carts?” on the menu at the top of this web site or click on the following link to go directly to the Amazon Book Store to read about it or purchase it.
I just published a fourth book entitled “4 Stroke Gas Golf Cart Engines Explored” that delves in detail into the operations of 4-stroke engines (which most gas golf carts use). Although the book is written about gas golf carts, its information could be very use full in understanding any piece of equipment that has a four-stroke engine in it, whether it is a lawnmower, a 4-wheeler, a generator, an automobile, or whatever. To get a more detailed discussion of the book, just go to the menu items at the top of the site and select “Suck, Squish, Boom and Blow (Book)” or click on the following link to go directly to the Amazon Book Store to read about it or purchase it.
For more information about all of the books that I have published (even ones that have NOTHING to do with golf carts), just click HERE.
Please browse through the menu items at the top of the website to see what the website’s pages and posts have to offer. Thanks, Ron.