Please help!

[Cammee71]

I have an Ezgo Gas 1989 marathon and after about a 30 minute drive the engine gets very hot and when i go to start the engine is will run but it wont catch. It might be an elecyrical problem or something because it usally happens when i am using my lights, neon, and radio? i cant imagen it being and electrical problem becuase why would that make the engine over heat? If anyone could help me i would appreciate it thank you!

[Pocono Country Boy]

If it's running that hot, two things come to my mind,

Either it's running very lean --could be clogged fuel filters, clogged fuel lines or a dirty/clogged up carburateur

Or.. maybe the oil mix is wrong--if you are running the stock oil injection maybe it's not functioning properly or if that's disconnected and you are premixing oil and gas, the ratio may be too lean.

Maybe someone else here can chime in with ideas.

[Cammee71]

What do u mean by running lean?

[Pocono Country Boy]

Running lean usually means the engine is not getting enough fuel in the fuel/air mixture..

This can be caused by clogged fuel filters, clogged fuel lines or a dirty/clogged up carburetor

Or, in one of these two cycle motors like yours, the gas/oil mix could be wrong (not enough oil in the mixture)

[ChevyRacing75]

Are you pre mixing it or using the oil injection? What oil you running? Whats the ratio you are using if you are mixing it?

[Cammee71]

Its oil injested and i believe mine might be a 4 stroke (i think?) how would i cheak if the pipes are cloged or the carborator?

[Dave Box]

It is an air cooled 2 cycle engine so why not do the simple stuff first. The fan cover at the front is held on by 4 long bolts. Remove those and slide the cover out of the way. If the oil pipe is too short remove it from the carb elbow. Now clean out all the crap that has accumulated over the years. An airline would be good here but failing that use a brush and try to clean the engine fins. Put it back together and see how it runs. It is unlikely that the electrical load is causing the generator to overheat but you can test that by putting your hand on it. Warm to the touch is OK, first degree burns are not.

[BrewCityMusic]

Dave's got a good point, you'd be amazed how much cr*p gets sucked into the fan and lodged around the cylinder fins (I live in the woods and have cleaned mine out 3 times so far this summer) ... Also, after 21 years, the oil injector is probably not working 100% which won't help - it's an easy retrofit, at the top of the intake elbow is where the oil injector hose goes, clip the hose off and plug it with a screw (or better yet, get a short bolt with the same threads as the hole in the elbow and screw it in there with a little RTV to seal it up good), then, disconnect the mechanical portion of the pump and start running premix, 128:1 is the factory recommended mix (be sure to empty your tank and blow the lines clear, empty the float bowl, etc before your inagural run with the premix, to ensure you're getting mixed gas in there right from the get-go)