1984 ezgo marathon resistor questions

[dandersen55]

so im not sure if i did this right... but this is my first golf cart and my first ever post on a forum.... so sorry if this is in wrong place... i just purchased a 1984 ezgo marathon with resistors if i realized this before i purchased i probably wouldn't have.... as im new to carts and just wanted something inexpensive to puts to boat and back.. but this thing is so slow i could walk there and back twice... the batteries are about a year old and topped off with distilled water charger plugged in and and appear to be at a full charge... the problem I am having is this thing is slower than walking..... i noticed while driving home from previous owner at light speed i mean at the speed of smell... the wiper arm would ark and make pretty blue lights... i assume this isnt normal... not really sure where to start my diag if some one could point me in the correct location id appreciate thanks.. I would like to down the road do carts unlimited conversion but id like to at least get it to make it through this summer with out spending to much more money.. thanks for any help

also wiring near reverse forward board seem to be getting pretty hot i am assuming maybe high resistance or something along those lines

[Tire guy]

I seem to be having the same problem with mine. I found a broken resistor and I thought that is the problem. Put a new one in and it seems better but still getting that green arcing when pushing the accelerator. I tried to find a good wiring diagram to make sure I have everything hooked up right as I just got it but really hard to find a wiring diagram or video on where all the wires go. Any ideas would be great.

[scottyb]

Here is one.

[kernal]

Originally Posted by dandersen55

so im not sure if i did this right... but this is my first golf cart and my first ever post on a forum.... so sorry if this is in wrong place... i just purchased a 1984 ezgo marathon with resistors if i realized this before i purchased i probably wouldn't have.... as im new to carts and just wanted something inexpensive to puts to boat and back.. but this thing is so slow i could walk there and back twice... the batteries are about a year old and topped off with distilled water charger plugged in and and appear to be at a full charge... the problem I am having is this thing is slower than walking..... i noticed while driving home from previous owner at light speed i mean at the speed of smell... the wiper arm would ark and make pretty blue lights... i assume this isnt normal... not really sure where to start my diag if some one could point me in the correct location id appreciate thanks.. I would like to down the road do carts unlimited conversion but id like to at least get it to make it through this summer with out spending to much more money.. thanks for any help

also wiring near reverse forward board seem to be getting pretty hot i am assuming maybe high resistance or something along those lines

From what I can see in the picture that is a good example of carts of that era. In its prime it would run 12-14 mph on the level. From your description the first thing I would look at/change is called the foot switch wiper. It slides across the contacts on the speed board. The bottom contact is the rest position and not connected electrically. Inspect the copper contacts on the speed board for damage. The blue arching is consistent with wiper switch malfunction. There could also be issues with broken resisters. Parts may be hard to find right now because of covid.

[coosa]

I ran an 84 resistor cart for about 15 years. I put 22" tires on it and built a rear bed and used it for all sorts of jobs around the farm. I would still be running it if the frame hadn't completely rusted out. I am not much of a mechanic, but that cart was pretty easy to understand and I did all the work myself except for having the motor rebuilt once.

I think you have got to look at it like a vehicle from the 50s or 60s - you have to do regular tuneups to keep it running. Parts like the board, wiper, coil, and solenoid are going to wear out and will need to be replaced at regular intervals. I don't know how often that should be, but I was rough on mine and used it in the woods and had to replace the board and wiper every couple of years or so. I think I got 4 or 5 years out of the other parts, but I had to replace everything on it at least a couple of times. The micro switches were also hard to keep working. If you are gonna keep it, I would say just go ahead and replace everything unless something looks very new. It won't be all that expensive, and you will better understand how it works after you have been through it. And you need to understand it, because you are gonna have to constantly make minor repairs to keep it going.

Mine wasn't real fast, but it would probably go 15 mph on flat ground. It sounds like yours is not going that fast. New components should speed it up. If that doesn't do it, you can pull the motor and rebuild it. Or if you come to AL, I will give you one. Good luck!

[Tire guy]

The problem I have is knowing which wires went where on the motor since it may be wrong from before I started. Not sure which are the S1 etc on the motor. I only numbered them from where they were. I have attached a pic. Thanks

[coosa]

Originally Posted by Tire guy

The problem I have is knowing which wires went where on the motor since it may be wrong from before I started. Not sure which are the S1 etc on the motor. I only numbered them from where they were. I have attached a pic. Thanks

The diagram that Scottyb posted shows the correct numbering on the motor. It doesn't have all the diagrams, and there used to be one stickied at the top that did. You might want to start a new thread that specifically asks for resistor cart diagrams in the title. Someone on here probably has it.

I'm no mechanic, but I would think that your wires to the motor are hooked up correctly or it wouldn't run. It could well be that something else isn't right, and that is increasing the arcing. I will say that I never did get mine to completely stop arcing. Good luck with it.

[49ford]

TireG, the diagram ScottyB posted shows your motor posts pretty well so you can find S1. But again, I can't tell where some of the cables go. I have two or 3 diagrams and they aren't all the same.

I'm having trouble getting a diagram that shows where every cable goes or hooks up. The diagrams I have don't show where the power cables, that go to the solenoid, actually connect to.

As it sits, this cart will run in reverse and forward, only at a single speed, so it isn't using the resistors.
I need to know where the solenoid , the B+, the A1, cables hook up. This was a basket case cart that had the micro switches wired around and several cables missing.
This diagram shows A1 connecting to 9:oo on F-R switch, another shows A1 connecting to 4 coil, which doesn't look like it has ever had anything on it except rust.

[coosa]

Maybe I can help you guys out. I thought I threw away all my resistor cart stuff, but I found these in my files. I apologise for the quality, but it is a picture of a piece of paper.

I ran mine for years without wire number 53. It wasn't on the cart when I bought it, and I never knew it was supposed to be there. It ran without it, but arcing was bad. Adding it reduced the arcing, but did not eliminate it.


picture uploader

free image hosting site

[Tire guy]

Thanks boys! I changed my solenoid and then hooked up that extra wire from the #1 spot on the speed board above the blank one for resting position. Now it wants to go forward or reverse if it’s in gear with the switch on. Plus when you turn the switch on the solenoid is making a loud click now. I can’t win. Lol. So I unhooked that extra wire and it is still trying to move if it’s in gear without the accelerator pressed. 🤦🏻*♂️