EZGO Workhorse 350 no spark—-stumped!!

[jellyroll22]

I’m trying to get my 99 workhorse with the 350 going again. When I bought it the seller couldn’t keep spark. I cleaned up and ziptied together the connector from the pulsar coil and problem solved! After a few months, I wanted to lift it for deer season/ snow / etc. I bought a Jakes axle lift ( OMG! $$$$) and installed it. When I got the new 22” tires on it and went to test drive it wouldn’t fire. A quick peek under the seat showed me that the red and white going to the ignition coil had cone undone when lowering the engine cradle to flip the springs up top. Plug them back in and it drives, rough, for about 40 yds and that’s it. No spark. None.

I think I have read every EZGO no spark thread on this site. Initially it appeared as though I needed a new CDI. I had one so I put it on, no change. Tried a known good igniter, no change. Ohm’d the pulsar coil and it’s at 20.2 but not producing the approx .5 volts it should. No prob, have a parts cart with known good ignition system. After fighting with two flywheels I have the other pulsar coil installed. No change. Ohm at 20.2, no AC volts while cranking.

I’ve tried new plugs, charged the battery, and added a separate ground from batt negative to the metal plate all of the ignition parts are bolted to in order to rule out a bad ground. Nothing, no spark, pulsar coil not producing any AC volts.

Any ideas? I’d hate to scrap this perfectly good 350 for a clone if it’s something simple, which I’m sure it probably is, but I don’t know what that is. HELP PLEASE!

[THOLLAND911]

Dis you get it figured out I am having the same problem and nothing seams to work.

[Everardo_ClubCar]

Having same issues did you get yours resolved any advise?

[donhathcock]

A friend wanted me to help them on their EZGO. It had no spark. He had replaced the coil, igniter and the plug wires. Still no spark. I searched through several forums and read through several threads and this seemed to be a common problem. There were people who had "buckets" of these igniters that they had ordered and none of them worked.
Upon further investigation, I found the problem. Most of the igniters sold on Amazon and such are for AC systems only! This cart has a starter/generator which uses DC voltage.
I told him to order a Red Hawk #ENG-116 and it fixed the issue. Why in the world they would use the same plug and wire colors on these two different modules is beyond me. If you check continuity from the black wire to the black with white stripe, it will tell you which you have. Continuity between these means that it is for a DC system and no continuity means it is for an AC system. On an AC module, the black with white wire is used as a kill and when grounded will stop the engine.
Hope this helps all these people with this problem

[Cartmaster]

Originally Posted by donhathcock

Upon further investigation, I found the problem. Most of the igniters sold on Amazon and such are for AC systems only! This cart has a starter/generator which uses DC voltage.
I told him to order a Red Hawk #ENG-116 and it fixed the issue. Why in the world they would use the same plug and wire colors on these two different modules is beyond me. If you check continuity from the black wire to the black with white stripe, it will tell you which you have. Continuity between these means that it is for a DC system and no continuity means it is for an AC system. On an AC module, the black with white wire is used as a kill and when grounded will stop the engine.

This is interesting.
Can you divulge how you found this information? It makes sense what you are saying, but leads me to wonder why the wrong type are being sold for replacing the EZGO igniter which we have previously discussed as being a TCI and not CDI. A Member here (Trig123) has shown a cut in half aftermarket module that appears to have a large capacitor inside which led me to wonder this very possibilty. I believe i discussed this in the thread at the time. I cannot test and confirm as i have no parts left for the MCI engines but i may be able to find some Pre MCI igniters to look at. I also dont have any aftermarket Pre MCI ones available. Maybe Trig will see this post and have a play with what he may have. Possibly a failed OEM igniter that can be cut and compared with an aftermarket one. I also do not understand why, if the aftermarket modules are indeed CDI, why they are configured identical regarding plugs and connection and marketed for a TCI set up ignition system. They would obviously be looking for a higher voltage pulse from the pick up coils and not a low pulse with separate power supply.

If you feel there is a TCI module out there that may be adapted and substitute the obsolete OEM TCI module, feel free to recommend LOL. I have heard that the common GY6 module can be obtained in both CDI and TCI ?