'09 Precedent; hesitation (delay) when starting

[Bob Dodds]

Guys,
I have a remanufactured '09 Precedent and basically I love it. However, I have one nagging problem; it has a bad hesitation (delay) when I want to start off. When I am playing golf it is aggravating but when I am out on the street, it becomes a saftey issue. When I step on the gas pedal there can be a 4 - 5 second delay before the engine will start (not everytime but probably 3 out of 4 starts). Bad deal when you are going to cross a street in front of a car!

The first explanation I heard was that becasue it was a large 350 cc engine and if it stops on top dead center, it takes awhile for it to gather enough oomph to turn it over. However, when talking to other Precedent owners, they have never had that problem.

The next explanation came from the dealer who said that the starter and solenoid were not large enough for this model cart and he replaced the starter and solenoid (no charge), which seemd to work better for a short time but now I am back to the same 4 - 5 second delay (again not every time). The dealer then said that the next problem is the battery and he now installs a larger battery (higher amperage?) that apparently fixes the problem.

My guestion is, is my dealer on the right track? I have talked to many other Precedent owners and they don't have this problem including a number of remanufactured carts from this same dealer. Don't get me wrong, this dealer is a great guy and I really like him. I'm just trying to see if there is something out there that he might not be aware of.
......Bob

[lockman1]

Welcome to BGW Bob!

I think your dealer is on the right track with the battery, (although, He should have checked that first!)
My 07 DS w/FE350 was doing the same thing, I replaced the battery last fall, and all is good!

[azdave]

My 06 remanufacured Precedent has similar issues. It is used mostly for golf and after an hour or two it will hesitate when the accelerator is stepped on. Ususally it will start when the accelerator is pushed a second time, other times I hold it down and work the shifting lever and it takes off. I already got a new battery and it may have helped a little, but not always.
I'm completely confused why this even happens to begin with and what in the world to do about it. If my wife ever gets standed, things will not be god.
Does anyone have any other ideas about this mystery??

Regards, AZDAVE

[shoelessjoe]

I would agree with Lockman (as I usually do) about checking the battery first, especially in the OP's case where the starter has been replaced already.

Another thing to consider is heat. I know with my muscle car that I had issues in the past with starters getting heat soaked (basically getting too hot thanks to the exhaust headers running right next to them) and having issues starting. The heat makes it hard for the starter which in turn makes it harder for the battery and in the end can leave you with a car that won't start till it cools off or with a car that needs a jump.

The heat off of a 400+ cubic inch big block is a little more than what your 350cc motor will produce but the concept could still apply. If this was the case I would suspect the issue would be more prevalent after the cart had been run for a bit (like after several holes of golf). This issue may also be more common on hotter days since the engine would run a bit hotter and put off more heat. Just something to consider.

[XcessiveCarts]

I have 2 Precedent 2006 models. One of them has had this same problem since i got it. Battery has been replace, and the Golf Cart dealer I got it from added a Resistor in the black box, which helped a little bit, but the problem still exists, just not as bad. Really want to solve this problem.

[etech]

OK, I'm not an expert here, so I would certainly defer to others who are more experienced. But, if I had this problem with my golf car (2007 Precedent), I would do the following:

Check to see if when the engine is not starting, does the solendoid click? If not, then jump the two big posts on solenoid to see if cart starts. If it starts, then it could be a bad microswitch on accelerator or on Fwd/Rev switch or a bad solenoid.

If solenoid does click, then I would suspect the battery, the solenoid, and the starter/starter brushes in this order.

If the starter turns but does engine does not, it could be a loose or bad starter belt.

Hope this helps.

Ed