89 EZGO Marathon won't start

[tdufresne]

I purchased an 89 EZGO Marathon with the 3PG engine back in July. Since then I have replaced the tires, rebuilt the front end leaf springs and all 4 shocks, installed a new drive clutch and BV18 carb (It has an electric EFP-3 Posi flow fuel pump).

It has had periodic issues with rough starting, actually starting easier in reverse, then able to start and go forward. Once running, the cart performed well unless going up hill - it would slow down dramatically. We determined the drive clutch was very weak (you could move it fully in with one hand)so it was replaced. We cleaned the carb a couple times and were not able to stop a leak around the bowl, so as of last night, the carb is brand new. I now have a cart with a lot of nice new parts that will not start.

The last it ran was last week, I got gas from a friend who had a tank that was mixed-fuel for his outboard (40-1) After a few minutes, the cart started bucking and would not run unless the choke was pulled out. We got it back to my site, replaced the clutch, removed the mix-gas and replaced it with clean straight gas - the oil injector is still attached and appears to be functioning based on the oil coming out of the intake hose.

Would running the mix-fuel cause the muffler to become plugged? I have read about people "cooking the muffler" in a fire to clean it out. I have not tried this yet. I also have not done a compression test - I am going to buy a tester tonight. I did check for gas, which is pumping, checked for a spark with the plug on the block - both ok. There was a good breeze from the plug hole when checking for spark and the engine seemed to turn over quicker.

Not sure where to go for the next step. I will check the voltages and compression tonight. Not sure if I should cut off the rusted bolts and cook the muffler tonight as well. Any helpful suggestions are much appreciated! Thanks!

[redcloud]

First for slow up hill check that your driven clutch is clean and that the buttons and ramp are good and that the spring is still good. If your belt does not go to the top of the sheives when it startes after sitting your spring or guts may be warn.
Now for starting. Have you checked the plug for wetness after trying to start it? Have you checked the battery grounds from battery to frame and engine? Has the engine been rebuilt? May have piston in wrong way. Are you getting any good pulsing action from block when you turn over the engine? May have bad seal/s Check that the coil wires are well connected and that the screw in plug wire to coil is not in bad shape. You should be getting a good sharp spark when removed plug is grounded on turn over with key on.. You seem to have allot of things going on so trying to shorten the list of poss problems will be your first job.

[tdufresne]

Apologies for trying to tell a two week story in a paragraph. The slow up hill is why we looked at and replaced the clutch and belts, we thought this may also be causing the hard starting issue.

The new plug is wet after trying to start the engine. The engine has not been rebuilt (so far anyway) How would you describe a good sharp spark - I can see the spark when I ground the plug on the engine and turn it over and there is a good breeze (pulse?) coming from the plug hole. I checked voltages at the battery (12.8v) and the other side of the solenoid (12.6v) and checked the muffler last night. The muffler does not seem to be blocked, it sounds like it has some loose sand in it. I also have new brushes for the starter/generator that I will replace this weekend.

The discussion and picture of the fuel pump yesterday got me to thinking - Two-Stroke engines use vacuum pressure to suck the fuel into the intake through the reeds. If the previous owner put in the electric pump because the existing pump was leaking, that would be allowing air to be sucked into the bottom of the engine rather than sucking air/fuel from the intake - path of least resistance. I recently cut the old hose shorter and removed the rattling metal fuel line to clean up. I will put a short hose and plug on the ends of the old disconnected fuel pump tonight and see if the engine responds any better. If need be, I will buy the OEM fuel pump and re-connect everything again.

[tdufresne]

OK, blocking off the ports on the fuel pump did not solve the problem. Ran a compression test with the cart sitting on level ground. Got about 95 in reverse and 100+ in forward. The new carburetor is spitting gas out of the airjet hole on the top. I tried searching for proper adjustments for the bv18, but have not found anything...

I am ordering the EZGO fuel pump today to see if that helps.

[JBowler4]

I have a 93 2 stroke I had the same exact thing going on I spent a full day trying to figure out why it wasn't getting fuel i pulled the fuel off my mower tried that and got nothing either so I knew it wasn't the pump turns out It blew a seal out behind the fly wheel which wasn't getting the suction to pull the fuel in fixed that problem and it fired right up . Its kinda hard to check but if u pull the fly wheel cover off check to make sure its not wet around that area

[tdufresne]

I will be sure to do that before I do the HEI mood to improve the spark. The plug wire was there, but just stuffed in the coil. Wire was previously pulled off. I checked the other seal on the clutch side last night as we replaced the clutch last week. Thanks for the update.

[BrewCityMusic]

a really easy way to check the crank seals is to jack up the cart, and while someone holds the pedal down to turn it over, spray some WD40 into the front side of the motor - same thing works for the rear seal. If there is a problem w the seal, it will suck the WD into the engine and the motor will try to start. I've diagnosed a few bad seals this way, it's an old, easy trick but it works well

[tdufresne]

Jacked up the cart and checked both seals - no leakage showing. No change when trying to start the cart. Went ahead with the HEI MOD using a DuraLast DR100 Control Module (Igniter) and a DuraLast C839 (94 Mustang Coil) No GO... swapped the polarity on the Coil and she started like a dream. Thank you to everyone for the help with the troubleshooting help!

[tdufresne]

Checked the seals as suggested - no change in starting issue. Went ahead with the HEI MOD using a DuraLast DR100 Control Module (Ignitor) and C839 (94 Ford Mustang Coil) - now nothing happened when stepping on the gas. Swapped the polarity on the coil and she started like a dream. Thank you to everyone for the troubleshooting help. It's been a long time since I had to resort to this much tinkering!