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Old 07-08-2021, 10:51 PM   #1
The Bushmann
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Join Date: Sep 2016
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Default G2 gas cart intermittent starting

Hi. I have a G2 gas cart that runs great when it starts. The issue is that starting is hit or miss. To make it worse it is completely random. Sometimes it will start fine 20 times in a row. Then it will fail to start, Might happen once or might happen several times in a row.

Symptoms
1. When the cart fails to start there is a humming sound (whining sound/vacuum sound?) coming from the engine compartment.
2. I lifted the engine compartment cover and watched the engine when this occurs it appears that the engine is trying to turn over (belt gets tension and hub moves slightly). So it seems like the starter is working, but the condition is very similar to a battery with not enough power to turn the engine over.
4. if you push the gas pedal on/off multiple times the same whining sound is heard, but no start. At some point however it eventually starts. it may do it on the second try or the 12th try, but it does eventually start
5. When it starts, it fires right up, like there was nothing wrong in the first place. (not a slow start like a dead or dying battery, no misfires, no reduced power, seems like it starts on the first revolution of the engine)
6. Doesn't matter if the engine is cold or hot, can happen the first ride of the day or after 2 hours of driving around.

Details
1. Yes - I've checked the battery as it was the first thing I thought of. I have ensured that the battery is new, charged, and has enough CCA to run the cart
2. I've also used several different batteries, all good, and still have the same issue.


Any help and/or suggestions are greatly appreciated as I really like the cart but the intermittent starting is quite annoying.....
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Old 07-09-2021, 07:10 AM   #2
1arunem
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Default Re: G2 gas cart intermittent starting

A lot of times the noise you mention is due to the starter belt not being tight enough. The starter is turning but the belt is spinning on the starter pulley thus not turning the engine.
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Old 07-09-2021, 06:32 PM   #3
slonomo
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Default Re: G2 gas cart intermittent starting

A worn starter/generator will act like you've described. Sometimes the brushes get worn down and the dust on the brushes can cause a short. Sometimes having the brushes etc cleaned will allow it to work better, however, if worn, the brushes need to be replaced. A competent electric motor shop can do this.
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Old 07-09-2021, 08:33 PM   #4
The Bushmann
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Default Re: G2 gas cart intermittent starting

slonomo, 1arunem - Thanks for the ideas! It seemed like a starter issue, but I couldn't understand why the starter would work sometimes and sometimes it wouldn't. Based on the age of the cart, worn brushes is a definite possibility. Also I was unaware there is a starter belt. I will look into that as well and let you know what I find out.
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Old 07-10-2021, 06:29 PM   #5
The Bushmann
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Default Re: G2 gas cart intermittent starting

I went out to the cart today and checked the starter belt and it was extremely loose (could move the middle of the belt up and down at least an inch) , so i figured that was the problem. Cart failed to start again, so i lifted the hood expecting the belt to be slipping and to my surprise it was not slipping. Both the starter belt and the drive belt had a small bit of tension, but not enough to turn over the engine. The starter seemed like it was rotating and the whining sound that accompanies the condition was definitely clearly coming from the starter. So the starter needs to be rebuilt. Just odd that it will work sometimes an not the other. Anyway thanks for the help as at least I know what it is now.

Cheers!
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Old 07-12-2021, 01:39 PM   #6
The Bushmann
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Default Re: G2 gas cart intermittent starting

Knowing it was the starter generator (SG), I began researching "how to rebuild Golf cart SG's" on YouTube. Basically it meant a brush change, though some videos walked through a bearing inspection as well. To change the brushes there were two main ways to approach it. The first is to pull the rubber covers only , and the second is to pull the end cap off (which means an additional two bolts).
So I was prepared to do the brush change, but wanted to see if the bearings were OK before I bought parts (glad I waited), so after I removed the SG from the cart, I pulled off a rubber cap. To my surprise the brushes only had about 20%-25% wear. Meaning they had about 75% of the life left in them. Now I was worried the motor was bad and thinking a new SG might be in order. So I pulled the end cap off and as I did at least 2-3 tablespoons of carbon fell out of the SG. It was at least double what I had seen in all of the videos of people doing rebuilds. Carbon was packed on the surface of the rotor and all over the stator section including on the magnets that sit close to the rotor. Carbon was everywhere and there was a lot of it. To the point I was surprised the SG worked at all, let alone intermittently.
My guess is that there was carbon build up from at least two full sets of brushes being worn out based on the amount of carbon that came out of the SG and the size of the 4 brushes that wear out. I am speculating that who ever did the rebuilds in the past only pulled the rubber covers and never bothered to clean out the motor section. So I
- Cleaned the rotor/stator
- Polished the com
- reinstalled the SG and after testing it 10-15 times never had a mis-start.

My recommendation to anyone that needs to replace brushes on the SG that you take the extra few minutes to pull the end cap and clean it out at the same time. It could save issues down the road.
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