1983 marathon questions

[doobie]

ok the cart is a 1983 ezgo marathon electric cart.
metal body.
know here is the bad:
1) needs seat parts fixed ripped etc etc.
2) paint peeling off but no body rust
3) battery tray rusted out but i can fix that i own welder and plenty of angle iron
4) tons of questions

questions:
1) is this cart a resistor type?
2) how to tell differance?
3) it moved but not alot i noticed that alot of connectors was rusty and corroded if i clean those up will that help?
4)also since it has sat for awhile and froze up items would it be good idea to put it up on stands and let it run some with no weight restricting it?
5) is this a metal chasis or alumn.
6) what are some common issues with these?

i know its alot of questions but first time cart owner and like to know as much as possible about it before i tear into to customize it.

[rlw]

Welcome to BGW!

Originally Posted by doobie

ok the cart is a 1983 ezgo marathon electric cart.
metal body.
1) is this cart a resistor type?

Most likely. Mine's an '84 Marathon - I don't think they started using solid state controllers 'til '86 or so.

Originally Posted by doobie

2) how to tell differance?

My '84 has the resistor in the rear, near the driver side rear wheel. The resistor assembly has 3 coils made from different gauge steel wire for each coil. There's a panel between the seat and the bag well. Remove 4 screws to take the panel off. From the back of the cart, the resistor will be to the left of the motor, above the rear axle. Also, the motor sticks into the battery compartment - newer models had the motor over the axle. Later carts also had the resistor in a box between the two sets of batteries.

Originally Posted by doobie

3) it moved but not alot i noticed that alot of connectors was rusty and corroded if i clean those up will that help?

That can't hurt. Take 'em off one at a time, clean 'em up, and put 'em back.

Originally Posted by doobie

4)also since it has sat for awhile and froze up items would it be good idea to put it up on stands and let it run some with no weight restricting it?

First thing to do is check the battery voltage. A fully charged set of new batteries will read 38.2V. If they're below 36V, they need charging. I'm not sure what you mean by "froze up" - post more details.

Originally Posted by doobie

5) is this a metal chasis or alumn.

Steel. Club Cars have aluminum chassis - EZGOs are steel.

Originally Posted by doobie

6) what are some common issues with these?

With a cart that old, you may want to take a look at the brakes. They're fairly easy to fix, and it's always good to be able to STOP once you make the cart GO. I think I spent about $45 on new brake shoes, plus an hour-and-a-half installing 'em and gettin' 'em adjusted. Glad I did. Could be causing what you call "froze up".

Mine could use new shocks. EZGO parts dealers want quite a price for 'em - I'm planning on trying to find suitable replacements at a lower cost through my local auto parts store(s).

Originally Posted by doobie

i know its alot of questions but first time cart owner and like to know as much as possible about it before i tear into to customize it.

It will help alot if you post some photos. One of the whole cart, one of the battery compartment with the seat removed. Another one would be of the resistor, once you take off the panel above it.

I'm not looking to lift my cart or add all kinds of bells'n'whistles, just want it to be reliable. I removed, disassembled, and cleaned up the FNR (Forward/Neutral/Reverse) switch, the accelerator/wiper board, the resistor, and replaced the solenoid. I replaced all of the control wiring (16 gauge) and made a set of 4 gauge cables from a 20' 4 gauge jumper cable, lugs, and heat shrink. That helped quite a bit.

RLW

[doobie]

thanks man on the reply. i plan on taking pics as soon as i get chance i just unloaded it and messed with it very little to see if it would move. gotta move some items around in garage to put it. so it does sound like a resistor type i remember seeing the resisters behind batteries on drivers side. and the motor does come into battery compartment.i know i need to take cable off one at time and clean items up or draw a diagram and label. <--- i do the last one alot. one of the motor cables was already unhooked from battery so i printed of a wiring diagram to make sure where it went. the brakes work great i had it on tilt trailer and it didnt move. i undid pedal and it rolled pretty good for a flat tire . pushed it beside garage and tested few things. will get it in one day this week. got some things to work on before i can move a truck.

also froze up- like parts not moving from being rusty/corroded.
i know connections is big thing in all stuff im going to try that first while up on jack stands to get to it all. i hate working on the ground.

[rlw]

Doob...

One thing I found regarding the wiring diagrams is that EZGO seemed to slightly change the wiring between model years. As for froze up - I had similar problems with mine - took stuff apart, ran a wire wheel over parts (actually, cleaned up all of the bolts I removed), and put a drop or two of 5W30 on everything before I put it all back together. I also had to cut out the battery trays and get a buddy to weld new ones in for me (the one mechanical skill I never learned, welding!).

Now I'm on the lookout for some used 6V batteries, two of the old ones have a shorted cell - only getting 4.x V out of 'em, and don't have the bucks to spring for a full set of new ones.

RLW

[doobie]

man i understand that. batteries are pricey. i work at a battery company (deka) wharehouse here in tn. g.c batteries are expensive people call all the time and say i got good deal on golfcart it needs batteries then they get sticker shock. i hear it alot.
on a good note i rode it around tonight. i put 3 12v deep cycles in mine just to work the bugs out. and she moves great. smelled grass and stuff heating up. it had leaves and pine needles in it. i blew it out best i could with air and guess it burning what little was left in it.
and i gotta redo the battery tray also but also plan on doing some mods to it while i got some body off just gotta figure that out. seems easy for what i wanna do to it. just some fabbing up. cut weld cut weld type of stuff.

[Mike V]

I just got a 83 Marathon too doobie...!

Bet mine is "uglier" than yours... LOL

Good luck with yours.

[doobie]

if yours is the one in the sig pic i doubt it. mine has a patina look going on lol. tore and rotted seat, has that green appeal. oh and been a home to a snake. been is i killed it when it crawled out. i was under it at that time. my dad said it was a small snake after i killed it. it was only about 2 feet long. lol.

[Gonkulor]

doobs, Welcome to the golf cart insanity! How much would you like to do with your cart? If you are at all needing to work on your resistor coils and if your plans are to use the cart for any length of travel you should take a peek at Scotty's conversion http://www.cartsunlimited.net/Scotty...rsion_Kit.html Resistor carts use all power all the time. The resistor carts dissipate the battery power through heat to lower your speed when you release your foot. The controller carts have longer legs to get around.

Regardless of that, happy carting bud. Personally I'm amazed at the simplicity of these golf carts and how they allow you to get around for basic joys and chores to be uncovered.

[doobie]

thanks man im going to make sure it does what i want it to before i put money into that type of upgrade. im not to worried about the long distance stuff yet. need to get the fabbing of suspension stuff done first. wonder where that mounts and how much room it takes up. so i can plan for future purchases. cause if it works the way i think it will. i will have fun for longtime.