88 G2 gas... BS mechanic?

[shibbershabber]

Hadn’t had time to mess with the cart for a while... got a line on a guy who does work on them... seems to have good reviews.

Anyhow, my problem was that I had no power at various points, pedal switch, ignition, etc when I press the pedal, nothing happens.... but if I short the solenoid, the motor turns (won’t start, but that’s another story)..

So this guy picked it up and a week later tells me it’s the igniter that was the problem. He’s ordered the part and will follow up with me when it arrives.


I’ll be first to admit that the electrical system on this thing is my weak point.... but I just don’t see how the igniter fits into my symptoms of no voltage at various switches and no motor turning when I press the pedal.

Even going back to some diagrams I have, I don’t see the igniter being central to getting the starter to operate....

Am I wrong here or am I getting hosed?

[slonomo]

At this point, you don't have any choice but to try a local mechanic. If you aren't comfortable working on electronics and ignition components, then you are at the mercy of a mechanic who has the experience to know what to check and where to look. If you work with a reputable shop (like a factory dealer), then you always have recourse. If you are working with "a guy who works on stuff", then yes, it's a crap shoot.

I work on all my own vehicles. Over the years I have become quite the diagnostic mechanic, but I'm not a factory trained mechanic, so I do have my limitations. But I'll give it a shot here. In this case here, you're talking about the starting system and the ignition system, two separate systems. One has nothing to do with the other, except that they all use 12v power supplied by the battery.

The starter/generator relies on the 12v hot side cable (aka positive cable) to supply voltage to the starter motor (aka starter/generator). So you can trace power from there to the starter motor. The voltage does travel through a switch (aka solenoid) that is activated by the switch under the accelerator pedal. The pedal switch is energized by the key switch. So, as you can see, the power has a pathway. It has a starting point, and an ending point. For the starting system, you just have to find where the power is and where it isn't. Find where the power doesn't travel anymore. That's where your problem will be.

For the ignition, there are various components as well. You have the primary ignition components, and you have the secondary ignition components.

Primary ignition is your engine mounted parts, such as the pulse coil, pulsar, and cdi (aka brain box/module). Primary ignition is responsible for spark signal and timing.

The secondary ignition parts are the ignition coil, plug wire, and spark plug. The secondary ignition parts are responsible for spark energy production and delivery.

The way you diagnose the ignition is first to check for spark. I like to use a spark plug tester or ignition coil tester. It's a little device that plugs into the plug wire then hooks onto the spark plug. It will light up when there is spark or energy getting to the spark plug.

If you have spark, air, fuel, compression then the engine should run. If you have all of these and it doesn't start, you have a timing issue or a bad carburetor.

This is all what I call "basic engine diagnostics". You must educate yourself so that when you "DO" talk to your mechanic, you can at least follow along and make sure they know what they are doing.

[Golf cart guy]

If you press on the pedal and the motor does not turn over, you have an electrical starting issue, certainly not the ignitor.

If you step on the pedal and the motor turns over but doesnt start, thats a motor issue.

Very simple. Looks like you could be on the way to getting some free parts (ignitor). Now I dont think they have new ignitors from yamaha for that car, which means you will get an aftermarket piece of crap, so make sure you get your old part back so you can put it back on later.

[CP241]

Originally Posted by Golf cart guy

you will get an aftermarket piece of crap, so make sure you get your old part back so you can put it back on later.

Very well put. The aftermarket ignitors are absolute garbage

Where are you located?

[shibbershabber]

So... Update...

Wrong part came, waiting for correct part now.
Should be any day now.

I'm in Vancouver, WA.
Mechanic is in Gresham, OR

[shibbershabber]

***UPDATE***

IT LIVES!


So the mechanic was full of ****. Was dead set on it being the igniter... which he then called back and said he couldn’t find one and they were bringing the cart back.

I had a couple of free hours today so I went and messed with it.


When I first started working on it I noticed a wire that went nowhere, but the end was extremely corroded and worn.... I figured as bad as it looked, it had been that way for a while and if it ran before like that, it should run now.

But it was my last hope. I traced it back into the harness... but decided to try and find where the OTHER end was, because it had to connect to something at some point, right?

No luck... couldn’t find any other loose ends. Until I looked down at the floor and saw the old positive battery cable.... and at one end there was a lead, Looking inside it was as corroded and miserable as my mystery wire.

I scabbed in a wire real quick, from the loose end to the POS side of the solenoid..... it fired right up! Well, sort of... runs like **** but it’s moving.


I believe it’s the wire that supplies power to the key switch.

So this weekend I’ll put in a proper wire and clean up the harnesses I cut open... and then get to work on making it run better.