Solar Powered Golf Cart

Recycled Acceleration

Accomplished through the UMass Amherst Technical Theater Department

In the Fall semester of 2020, I procured a free salvage electric golf cart from a local rental company. The cart had no batteries, no ignition system, and was a mess of jumped connections, spliced wires, and broken components. The goal was to create a working cart with a modular frame, solar power from recycled batteries, and removable attachments.

The team was split into several parts: designers, mechanical technicians, and one electrical and mechanical engineer - myself. With some mentorship and help from our in-house electrician, over the course of the following two semesters, I repaired the entire electrical system of the cart, including:

• Repairing broken connections inside a high-torque DC motor, and fixing broken circuits throughout the system.

• Testing switches and components, replacing unusable ones and salvaging ones that could be operational.

• Retrofitting the wiring to create a functional cart system made up of modern and original parts.

• Wiring four salvaged car batteries, instead of expensive modern golf cart batteries, to operate as power, and to charge from a solar trickle-charger.