1992 DS with FE 290 surges badly mid-throttle

[oldhippieguy]

Hi Guys, We just bought a 1992 Club Car DS with the FE 290 engine.
The engine runs good and has plenty of power. My problem is that it runs smooth with the throttle barely cracked open or at full throttle but surges badly at mid-throttle settings. We use the cart in a campground and top speed is "too fast for conditions". When we first got it it would only run about 5 mph. we cleaned the carb and that made a world of difference except for the surging. The other thing I have noticed is that the cable on the top of the carb is very loose and only moves (Very slightly) at the very end of the throttle pedals travel, I haven't figured out how to adjust this cable or if it is ok the way it is. The surging almost like it is bumping against the rev limiter. Since my wife is going to drive this most of the time I don't want to bypass any of the safety features. I have through lots of pages of threads and have not found a similar problem. Also several times when we stop in forward the cart will shut off and then restart going in reverse for a few seconds.

I appreciate in advance all of your imput and thank you profusely!

Thanks again, Pat, aka "Oldhippieguy"

[stevenvjohnson]

The carburetor throttle should engage throughout most of the gas pedal's range (not just at the end). Adjusting your throttle may fix this problem. You need to get under the cart and loosen the two nuts on the accelerator rod (have someone push on the accelerator with the key off and cart in neutral while you're underneath the cart and you'll see it), and then screw the rod out to lengthen it. This will give you some more range on your accelerator. Also, you can give adjust the throttle in the black electrical box too. The throttle should engange in the following sequence,

1) Parking brake release
2) solenoid activation
3) carburetor throttle actuation

The carburetor throttle should start activating within about the first 1/2" or less of the gas pedal being pushed.

There's more adjustments you can make to the gas pedal and brake release, etc, but it's too confusing to explain here. It is explained in detail in the Maintenance and Service Manual.

Another problem you might have is that the governor is out of adjustment - I have no idea how to adjust this, but you might find some help in the forum.

You should also check that the throttle cables move freely and lubricate or replace as necessary. One other thing to check is that the spring on the throttle cable is moving freely and not catching on anything and that the little spring on top of the carb is free and has adequate "springyness."

I don't know what the periodic reverse thing is doing, but I seem to recall seeing another thread about that here somewhere. If I find it, I'll let you know.

I hope this helps.

Steve

[oldhippieguy]

It appears that the cable I was referring to in my initial post is the governor cable and we adjusted the slack out of it. Replaced both fuel filters and looked everything over. No difference in operation, still surges badly at
mid-throttle settings.

Pat aka "Oldhippieguy"