1989 marathon starting procedure gas

[slainte]

i have a 1989 marathon when the key is in and on in neutral it is dead as soon as i shift the lever to forward the engine starts to turn the cables are poked and need replacing but is this normal?
should it start in neutral?
and advice would be great thanks

[Dave Box]

You have a two cycle engine and as 1989 was a change over year you either have a 2PG or a 3PG. It is important to know which as many parts are not interchangable. You can easily tell as (amongst many other differences) the muffler on a 2PG is vertical and the 3PG horizontal. If you have the 3PG then congratulations you got an extra 2 hp.

So to answer your question, there is no neutral and you should not try to start the engine with the lever in any other postion other than forward or reverse. The corrrect proceedure is to turn on the key, move the lever to the intended direction of travel and press the throttle.

Enjoy the cart
Dave

[slainte]

thanks for the help
ours is a 2pg it seems with a vertical muffler
is there a switch on the throttle peddle or is it linked to the cables and the carb?
thanks to all who help with advise

[Dave Box]

The answer is yes there is a switch on the throttle. If look in the engine compartment at where the rod from the throttle enters you will see the small switch with two wires coming from it. There is also a rod to adjust the operation of the switch. One side of the switch goes to the ignition switch and the other to the coil. Thus when you take you foot off the accelerator you kill the coil and the engine stops.

[slainte]

thanks for the help cart is now completely rebuilt had our first game on Sunday will post a pic or 2 under introduction page cheers

[EZ-GoingJon]

Dave,

He is right about the NEUTRAL. My 1989 has a neutral spot on the F/R switch! It is F-N-R. I guess Neutral is just between contacts, so your not in either F or R ?! Might as well turn the key off. Good for testing the solenoid i guess!

Just for future ref.

Jon

[BrewCityMusic]

Me too Jon, although when mine's not in F or R it does nothing (which actually, by design is a good thing) ... Until I figured that out (way back when I first got the cart) we had several disturbing "close calls" thanks to the incredibly dumb design of the whole thing, LMAO

[Dave Box]

Well that just goes to prove that you are never too old....... Yes indeed the circuit diagram shows F-N-R and maybe the annotation on the cart does too (my little label thing is long gone.) Just to defend by honor, and sound like the miserable curmudgeonly old pedant that I am, I don't think neutral is the correct word, neutral implies engine running and not in gear. Perhaps EZGO should have labelled it "nothing" as that is what you will get if you leave the lever vertical. Anyway well spotted chaps.
All the best
Dave

[slainte]

shes done and running like a dream thanks for the help !!