1987 EZ GO starting problems

[Chet]

Recently purchased EZ GO TXT (Manufactures code H1887). I am only getting 5.6 Volts to the coil from the ignitor. I measure about 150 ohms through the Pulsar coil, so I am beginning to suspect the ignitor. Any help wold be appreciated

[Dave Box]

If you go here
http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/ezgo-...iagram-id.html
and scroll half way down you will find a flow chart and a circuit diagram for your machine.

The 12 volts does not come from the ignitor but rather the switched side of the solenoid. The ignitor pulses the ground signal to give the quasi ac signal to the primary of the coil. If you measure on the 12volt side of the coil with refernece to the battery negative you should see ~12 volts.

The most common problem on your cart is a bad ground, so I recommend that you remove the cables to the ground point on the frame and sand the frame to bare metal. Now do the same to the cable lugs. You should have a cable to the battery, one to the F-R switch and one to the engine (this one is important). Make sure these are all good and remeasure your voltage (on the + terminal of the coil, with the key on and the throttle depressed). For safety you should jack up the back end so it doesn't run away with you.

Let us know how that works out and we can get this thing fixed real easy.
Dave

[Chet]

Dave,
Thanks for the quick response. I guess I'll be working on the grounds today. I am working blind without a manual for the time being, until I can get back to the individual that sold the golf cart to my neighbor...he says he does have a manual for it, but forgot to give it to my neighbor when we picked up the cart. Where does the negative side of the coil get its ground from? I will let you know how it turns out.

[Chet]

Dave,
Went through and cleaned all the terminals and connections I could today, And still had no luck. The unit started up, but when I went to shift into forward, it died and would not restart. When I measured the voltage at the coil, it measures 12Volts back to the negative side of the battery, but when I measure it to the negative wire going to the coil it is still just 5.6 volts. When I follow that lead back, it goes to the ignitor. Still no manual yet,so I am still fumbling around in the dark.

Regards,
Chet

[Dave Box]

Chet, something is wrong here. You can't start a 1987 EZGO and then shift to forward, it needs to be in forward or reverse to start. Have I misunderstood here?

Just to keep things simple, pull out the spark plug and rest it on the muffler or other ground point. Now crank the engine, does the plug give out a series of nice blue sparks? If so we can rule out the ignitor.

Dave

[shadowman]

dave i read it the same way you did.................................

[Chet]

Dave/ Shadowman,
Took your suggestion from yesterday and cleaned all contacts, but still have the same issue. Still only measuring 5.6 volts coming into the coil. If I measure the green wire (+ side) coming into the coil from the negative side of the battery, I get 12 Volts. If I measure the same lead fro the orange wire (- to the coil) the voltage is only 5.6V. I only manage to get the cart started if I put the battery on a half day charge, but still will not restart. I must have confused you guys as I had started it in a reverse position before then tried to shift into forward when it died again and would not restart. If the negative side of the coil comes from the ignitor, I am highly suspicious that the ignitor has been compromised and is pulling the voltage going to the coil down to 5.6 volts. Is there any other way to troubleshoot the ignitor since it is a sealed unit?

Regards,
Chet

[Dave Box]

Measuring the negative on the coil is not going to tell you much. A test for the ignition system is to see if the plug is working as I said in post #5. When you crank the engine do you see a stream of sparks.

If you need to charge your battery for half a day to start the cart then you probably need a new battery. You should replace that first to remove low cranking volts from the equation

Remember that reverse on these engines means running the engine in reverse. You need to bring the engine to a complete stop before changing direction.

Tell us if you see the plug sparking first, if the answer is yes then we look elsewhere for your problem. If the answer is no then we will tell you how to perform the HEI mod for about 25% of the cost of a new ignitor.

Dave

[Chet]

Dave,
No spark, and battery is new and was tested. I may have more than one component that is bad (voltage regulator/starter generator?) as well as the ignitor. I am anxious to hear about the HEI mod.

Regards,
Chet

[Dave Box]

Chet,
I would look to the battery issue first as if something is loading the 12 volts down this may well be the source of your problems.
Is it your feeling that it is just a question of the battery not charging or is something holding the battery down? I guess what I am saying is, if you charge the battery will it crank the engine for at least 10 seconds without the cranking speed slowing down, or does it seem to go flat more quickly than it should?
The test to determine if the dynamo or the regulator is faulty is quite simple but it does require that the engine is running. I guess that we can do that after we get it running.

So if you are sure that all the contacts are clean and good and if your are happy to perform the HEI mod then let's go.

You will need an ignition module and a high output coil. There are many modules that will work (and if you search this forum for HEI mod you will see many threads on this). The one that keeps popping up is the unit from a 1976 Chevy 350 truck, but as I say look around for something similar. The coil is just a generic high output coil that does not need a ballast resistor and should not cost more than $15 - $20. The output wires from your pulsar connect to the input of the module and the other side goes to 12 volts and the negative of the coil.

The module runs quite hot so it is essential that you bolt it to a clean and large amount of metal such as the main frame. You should also use a liberal amount of dielectric grease to dissipate the heat. If you have a Radioshack nearby you might want to take the module in to see if they have a heatsink that will fit, although that might be overkill.

If you do this and then find that the cart will barely run then the module is triggering off the trailing edge of the pulsar so all you have to do reverse the leads from the pulsar.

This mod will give you a bigger, fatter spark and is going to cost in the order of $40 which is a lot better than the $140 that EZGO demand for a replacement ignitor.

Dave