Marathon EZ GO Pre 1984.5

[palmwoodbuggie]

Hi.I have a 1994 Marathon Ez Go SN 806174 Golf Cart Manufactures code F1694.The motor is a GE with the grey case.It has ran fine through the years until it quit due to a burnt battery cable.I replaced the cables with #4 cables one at a time careful to trace them back and only one at a time.After done cart will only run in reverse.I am about to run test that by jacking up cart and using the jumper method and the 12 volt battery.the cart is in good condition,some rust but otherwise good.Any advice is appreciated.It is for use on mostly shell rock or paved roads.I like speed but not crazy speed.No need to go to larger tires.Should i go to a better motor than the GE Grey Can and upgrade the controller,solenoid,FR switch and all.Is the GE motor not worth rebuilding.I am open for and would appreciate advice.I am handy with tools and a background in Amateur Radio (WB2 BAT).
palmwoodbuggie
Terry.

[sthreatt]

As a general rule of thumbs if a DC motor will run forward it will run backwards, just reverse the polarity. Something going on there that the motor is not being TOLD to run forward. Something other than the motor. Check your cable positions on the back of the forward / reverse switch. Sounds like you've crossed something there. S1 and S2 should be at the 3 oclock and 9 oclock positions on the switch. Motor + from the controller should be attached to the bottom position on the switch. The top post on the switch should be from A2 on the motor. If that's the way it's wired, and assuming you have good switching contacts inside the switch, then it should run forward when switched. If it has gotten hot and melted one of the studs on the F/R switch, then you probably arent getting any power to the motor in the forward position.

[sthreatt]

Try switching the positions of S1 and S2 on the motor. If you then have only forward and no reverse, you have a bad F/R switch.

[palmwoodbuggie]

sthreatt.Ok,first of all thanks for your reply.I will switch S1 and S2 on the motor.Going to do that this afternoon.

Thanks Again.

[palmwoodbuggie]

Hi Sthreatt Ok,I traced the wires aback again,labeled them with the P touch label maker so as to see the markings clearly.hooked up motor with 12 volt battery (as Plumb Quick recommendation)Motor ran fine I .Hooked up all wiring and FNR switch preformed ok Hooray,all fixed I thought.Let it backdown on ground off blocking and jacks.Put cart all together and started down to gate to pick up empty trash cans and it only went ten feet and stopped.at this point I quit.going to try to ring it out with my multimeter today if I can find out where to start.

[sthreatt]

Originally Posted by palmwoodbuggie

Hi Sthreatt Ok,I traced the wires aback again,labeled them with the P touch label maker so as to see the markings clearly.hooked up motor with 12 volt battery (as Plumb Quick recommendation)Motor ran fine I .Hooked up all wiring and FNR switch preformed ok Hooray,all fixed I thought.Let it backdown on ground off blocking and jacks.Put cart all together and started down to gate to pick up empty trash cans and it only went ten feet and stopped.at this point I quit.going to try to ring it out with my multimeter today if I can find out where to start.

So you did for a short while have forward and reverse ?

[palmwoodbuggie]

Yes while jacked up on blocks.Although I thought that the wheels were turning not up to speed.All worked fine until I started to drive it.then it went only about ten feet and stopped nothing.I forgot to mention,New batteries showing over 38 volts.

[bronsonj]

Stuff the ends of your volt meter leads into the cables that go to the controller so you can measure battery voltage. If you go and see the V drop precipitously then your issue is voltage delivery and is in one or more of the batteries, F-N-R switch and cables.

How old are your batteries and what V is the pack when you start and what is the V while the cart is starting to fail?

[palmwoodbuggie]

Ok,went over the wiring again,checked voltages with multimeter,unbolted FNR switch,tightened up all connections,no corrosion or green looking connections,reassembled all checked solenoid for voltage differences,All looked good Batteries are new in May 21,ran load test on batteries all showed high in the green.Cart had more life in it today.took it for a ride of about 150 feet.l started out with 38 volts on the Digital dash mounted volt meter.Voltage dropped rapidly,limped back to my workshop aera with the voltage dropping rapidly.After parking the cart the volt meter came back to 38 % rapidly.
after short ride,no hot motor,no hot components.Before this issue the EZ GO cart served me flawlessly with no issues.