Is there a doctor in the house?

[Sdsuslacker]

I'm in the middle of making my own crude wiring diagram for my 1984 marathon. I will be replacing every wire on it in the next few weeks. I have a pretty good idea of what each of the components do, except one.

4 six gauge wires run to this "thingy" and I would like to know what it is? All 4 wires connect up to the speed switch board.

Thanks!

[cgtech]

That "thingy" is a set of resistor coils, one or more are activated by the speed board to "waste" some of the power, by converting it to heat in those coils, allowing only some of the power to reach the motor. It is a inefficient, but effective method to control speed. This is how older carts varied speed before more efficient solid state motor controllers were common. Dont touch it when the cart has been recently run, it will be very hot. I would recommend not trying to disassemble it to clean it unless necessary, all the bolts and coils are usually super rusted, and will usually break before they loosen up. The rust is common, and usually not a problem.

[Sdsuslacker]

Thanks CGTech. The wires are pretty corroded on it. But they appear to be connected to a mounting plate. I plan to replace all the wires on the cart, is there any special way to attack the resistor coils? I'll only do one wire at a time.

And a separate note, is there an upgrade that I can swap the coils out for to get a more efficient cart?

[cgtech]

Yes, scottyb (in the site sponsors as cartsunlimited.com) has a solid state conversion for the old resistor carts. If you are going to attack those bolts, Spray the bolts with wd40 and let sit overnight. It will smoke and stink a little when put back in service because of the wd40, which should be monitored, but shouldn't be a big deal.

[Sdsuslacker]

Well that sure does answer my question, but for $800, I guess I am "happy" (stuck) with what I have for now.

Thanks CGtech