1988 ezgo marathon 2pg won't crank

[ryanjap33]

I rebuilt my 2pg about 4 years ago. Have great compression now and it runs great when it starts. With the new jug and rings its almost likemy starter can't turn the engine over now with the compression. I can here the microswitch click on/off when I hit my pedal. The starter makes a whining noise but won't crank the engine. Eventually it will crank and start right up. I tried cleaning and replacing starter/Gen brushes last season and didn't make a difference.

Am I missing something or is my starter/Gen bad?

[Barnsworth]

Have you looked at the starter while cranking the engine? Maybe it something as simple as the belt slipping on the starter? When you said you hear it "whining" that's kind of the sound it makes when it's spinning.

[cart around]

The whining is high resistance, or low voltage. It could be a weak battery, or a poor connection. Sometimes corrosion climbs up the positive battery cable. Use a set of jumper cables to test at the solenoid and starter connections

[ryanjap33]

The belt is new and doesn't slip. The starter will make the noise and like build up, and eventually the engine will turn over one cycle and stop again as it re-builds compression but won't crank fast enough to start. It always gives me more trouble when trying to start in reverse opposed to starting in forward.
That battery is reading good on my tester. It's a 425 CA / 340 CCA battery. Is this enough amps?

I will try jumping the positive battery terminal lead tonight. Thanks

[ryanjap33]

Just wanted to update...
I replaced the cable between the positive battery terminal and solenoid, the problem seems to have gone away at this time. Thanks for the help and saving me from buying a starter/generator. I have been chasing this issue for almost 2 camping seasons.