1990 Marathon Electric won't move but tries to.

mmccarrell · 01-17-2016, 08:28 PM

Good evening. I had the stock Curtis controller from my cart rebuilt but the good folks at FSIP and slapped that bugger in my cart. I was all fired up to get it moving but the best I got was when I floored it the wheels moved an inch or two and stopped. I checked the pot and it was fine. It showed about 5ohm at no throttle and 5.5KOhm at full. I put the volt meter on B+ to M- and moved the pot. When I went full throttle I saw voltage for a split second and then it dropped to zero again.

I'm thoroughly confused and need some guidance. I don't even know what to look at next. Could my fresh rebuild be bad? If one of you guys who are way better at carts then me could help me out that would be great.

Thanks all!

mgray70 · 01-17-2016, 09:42 PM

The pot should start out at 0 then proceed to 5 as you mash the pedal. Just an observation.

mmccarrell · 01-17-2016, 09:55 PM

I didn't actually clean the pot leads when I tested it so it make sense that there is a few extra ohms of resistance. I would think that it's not enough to create the symptoms I am seeing. I can of course always be wrong.

mgray70 · 01-18-2016, 12:44 PM

I'm not the best on these, but you should start out pedal up with 0 ohms and pedal down should read 5k ohms. Maybe somebody a little sharper will stop by and weigh in.

JohnnieB · 01-18-2016, 05:10 PM

Disconnect the black and white wires on top of the controller and measure between the wires with an Ohmmeter.

When the pedal is pushed just far enough for the solenoid to click, you should read as close to 0Ω as possible.
When Pedal is on floor, you should read from about 4800Ω to 6000Ω.

If the pot is dirty and the Ohms spikes above 7000Ω, the controller will shut down. (Runaway safety)

Also, if the throttle does has not return all the way to the top when controller powers up (Key on and direction selected, powers up the controller in a Marathon controller cart), the controller will disable itself (HPD safety = High Pedal Disable)

You might just have a gummed up pedal hinge or weak pedal return spring.

01-17-2016, 08:28 PM	#1
mmccarrell Not Yet Wild Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 4	1990 Marathon Electric won't move but tries to. Good evening. I had the stock Curtis controller from my cart rebuilt but the good folks at FSIP and slapped that bugger in my cart. I was all fired up to get it moving but the best I got was when I floored it the wheels moved an inch or two and stopped. I checked the pot and it was fine. It showed about 5ohm at no throttle and 5.5KOhm at full. I put the volt meter on B+ to M- and moved the pot. When I went full throttle I saw voltage for a split second and then it dropped to zero again. I'm thoroughly confused and need some guidance. I don't even know what to look at next. Could my fresh rebuild be bad? If one of you guys who are way better at carts then me could help me out that would be great. Thanks all!
mmccarrell Not Yet Wild Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 4

01-17-2016, 09:55 PM	#3
mmccarrell Not Yet Wild Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 4	Re: 1990 Marathon Electric won't move but tries to. I didn't actually clean the pot leads when I tested it so it make sense that there is a few extra ohms of resistance. I would think that it's not enough to create the symptoms I am seeing. I can of course always be wrong.
mmccarrell Not Yet Wild Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 4

01-18-2016, 05:10 PM	#5
JohnnieB Techno-Nerd Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Virginia Posts: 19,654	Re: 1990 Marathon Electric won't move but tries to. Disconnect the black and white wires on top of the controller and measure between the wires with an Ohmmeter. When the pedal is pushed just far enough for the solenoid to click, you should read as close to 0Ω as possible. When Pedal is on floor, you should read from about 4800Ω to 6000Ω. If the pot is dirty and the Ohms spikes above 7000Ω, the controller will shut down. (Runaway safety) Also, if the throttle does has not return all the way to the top when controller powers up (Key on and direction selected, powers up the controller in a Marathon controller cart), the controller will disable itself (HPD safety = High Pedal Disable) You might just have a gummed up pedal hinge or weak pedal return spring.

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01-17-2016, 09:42 PM	#2
mgray70 Gone Wild Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Deep Run, NC Posts: 2,544	The pot should start out at 0 then proceed to 5 as you mash the pedal. Just an observation.

01-18-2016, 12:44 PM	#4
mgray70 Gone Wild Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Deep Run, NC Posts: 2,544	I'm not the best on these, but you should start out pedal up with 0 ohms and pedal down should read 5k ohms. Maybe somebody a little sharper will stop by and weigh in.