36v EZGO just clicks when pedal is pushed

[rotus623]

Hey fellas,

I need some help working on a good friends golf cart. ill get the serial number when I get home, but it is a 36v and I think 2007 model.

He bought it a year ago and it had issues. All the batteries were swollen and didnt hold much of a charge. The seller told him he would put new batteries in it, so he did. Cart had run fine for a few months.

Now what he is experiencing is a grinding noise every once in a while. Eventually it had gotten to the point where the cart would not always go when you step on the pedal, now it just wont do anything but click when you step on the pedal.

All batteries tested around 6.3-6.5v after they set for a day after charging. Entire system was running 38v. I am versed in electrical and work on outboard motors as a hobby, just want to know what diagrams I need and where to start with troubleshooting. I am not a parts swapper by any means!! Thanks in advance guys!!

[scottyb]

Is the F&R switch down by the seat or a toggle in the dash?

[rotus623]

Originally Posted by scottyb

Is the F&R switch down by the seat or a toggle in the dash?

In the dash

[rotus623]

So I got some more info on the cart. The serial number is 2480221. It is a 2007 and it says TEXTRON.

[rotus623]

So I found the service manual and found that the code that I am throwing is 1-4, which says "high pedal". It tells me to check the mechanism in the pedal box, so I guess that is my next step.

The odd thing is that that doesn't explain the grinding. Will these carts show more than one fault code at a time or do you fix one thing to find another fault?

[Sir Nuke]

rotus......as far as the grinding goes.....this very well can be a classic ezgo issue, and easy to fix.

now when you try to GO, it doesn't but you hear the grinding sound.....right? if so, have someone help, makes it easier, have them sit in they drivers seat. with you standing of the drivers side, observe the rear wheel when the push on the "gas"....look at the large nut in the center if the wheel/hub. does/is it spinning when you try to GO? if so.....that's your grinding noise....and your problem. The hub is STRIPED. its an easy fix, just replace the hub. you can either replace it with a stick cast iron hub, or you can get a set/pair of HD drums/hubs form CartsUnlimited.net (ScottyB's site).

they are near the bottom of the page....

http://www.cartsunlimited.net/ausco-brakes---hubs.html

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by rotus623

So I got some more info on the cart. The serial number is 2480221. It is a 2007 and it says TEXTRON.

It is an EZGO 2007 TXT PDS
TXT is a body style (Plastic body)
PDS is the drive type. (SepEx)

Originally Posted by rotus623

So I found the service manual and found that the code that I am throwing is 1-4, which says "high pedal". It tells me to check the mechanism in the pedal box, so I guess that is my next step.

The odd thing is that that doesn't explain the grinding. Will these carts show more than one fault code at a time or do you fix one thing to find another fault?

The error codes are the result of the controller not detecting the expected voltages on the wires and cables and the grinding noise is mechanical, so the controller doesn't have a error code for it and won't be able to detect something is mechanically wrong with cart, unless the mechanical problem somehow causes the voltages at the controller to be outside the expected ranges.

The 1-4 error code (HPD or High Pedal Disable) occurs when the green wire on J4 Pin-1 does not return to 0V when the throttle pedal returns to the up position. Count be the pedal is jammed and not returning to the fully up position, or the pedal switch is bad, or there is cross-talk between the Red and Green wires in the in-Line connector between the cable from the pedal box and control wiring harness. There are other reasons, but those are the most likely ones.


The grinding noise is very likely to be stripped splines on one or both of the rear hubs. That is the weakest link in the mechanical drive train.

Remove all hubcaps so you can see the castle nut on the axle a watch the nuts while someone tries to drive cart. If the nut turns and the wheel doesn't, the splines are stripped. It is an open differential, so it only take one bad hub to keep cart from moving. Replace both hubs.

Castle nuts not being torqued properly is often the cause of stripped hubs.

[rotus623]

Very good info guys. There are certainly 2 issues going on here. The pedal issue seemed to be intermittent and continually got worse. The grinding noise happened more going uphills, so it would make sense that the hub is stripped. I am going to break into the pedal box tonight and get some voltage readings to see what is going on.

[rotus623]

Ok guys, I am getting more and more familiar with the workings under the hood. I checked the micro switch and it is working perfectly. The plunger on the pedal is set to 17/64" clearance from the ITS just as spec calls for. With the key in, I checked the voltage from the white wire to B- on the ITS and it comes out to 14v. This is with the pedal FULLY DIS-engaged. When I engage the pedal until the solenoid clicks it goes down slightly, until full pedal engagement where I am reading 12v. Spec is 1v upon solenoid engagement and 3v on full pedal. I think I am getting high pedal disable because the voltage is too high. My guess is the windings in the ITS are shot and need to be replaced. Does this sound feasible guys??

[rotus623]

I also checked the J1 and J2 pins accordingly, and there is 0V at both pins.

The solenoid is reading open, so I believe that it is "welded" together internally.......

As far as the grinding noise, I removed the rear wheels and hubs to inspect them. There is some pitting on the splines on one of the hubs but it doesnt look stripped. I turned the rear shaft by hand and could hear a bit of a grinding noise. I believe the grinding is coming from either the motor or the rear axle assembly.