FE290 died while cruising and won't start

[TJL]

Ha! At least its an easy fix..

[jericho]

Well Joe it's better to be pissed at yourself riding your cart than pushing it.

[Pitbull Joe]

True. Not sure where that wire is supposed to go, but i'm guessing it is why the engine will start by key(s/g engages) and not by pedal. For now it's taped on the end and zip tied away from frame.

[lockman1]

That's actually the rev limiter... the brown wire is supposed to be connected to the left mounting bolt of the limiter!
it was probably disconnected because the limiter went bad, and they're kinda pricey to replace!

[Pitbull Joe]

That doesn't explain why the engine wouldn't start when the wire was grounded, but started as soon as I moved the wire.

That also brings up another issue. I'm going to put the correct throttle cables on it and planned on using zip tie on the are that the cables connect to but if the rev limiter is electronic than what is the purpose of the linkage arm that the cables connect to?

[TJL]

The box on the motor keeps it below 3600-4000 rpm, something around there. Then the linkage on the axle is the speed governor, keeps it below 9mph if i remember right. Pretty safe to zip tie the speed gov out of functioning but leave the motor rev limiter in place to keep from melting the rod to the crank. In stock form it seems pretty hard to hurt the motors as there is layered safeties.

With my cart in stock form it was a joke. Impossible to take off quick and way too slow. Motor barely reved at all. Then zip tie the speed gov and tighten up the driven clutch spring and it was a whole different animal, actually had usable power. Topped out at about 20mph if i remember right.

[lockman1]

Originally Posted by Pitbull Joe

That doesn't explain why the engine wouldn't start when the wire was grounded, but started as soon as I moved the wire.

That also brings up another issue. I'm going to put the correct throttle cables on it and planned on using zip tie on the are that the cables connect to but if the rev limiter is electronic than what is the purpose of the linkage arm that the cables connect to?

It explains everything!
The brown wire is the ground for the limiter, and is supposed to be connected to the left mounting bolt...
when the limiter senses too high of an RPM,
it will ground the engine kill circuit and shuts off the spark until the engine drops down within the proper RPM's spec'd,
then it will remove the short to ground so the engine will run again.

When a limiter goes bad, it usually causes an automatic short to ground in the engine kill circuit, and you won't have spark no matter what!
With that brown wire disconnected... the rev limiter is out of the loop, and is no longer a concern!

The linkage on the transaxle that the two cables connect to is the "Ground Speed Sensing Governor",
If you decide to zip tie the governor spring... use two very small zips, and DON'T tighten it/them down tight!
or you'll lose all of your low speed! (low/mid throttle)

IF... you do it, it should look something like this:

Govenor Zip-Tie 001.jpg

[Pitbull Joe]

Originally Posted by TJL

The box on the motor keeps it below 3600-4000 rpm, something around there. Then the linkage on the axle is the speed governor, keeps it below 9mph if i remember right. Pretty safe to zip tie the speed gov out of functioning but leave the motor rev limiter in place to keep from melting the rod to the crank. In stock form it seems pretty hard to hurt the motors as there is layered safeties.

With my cart in stock form it was a joke. Impossible to take off quick and way too slow. Motor barely reved at all. Then zip tie the speed gov and tighten up the driven clutch spring and it was a whole different animal, actually had usable power. Topped out at about 20mph if i remember right.

Thanks man. Sounds like you tuned it in pretty good. How do you tightened up the clutch springs?

[Pitbull Joe]

Originally Posted by lockman1

It explains everything!
The brown wire is the ground for the limiter, and is supposed to be connected to the left mounting bolt...
when the limiter senses too high of an RPM,
it will ground the engine kill circuit and shuts off the spark until the engine drops down within the proper RPM's spec'd,
then it will remove the short to ground so the engine will run again.

When a limiter goes bad, it usually causes an automatic short to ground in the engine kill circuit, and you won't have spark no matter what!
With that brown wire disconnected... the rev limiter is out of the loop, and is no longer a concern!

The linkage on the transaxle that the two cables connect to is the "Ground Speed Sensing Governor",
If you decide to zip tie the governor spring... use two very small zips, and DON'T tighten it/them down tight!
or you'll lose all of your low speed! (low/mid throttle)

IF... you do it, it should look something like this:

Attachment 123276

Thanks buddy, I thought about it after making that post but couldn't get back to the computer. I was still thinking of the concept of it functioning. I'll get the cables on and find a couple of zip ties.

[TJL]

http://krisdillon.com/buggy/

Thats for a ezgo but the same deal for the club car clutch. Your just tightening up the spring so it resists shifting a little. It lets the motor rev up higher before shifting and makes more power. In thick florida sugar sand if i stopped, my cart stock would just bog down and id have to push it to get going. After the spring mod it made enough power to stop and go without much issue. Now with the v twin i really dont have any probs stopping and going.