1993 club car multiple coil failures

[gl4276]

I have a 1993 club car and have problems with the coils. It ran perfect for 2 years then the coil failed. I took it the authorized dealer and they replaced the coil and it ran fine for about 1 to 3 months. They replaced the coil 3 times and since then I have had to replace the coil 6 times about every 3 months.The gap is correct from the coil to the flywheel. The dust cover is on correctly so the fan works properly. The spark plug is not fouled and is working good but the spark appears to be weak on all the coils that I have installed. Could anyone recommend what could be causing the coils to fail.

[Fairtax4me]

There are three major parts to the ignition system on the pre97 Ds.
Magneto Coil
Igniter
Rev limiter

The coil is the least likely to fail on the older models. Seems like if something fails, it’s the rev limiter or the igniter.
Start by unbolting the brown wire from the mounting bracket on the rev limiter. Tape over the eyelet so it can’t touch anything metal and ground out. This is the ground for the limiter and if the limiter is faulty this will restore proper spark and the engine should run.

On the older models with separate coil and igniter, the igniter is 100% necessary for proper spark. The most common symptom of a bad igniter is a weak spark. It’s a small silver box with usually one wire attached to the engine behind the rev limiter. The case of the igniter has to be bolted to the engine for it to work properly. These are usually fine to replace with inexpensive aftermarket parts. You can test the resistance of the igniter, it should between 1-10 K ohms if I remember correctly. that’s the only real test you can easily do to tell if it’s bad other than just replacing it. Do make sure that it’s properly attached to th engine and the attachment point is clean and free of dirt/corrosion. Also make sure the wire is firmly attached to the spade terminal.

Aftermarket coils are usually not very good quality. If you have to replace the coil, be sure to buy an original Kawasaki part. lower quality coils fail very soon.

You can disconnect the rev limiter, and live without that, just be mindful that the engine will be able to over-rev itself if you let it. If you make sure your governor is adjusted properly over revving will not usually be an issue unless going down a steep hill. If you do decide to replace it, be sure to only buy a Kawasaki Original part.

[gl4276]

Thank you for the information. I forgot to say that when the coils start failing it is only when the engine gets hot and it will run for a few days like that but the 1st sign is if the engine starts cutting out after it has run for a few minutes ie about 15 minutes then it starts cutting out sooner and sooner until it won't run at this time I have been changing the coil as they have no spark. The coils I have gotten have been from authorized dealers and hope the parts I have gotten are factory parts. And again thank you

[Fairtax4me]

Real Kawasaki parts usually come in a green and black box with Kawasaki logo, or come in a plastic bag with a white label with red lettering, and the Kawasaki Logo (Pic below).

All Club car original parts will have the Club car Logo on their packaging.

If you got anything that came in a plain white box with a plain label printed in black ink, and possibly said something along the lines of “made in China” on it, Those were almost certainly not original parts.


What spark plugs are you using? Brand and specific part number? Is the gap adjusted properly?

[tony357]

Originally Posted by gl4276

Thank you for the information. I forgot to say that when the coils start failing it is only when the engine gets hot and it will run for a few days like that but the 1st sign is if the engine starts cutting out after it has run for a few minutes ie about 15 minutes then it starts cutting out sooner and sooner until it won't run at this time I have been changing the coil as they have no spark. The coils I have gotten have been from authorized dealers and hope the parts I have gotten are factory parts. And again thank you

sounds like it is overheating.