Pre MCI ignitors..what's the difference??

[twilliams81]

I'm having issues finding the correct ignitor for a pre MCI Robbins motor. What I'm finding are the (Nivel part # 5140, Red Hawk part #ENG116) and if you look at both of those the wire spacing is different and I've tried both and they make the motor fire differently and doesn't work. If the cart has a 'BB1130" ignitor that's the ONLY one that I've found to work..that is replacing it with the ignitor that has a "BB1130 " printed on the part (link below). Until now I've been able to find BB1130's here and there but it seems i've hit a wall in finding them any more. The questions I have are: 1. What would make these different in how they make the motor fire? 2. If I can't find the right one what's the option for the motor? convert it to MCI? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks










https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007G7FBJA...74YB1K777J6H0M

[CP241]

Are you positive it’s your ignitor that’s actually bad or are you throwing parts at it in hopes it will fix whatever is wrong?

Both those ignitors are garbage. You need to find an OEM one or it will never really be right. If it does run from the aftermarket one, it won’t be for long. They tend to not last long at all.

Good luck finding an oem one though… these engines are becoming increasingly difficult to find parts for anymore.

[JPonLKN]

MCI ignitor will not work. Been there done that. The aftermarket units that you are referring to are spotty at best, many of which fail out of the box, and sometimes they work for a little while and quit working. Best chance of finding an old ignitor would be to hit up local golf courses that have "bone yards" of old equipment and carts that are in pieces, just need to look through them and see what is available, provided they are willing to let you pull parts from them. You need to look up their grounds department, stop in and ask for the superintendent, and be willing to pay him/her a bit of cash. Also, from time to time, you might find folks parting out machines. Either way, your best bet is to find a used OEM unit that was made in Japan. There is another thread on here that someone was able to get the GM ignition module modification to work. Most folks that go down that road end up pulling their hair out trying to get them to work consistently.

[cart around]

This is the guy that made it work. https://buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=180892

[twilliams81]

Originally Posted by CP241

Are you positive it’s your ignitor that’s actually bad or are you throwing parts at it in hopes it will fix whatever is wrong?

Both those ignitors are garbage. You need to find an OEM one or it will never really be right. If it does run from the aftermarket one, it won’t be for long. They tend to not last long at all.

Good luck finding an oem one though… these engines are becoming increasingly difficult to find parts for anymore.

It's DEF the ignitor and not just on this one but several over the last year that I've dealt with. I was just trying to find a solution to this issue to help with future carts as well

[trig123]

Originally Posted by twilliams81

It's DEF the ignitor and not just on this one but several over the last year that I've dealt with. I was just trying to find a solution to this issue to help with future carts as well

Nivel makes a good one I am told. I talked to an ezgo dealer yesterday and he said they sold a lot of them and never had one come back.

[CP241]

Originally Posted by trig123

Nivel makes a good one I am told. I talked to an ezgo dealer yesterday and he said they sold a lot of them and never had one come back.

For what it’s worth, I’ve never tried a nivel ezgo ignitor. I did however try about 6 on my Yamaha and gave up on them, that’s when I did the Chrysler cdi conversion in that cart.

I’d be willing to bet he’s using nivel ones now. They’re sold under about 15 or 20 “brand names” but they’re all just rebranded nivel ignitors. With my Yamaha I bought from multiple different places and brands, one even was advertised as OEM. Then it showed up and had the same box and same nivel part number. It worked for about 15 minutes and then spark got erratic and irregular again.

[twilliams81]

Originally Posted by CP241

For what it’s worth, I’ve never tried a nivel ezgo ignitor. I did however try about 6 on my Yamaha and gave up on them, that’s when I did the Chrysler cdi conversion in that cart.

I’d be willing to bet he’s using nivel ones now. They’re sold under about 15 or 20 “brand names” but they’re all just rebranded nivel ignitors. With my Yamaha I bought from multiple different places and brands, one even was advertised as OEM. Then it showed up and had the same box and same nivel part number. It worked for about 15 minutes and then spark got erratic and irregular again.

I've used Nivel ones yes but that's not what I was trying to use on this one because it simply doesn't work. After extensive research and speaking with countless reps and EZGO vendors/dealers I've found that just about everything OEM for these motors now has discontinued part numbers. Even trying to convert over to MCI is going to be an issue due to the harnesses being the only thing you'd HAVE to get OEM is discontinued. My question is are these just simply going to be junked in a couple years when they start having ignition issues or does someone have a simple solution for these?

[CP241]

Honestly aside from the MCI lubrication issues, what you’ve outlined is my biggest issue with the robins ezgo’s. There’s one for sale locally to me that looks nice, price is decent and it’s what I would like to have for a snow cart, but description says it’s got no spark. Right away that turns me away just because I know if it’s not a connection or wiring problem, the parts to fix it just aren’t available. They’d have to come off that price a whole lot more to justify the $1k for an engine swap to make it worthwhile, but their price isn’t THAT good.


Ultimately these carts are just becoming more and more difficult to work on because of parts availability. You may be better off looking into a clone swap or big block swap for your cart, and selling off the old engine and everything else that’s good to offset the cost. There’s still good money in these motors and parts simply because you can’t find them anymore, but the ignition parts in particular are becoming nearly impossible to locate.