92 EZGO is a no go.....

[Medrep]

So I decided to post up my question here before I call in a cart mechanic. I was given a 1992 EZGO Marathon a little over a year ago. It basically needed new batteries. I bought all new ones last January. We basically use the cart to tool around the neighborhood, go to the community pool and clubhouse. Great!

Last week I jumped in to run to a neighbors house and she would not go. Forward or reverse. I hear a click when i press the peddle but no go. The back up alarm sounds off when in reverse, but no go.
SO, a friend of mine decided to shoot a little WD on the FNR switch and ..... it worked! It worked long enough for me to back it into the driveway then later that day, it would not drive forward to park it for the evening.
My battery pack reads 38.9 volts and I am at a loss from there.
Any suggestions where to start looking or testing to find out what the problem is?
Sorry for the long post!! Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[shadowman]

well if you sprayed the F&R and cart worked i would start there..........check condition of connections on cable ends look for anything that looks burnt or smokey and cracks things like that..............i don,t think this is something you,ll need to take to a shop, if your mechanically inclined at all you should be able to handle it...........................................

[Marsharo]

WD40 is non-conductive, so it sounds to me like Shadow is correct. Check your wires, perhaps the spray moved a loose wire and made a connection.

[Medrep]

Shadow and Marsh,
Thanks for the replies.
I'll take a good look at the wiring as soon as I get home this evening.
I did generally look them over and did not see anything that needed attention.
I too thought it was strange that it worked after a WD spray.
I'll be sure to post up what I find.

I'm still open to any suggestions,,,,
Thanks again!

[Marsharo]

My advise - dont look and assume a wire is tight. A wire is tight only when you can grab it and it doesn't move when you apply force.

[Medrep]

It's been a while since I first posted my cart problem.
I haven't had time to mess with it but have been keeping my batteries maintained over the past months.
So, my neighbor took a look at my cart to see if he could figure out the problem.
Batteries are in good shape. All connections were cleaned and tightened up, just to be sure.
Viola.... she ran...for about half an hour with no issues. We parked it for lunch and went back out 45 minutes later..... no go again.
So my friend broke out the tester and started looking it over.
After he poked around the soleniod she came back to life.... for a while. Once parked for some time, she's a no go again.
Poke around again... she'll run.

Soleniod? Speed controller? The little diode on top of the soleniod?
Or... just call in the cart mechanic?
Thanks in advance.... excuse my ignorance.... medrep

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by Medrep

...................After he poked around the soleniod she came back to life.... for a while. Once parked for some time, she's a no go again.
Poke around again... she'll run..............

When the cart isn't running, can you hear the solenoid clunk when you press down on the throttle?
If not, you've got a a loose connection or frayed wire in the solenoid control circuit.
If so, you've got a loose connection or bad contact in the High Current circuit.

The components you mentioned tend to be either or , rather than intermittent.

Let us know if the solenoid clunks or not when the cart is misbehaving and we'll go from there.

[yurtle]

Originally Posted by Medrep

So I decided to post up my question here before I call in a cart mechanic. I was given a 1992 EZGO Marathon a little over a year ago. It basically needed new batteries. I bought all new ones last January. We basically use the cart to tool around the neighborhood, go to the community pool and clubhouse. Great!

Last week I jumped in to run to a neighbors house and she would not go. Forward or reverse. I hear a click when i press the peddle but no go. The back up alarm sounds off when in reverse, but no go.
SO, a friend of mine decided to shoot a little WD on the FNR switch and ..... it worked! It worked long enough for me to back it into the driveway then later that day, it would not drive forward to park it for the evening.
My battery pack reads 38.9 volts and I am at a loss from there.
Any suggestions where to start looking or testing to find out what the problem is?
Sorry for the long post!! Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I burned out two stock solenoids with a only stock controller when climbing a lot of steep, long inclines. It would sometimes work, but generally not.

Assuming the WD-40 fix was just a coincidence, you may want to test your solenoid. I tore mine apart and rebuilt it, before upgrading to a heavy duty one from ScottyB.

[Medrep]

Originally Posted by JohnnieB

When the cart isn't running, can you hear the solenoid clunk when you press down on the throttle?
If not, you've got a a loose connection or frayed wire in the solenoid control circuit.
If so, you've got a loose connection or bad contact in the High Current circuit.

The components you mentioned tend to be either or , rather than intermittent.

Let us know if the solenoid clunks or not when the cart is misbehaving and we'll go from there.

So... since yesterday morning the cart is still running. I just check on it. As soon as she misbehaves again, I'll listen for the solenoid "clunk". Until then, I'm a little hesitant to stray too far from the house in the cart. Guess I'll do some laps in the cul-de-sac to get things warmed up and see when/if she acts up again.
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks

[yurtle]

Originally Posted by Medrep

So... since yesterday morning the cart is still running. I just check on it. As soon as she misbehaves again, I'll listen for the solenoid "clunk". Until then, I'm a little hesitant to stray too far from the house in the cart. Guess I'll do some laps in the cul-de-sac to get things warmed up and see when/if she acts up again.
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks

Carry a voltmeter with you, and if it dies, confirm the solenoid is clicking and check if voltage is going through the solenoid. You said, "I hear a click when i press the peddle but no go." I assume the "click" was the solenoid?

Like I said above, mine became intermittant, and if you look at the photos, you can see why.