1988 gas club car no power
 

Hey guys,
I have a 1988 gas club car. The cart will one go one speed and it’s very slow. If there is a hill with any grade it slows it down to a crawl. The cart starts fine. I have changed the fuel, fuel filter, air filter, spark plug, oil and filter. I have jacked the rear of the cart up and stated it in forward gear. No difference with the tires off the ground. Still only one speed. I have ordered a new belt also just to see if that fixes it. Is there anything I missing. Looking for any suggestions. I’m struggling on this one. Thanks in advance for any help.

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

Have you checked the throttle cable adjustment? Can you open throttle more by hand to get more out of the motor? If so, I'd check cable adjustment. How's the carb? Is air flow to carb blocked at all? Have you tested electric system voltages? *starter generator, rev limiter, voltage regulator, starter solenoid*

I'd start with the easy stuff before we start discussing clutch, pullys, springs, etc.

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

I have adjusted the throttle cable slightly. This wasn’t the issue. Checked the intake hose from the air box to the carb. No issue there. I installed a new generator end of last season. We have used this cart for a month a half before it just lost power.

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

Does the motor sound normal? Like it's revving up ok but you just don't have power? I would look at your clutches next. Make sure they're operating properly.

Here's a video I took of my 1990 Club Car while I was rebuilding it. This is what you should see when running your cart. As you increase the RPMs, the large drive belt should rise up in the drive clutch (the front clutch on the motor) and sink down into the driven clutch (the rear clutch on the transaxle):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1nLjCMFpyg

If one of the clutches isn't operating, you will definitely lose power. Think of trying to climb a hill on a 10-speed bicycle and not being able to change gears.

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

After watching the video, my rear clutch doesn’t spread like yours. Mine stays the same width. My front clutch moves (closest to the gas pedal).

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

Sounds like you need to rebuild or replace your driven (rear) clutch. Or at the very least, tap it prudently with a hammer (not recommended while engine running) to see if you can break it loose and get it to start spreading again.

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

Ok. Tapped on the clutch with a hammer. This allowed the clutch to open. Picked up a little speed but not full speed like it is to have.

Re: 1988 gas club car no power
 

See if it'll come off easily. The input shaft that the rear clutch sits on is just a keyway shaft with a single bolt holding the clutch assembly on. In theory it should slide off once you remove the bolt, but beware, if it's been on there awhile it may not be so easy...

Here's what happened when I tried to remove the driven clutch on my '87 about 7 years ago:

https://www.buggiesgonewild.com/show...utch+nightmare

:pale: