Old smokey is getting hard to start

ohiocart · 07-05-2013, 05:22 AM

My ezgo 2stroke is struggling more and more to turn over. It has good spark, compression and fuel. With the battery fully charged it takes a few seconds (sometimes 5 to 10) for the starter to turn the engine over and then she fires right up.

My question is what can I check to see if I need a new starter. I'm just trying to get ideas to troubleshoot this problem. Thanks

mattisit · 07-05-2013, 07:45 AM

When I got mine the battery was old. It would take a charge but always took 5-10 seconds to start even on a full charge. I got a new battery and it fires up immediately. Not saying this is your fix but you may want to look into it.

Dave Box · 07-05-2013, 08:13 AM

What I read here is that you say you press the throttle and nothing happens for a few seconds. If this is correct then this is what I would do.

1. Follow the battery negative to the chassis ground point. Take this apart and clean the chassis to bare metal, also clean the cable lugs. Ensure that the ground strap to the engine block is sound.

If this does not fix it then,

2. Jack up the rear axle or remove the drive belt. Connect a voltmeter across the two small terminals of the solenoid. Press the throttle, If the meter immediately jumps to 12 volts move to #3. If it hesitates you have a problem with the solenoid activation circuit.

3. Short out the two large terminals on the solenoid. If the engine immediately starts to crank you have a defective solenoid which should be replaced with a constant duty device. If it does not immediately crank you have an issue with the starter.

4. Check all the cables for tightness and corrosion. Remove the starter and check all four brushes.

Let us know what transpires.

Dave

07-05-2013, 05:22 AM	#1
ohiocart Not Yet Wild Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 66	Old smokey is getting hard to start My ezgo 2stroke is struggling more and more to turn over. It has good spark, compression and fuel. With the battery fully charged it takes a few seconds (sometimes 5 to 10) for the starter to turn the engine over and then she fires right up. My question is what can I check to see if I need a new starter. I'm just trying to get ideas to troubleshoot this problem. Thanks
ohiocart Not Yet Wild Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 66

07-05-2013, 07:45 AM	#2
mattisit Not Yet Wild Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: West Chester OH Posts: 37	Re: Old smokey is getting hard to start When I got mine the battery was old. It would take a charge but always took 5-10 seconds to start even on a full charge. I got a new battery and it fires up immediately. Not saying this is your fix but you may want to look into it.

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07-05-2013, 08:13 AM	#3
Dave Box Respect the Cart Join Date: May 2010 Location: Rocky Mount, Virginia Posts: 2,190	Re: Old smokey is getting hard to start What I read here is that you say you press the throttle and nothing happens for a few seconds. If this is correct then this is what I would do. 1. Follow the battery negative to the chassis ground point. Take this apart and clean the chassis to bare metal, also clean the cable lugs. Ensure that the ground strap to the engine block is sound. If this does not fix it then, 2. Jack up the rear axle or remove the drive belt. Connect a voltmeter across the two small terminals of the solenoid. Press the throttle, If the meter immediately jumps to 12 volts move to #3. If it hesitates you have a problem with the solenoid activation circuit. 3. Short out the two large terminals on the solenoid. If the engine immediately starts to crank you have a defective solenoid which should be replaced with a constant duty device. If it does not immediately crank you have an issue with the starter. 4. Check all the cables for tightness and corrosion. Remove the starter and check all four brushes. Let us know what transpires. Dave