new to carts, got ez go question??

[theclintonsx4]

Ok, Thx. I'll rewire the microswitch wire and see what happens. I'm not optimistic because when the 2 were tied together last night nothing happened. If I'm in the floor pan and looking down at the solenoid the post that starts it is on the left(battery side) Where should the right hand small post wire go to? I've got the diagram printed out below but its confusing when ur working on something for the first time and someone beat you to it and screwed the wiring up! Thanks previous owners!!

[Dave Box]

Don't sweat it, we can fix this thing. A slight confusion is that EZGO used the solenoid posts as junction boxes so there are a few extra wires. We have already discussed the left (or 12 volt posts) and the reason that the engine will not start when you short out the microswitch is that it appears someone has sent the switch to the coil and not the solenoid. The other side of the solenoid is the ground wires which you need. So the input is from the F-R switch. The other wires come off that small terminal and go to the ignitor and to the reverse buzzer. The buzzer you can leave for the moment and I guess the ignitor wire is there as you did get the cart running.

Does this help or did I muddy the waters?

Dave

[theclintonsx4]

Ok, so left post is + and right post is -. I'll check the grounds as well. I said it went to negative coil side but I'm not sure after thinking today. It should go to polarity/ F-R switch, instead. I've got a few things going on today but when I get time I'm gonna check it out and probably do a wiring diagram of how it is now to compare how it should be. The piece bolted to F-R switch on the back is the ignitor? The boxes below are reverse buzzer and what else??

[theclintonsx4]

well, the solenoid still will not engage with a 12volt hot wire coming from the microswitch. I ran a new wire from switch to solenoid and a new wire from solenoid to coil and it doesnt do anything, no click or anything. If i apply 12 volt from battery to solenoid post while wire from microswitch is in contact it will not do anything but the moment the wire from the microswitch leaves the post it will engage the solenoid and the engine will turn over. The microswitch wire shows a little over 1 volt when open and 12.5 volts when pedal is depressed. the 12 volts reaches the solenoid when the pedal is depressed but will not engage the solenoid.

[madoc1]

good looking cart and welcome. if anyone can fix you up it will be dave and brew. good luck.

[theclintonsx4]

Apparently the solenoid wasnt grounded very well. I created a good ground on the solenoid, reattached my + wires, mashed the pedal and was treated to a bad smell and some smoke from the starter /generator area. Apparently the solenoid was bad or going bad but wouldnt ground out because it wasnt grounded very well and since the fuse had been bypassed the grounded circuit passed thru the starter/generator and toasted it. Probably needed a rebuild anyway, it struggled to start in forward sometime. So....next question is how do you remove the starter/generator and can they be rebuilt by starter/alternator shops? I got the top cover off and exposed the brushes, armature,wiring etc but stopped there far fear of doing more harm than good.

[Dave Box]

Ouch, that is bad news. Still all is not lost the starter may have survived and we can check this out with some simple tests. The most important things are

a) mark the wires and the starter before you remove them
b) you must place a thin wrench under the cable lug before you undo the nut. If you fail to do this the stud may spin and pull off the internal wiring.

Underneath the starter is the voltage regulator line which is hard to see. If you can get it off now fine if not remove the starter first and then the thin green wire.

Now you should be able to wind off the main drive belt then loosen the stater tensioner bracket and remove the starter belt. Now remove the two bolts at the top of the starter and lift it out.

If you get it out and want to test it we can do that or you can just give it to a motor shop and get them to test it and check the brushes.

Dave

[theclintonsx4]

The model # in the dash indicates this to be a 94 but according to what I've seen and what I've read it is not. It has an internal st/gen with a points and condenser ignition system. There is no starter to be found anywhere. I took the cover off the engine and removed the cooling fan and behind it were the ignition system, a larger armature, and windings. Is this worth messing with or should i try a new engine? A local alternator repair shop says they rebuild st/gens for golf carts and if I took him this one he could try to match it.
Below are some of the reading materials I've found which indicate that this isnt what i think it is.....

Also a few pics at the bottom of some components that were below the F/R switch. Just curious as to what they are?





-In 1980, an external, Hitachi brand starter generator was introduced and the engine was modified. The crank bearings, drive clutch, point set & condenser, voltage regulator and the engine frame all changed.

-1981 ushered in an electronic ignition system, which did away with the golf carts point set & condenser altogether, and the point activator lobe on the crankshaft soon went away too. Except for the addition of an oil injection system, this engine went virually unchanged until 1989 when the 3pg golf cart engine replaced it. Although the two engines are similar, many parts are very different.

[theclintonsx4]

Here's some pics of what I presume to be the starter/generator????

[Dave Box]

When I first looked at the cart I figured that it was clearly a 1988. I didn't study the image of the engine carefully enough though. Someone has either done a lot of work to the body to make a 1970's cart look like an 88 or they have transplanted a older engine into it.

As you found the thread detailing the history of the PG series you will have of course noted that many parts for your engine are no longer available. This has in the past lead me to steer shy of advising people to spend a lot of money on this engine as for example if the big end blows out then your engine is dead forever.

My advice now is to take a deep breath, get a beer and start looking for a 1981 -1988 2PG engine or a donor cart. I am more that happy to offer general advice but the pre 1980 engine is not my forte and as you will by now have realised I don't know how to remove the starter.
Perhaps there is someone out there who has been there before that can help.

Not that it helps you but the part in your photo is the blocking relay and the actuating microswitch. It was designed to prevent you slamming between forward and reverse too quickly. It was abandoned in 1980.

Dave