Neutral or Reverse Only... cant get into Fwd "Gear"

[izzydroolin]

Hello Everyone! I'm new to BGW, though I've been lurking for a while now. I'm super glad to have found these forums. In most cases I have been able to find exactly what I was lookin for until now. There are a couple few similar posts, but nothing exact. So here we go...

(BACKGROUND)
I have been rebuilding a 98 txt since January, my very 1st cart. About 2 weeks ago, after replacing the solenoid, the starter/generator went out. Instead of cleaning the brushes, I decided to go with a new one for peace of mind, and resell-ability. I took pictures of the connections, removed the old and replaced with the new. I was crusin' around all evening just fine until I smelled something at a stop. I noticed smoke and thought it was old oil burning off the manifold. I checked under the seat, and the FWD cable was melted! I put it in neutral, and pushed the gas. The cable started sparking HUGE sparks from the engine mount plate, just below the F&R switch. I noticed the exposed portion of the cable was glowing FORGE RED. I killed it right then and there, called my brother up the street and we trailered it back to my garage. I ordered a replacement cable and, while I waited for it to arrive, I checked and tightened any loose grounds or cables to try and resolve the resistance issue.
Once the cable came in, I removed the old crusty melted cable, and replaced it with the new. I was careful to make sure it was installed just as the old one was, and I tightened it down. My daughter (15) wanted to go out on the cart and drive it through the 'hood. I told her to hop on, put the cart in Reverse and drove down the driveway. I applied the brake, put the cart in Fwd and..... Nothing. We pushed it back up the driveway and I started digging in.

(ISSUE)
The clutch is working exactly as it should in F, N and R. It spins the Drive belt in all 3 positions. It just seems like it never "clicks" into gear. When I select Reverse, there is a split second before it starts to move, when the drive clutch starts spinning. You can feel the cart get into gear and you start to move. That no longer happens in Fwd. It spins and accelerates as if it was in neutral. I triple checked the cable, and compared it to my Rev cable to be certain I didn't hook it up wrong. Both cables are snug as can be, and selecting between F and R is firm... Feels exactly as it should. I read on these forums about possible dirty contacts in the FNR switch, so I removed it from the frame, cleaned everything, and put it back. Same thing.

(Question)
Has anyone run into or heard of anything like this? It seems like it would be a SUPER SIMPLE fix, but it has eluded me so far. Anything anyone can contribute would be appreciated.

[deerhunter30]

Maybe adjust the forward cable a little?

[izzydroolin]

Thanks for the reply DeerHunter! I tried that and still no go... However, I did discover that the Fwd cable is still sparking and heating up against the mount plate. So now I'm trying to find a complete wiring diagram for this cart. everything was fine until I replaced the starter / generator. I replaced the solenoid before that, but not sure if that could be the cause.

[rib33024]

check and see if the brake hub is striped, put the cart in forward and push the gas a little and see if the nut holding the hub to the axle on is spinning and not the hub

[izzydroolin]

I'll check that out Rib! Could that still be the case if the cart is able to drive in reverse?

[deerhunter30]

If the cable is heating up and sparking I would think you have a ground problem somewhere, it could have possibly messed the new cable up too. Have you tried unhooking the cable and manually putting it in gear? Worth a shot I think.

[izzydroolin]

how would I go about doing that?

[deerhunter30]

Originally Posted by izzydroolin

how would I go about doing that?

Just unhook the cable at the axle and put it in gear with your hand then start it up and see what happens.

[izzydroolin]

DH... I owe you a couple beers!!! I went to remove the cable from the axle and change gears manually, and noticed that the selector was locked/stuck on the gearbox manifold. I pulled it back, turned it counter clockwise and let it go back. Tried again and I was back in business!!!

[izzydroolin]

Here is a pic of my 1st build so far. I went with Olive Drab since I'll be using this as a hunting buggy. I'll post more pics once My build progresses.