Weak turning over/starting

[Dadsbaby]

Hey guys.. I have not been on here in a while, just kinda lost interest in the cart. Anyways I got it out yesterday and was driving it in the field in and out of some deeper ruts and such just trying out my new torque kit I put on (purchased from source on here) one of the best and had clutch done by them also.

My cart does not feel like it's starting up right, like the battery is not charged completely. Every time I go to take off no matter if it's warmed up or not it struggles to start up/take off. I don't know if it's in the starter system or carb or?? It runs fine as soon as it takes off, in the field I pulled into a fairly deep rutt but not too much for the cart to handle.. and it could not pull itself out due to not wanting to fire up, more less running off of starter. It helps considerably when pulling choke though on take offs. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I'm not too good with electrical instruments to check things. Thanks for any help.

[Dadsbaby]

Nothing? If the battery was weak, would it stay charged enough to start the cart each time I use it.. which is not very often. It even sit all winter and had enough charge to start.

[Cvans]

Check the voltage on the battery when setting idle and while it is cranking. You might have one bad cell in the battery. Clean and check all battery connections. Especially the ground connections as those tend to be neglected.
Sounds like your trying to start with low voltage or a dragging starter. This is one of the things where you just have to troubleshoot everything until you find the problem. A volt meter and continuity tester are going to be your real friends here.
Good luck.

[cgtech]

Is it cranking? Check the voltage at the 2 big wires going from the cart to the starter/gen at the starter/gen while cranking, but not yet running. Post results and i will try to help.

[Dadsbaby]

Chris that's what it seems like to me.. Either maybe a week battery or possibly something to do with starter/generator. When I got it I thought maybe it just set too long and gunked up carb but it was not bad, thought maybe old gas but that's long gone. I can try these test if I can figure out how and if I have the tools.. I think I have a continuity tester, not sure about volt meter. I never was much with any electrical test or anything to do with electrical. I have an old battery tester that someone give me I could see if it will work. Do some of the continuity testers have volt meters on them too, if so mine may have it. Thanks for the info I was wondering if I had explained good enough...guess so!

I may not be able to get to it for a couple days now but I will get back with some info hopefully. Thanks to you also cg, I will try all the above.

[sjfishon]

sounds like you aren't getting full battery, clean both terms, don't forget to do the small wire at both terminals, its the small black to look at esp..

[Cvans]

Volt meters usually have an ohm meter in them and that can be used to test resistance through a connection. Your negative battery cable should be disconnected from the battery while doing these tests. All other connections should be hooked up. This is an example of using an Ohm meter. Set the meter to ohms and touch the two probes together. The needle should deflect all the way to the right. I prefer an analog meter ( has a needle) to a digital for this testing. Now touch the red probe to the positive post of the battery and the black probe to the lug on the battery cable. The meter should read the same as it did with the probes touched together or "0" resistance. If the needle does not go all the way over then you need to take the cable off of the battery and clean the post and the end of the cable so both are clean and shiny. Hook them up and try it again. Do not connect the meter between the + and - posts on the battery when it is set to read ohms or your meter will be damaged.
The continuity tester can be used but it is not as telling as the ohm meter. Hook one end of your tester to the - post of the battery and the other end to the + post of the battery. The light should be bright. Now take the lead off of the + post and touch it to the + cable and the light should still be bight. If not then the connection there is dirty.
Your Battery tester should have a volt meter built into it. Your battery fully charged at rest should read around 12.5 volts. A little more is OK. If it reads 10 volts to 11 volts you have a bad cell in the battery. Trying to start your engine with this low voltage is bad for your starter. You can also leave the battery tester hooked up to the battery while starting and see how low the voltage drops while starting.
Hope this makes sense.

[sho305]

I would put a new plug in if you have not and clean all the battery cable connections that is a very common issue. Check the bottom bolt on gen is tight. Double check battery clamps I've had to file mine to get them clean. Be very careful but one way to test for connection issues is the connections work when you move them a little or they get very hot with a bad connection when you try to start it for a bit.

You might need brushes on the gen if none of that helps. If you have good turn over speed then I'd start with looking at the carb and air leaks, in particular idle jet and air leaks, air box leaks if you have stock jetting and air intake. Note that bad mix from that can foul the plug in a hurry and it will still look ok.

Bad connection will make it turn over slow, usually a fuel/ignition/etc engine issue if it turns over at normal speed. Also inspect your clutch (primary) if its dragging. With my G9 when it dragged on start it was always time to put one pump of grease in it, about 3-4 times a summer that was how I knew to do it.

[Dadsbaby]

Thanks for all the ideas guys, I'm yet to get out there and try them. I have so much going on right now that it's keeping me from playing in the garage. I'll post when I do finally get some time to try these. Thanks again!

[sho305]

Originally Posted by Dadsbaby

Thanks for all the ideas guys, I'm yet to get out there and try them. I have so much going on right now that it's keeping me from playing in the garage. I'll post when I do finally get some time to try these. Thanks again!

Hmmm, well don't feel like the only one with that problem. I have a new clutch and still can't get it on the cart.