94 EZGO One More With No Spark

Found dead 55

New Member
Well, i finally got the cart with all the bells and whistles that i would ever need for my application. Picked up an extremely clean 94 EZGO Marathon (personally my favorite body style) I sold my old 76 Taylor Dunn T-bird and with that I got my baby, but it has no spark, hence the reason the seller gave me a killer deal, he replaced the ignitor, ignition coil, solenoid, battery, but the new coil that it had, was DOA, cheap Amazon coils are known to do this I've heard, but i purchased another one, off of Amazon, ya, big mistake, it too burned out before i ever got any spark, one thing about Amazon, returns, so they sent me another coil, but I'm afraid to wire it in and attempt to fire it up before i can get some type of answer to what i had noticed with the coil in the first time around, when i removed the white and red wires from the coil, i noticed a pretty decent increase in the engines RPMs and the opposite when i removed them, i know something about engines, i wrenched on bikes since i was 5 and from what i know, 1st lead to the coil is the pulse sensor signal and the 2nd the ground, now when i got the cart, i did check the coil that was on it ava it fell sorry if the specs, no i know it was bad and the first new coil checked out but after installing and trying to start it up, i got nothing, so checked the new coil and found that it had fried before i ever got a spark, so now I've got the second (Amazon sellers replacement) now installed, but i would like to hear from ago you out there, to see if i can get some kind of answer, for why the coil burned out so fast, now before you say, you get what you pay for, ya i know, but what caused that change in RPMs when the pulsar coils leads were taken off and put back on, that I've not seen before, maybe the pulsar coil isn't any good or it's not getting a signal input from flywheel, or possibly grounded out, I'm at a loss, i know the motor is good, 150 psi in both cylinders, so just need to figure out the no spark problem, before i start throwing darts/parts at it, i would like to find a good place to start, like i said it's had many electrical parts replaced on it but the prior owner only said, it ran for 5-10 mins then died and sold it to me, like i also said, it's a very nice cart, someone had dumped a lot of money into it back in the day and I'm sure I'm 94 it stood out among the rest. There are so many stores and threads or there about an ez-go losing spark, but i guess I'm just wondering, what caused that change in the RPMs and killed that new coil so fast, hopefully someone has seen this, I've heard that the throttle sensor switch has an odd sign when it's bad, could this be it. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you
 

Zman

Cartaholic
I went through 5 coils and 2 ignitors on one cart before i realized the charging system was putting put 18 volts. to check this the cart has to run and you have to have a volt meter on battery before the coil or ignitor fails.
 

Found dead 55

New Member
Yes, I've heard over voltage from starter/generator can smoke a new Chinese ignitor, so do you believe that this over voltage can also kill a cheap coil too? I checked the output from the starter/generator from what i can recall it was actually under the specs, settings 9-10 first thought was to contribute this to the fact that, since the engine wasn't running, maybe the starter/generator wasn't spinning fast enough to kick out higher voltage. I just put the cart into the shop, going to let a mechanic run a diagnostic test on the electrical components, just to see if anything is out of spec, i know the ignitor can't truly be tested, the only test, is a dummy light test, simply put, take one from a cart you know runs and see if it fixes the problem, if it does, yours is bad. Thing that has me puzzled, is this, replaced bad coil that tested way off spec, 0 ohms from spark plug wire to spark plug wire, but after installing a new coil i noticed something weird, when i attached the white and red wire to the coil, the RPMs dropped big time and i never got spark and found that the new coil was no longer testing good and i tested it before i installed it, now i have a new coil from the seller on Amazon, but not wanting to install and fry it too, before i can get an answer on why the RPM change and why a brand new coil fried in 2 minutes. Let's see if the mechanic is worth his weight in salt, claimed he does it all the time and shouldn't be a problem, i told him what i knew about the cart and what i know about gas motors, so he doesn't try to pull the windshield wiper bearing trick, hope he can give an honest answer and a affordable solution, or I'm taking my cart back and waiting for assistance from friends and others in this and other sites. But ez-go gas cart lost spark, is a very common thread and I've read every combination of solutions, guess I'm just impatient, the cart is my baby and can't wait to drive it.
 

Found dead 55

New Member
Absolutely and I've got a local shop that told me that they have pretty much every part for my cart in stock, crossing my fingers in the hope to find a coil, but even more so, for an igniter, that would really be a score Won't tell them that they're no longer being manufactured, that's if they already don't know. Wouldn't want them jacking the price up because it's now considered NOS (new old stock) even if i find that my cart doesn't need an igniter, I'm grabbing it anyways. I'm sure my Chinese one on my cart now will take a dump eventually. Thanks for the suggestion. I've done a lot of business with China and I've been there 18 times dealing with factories. I was a mechanical engineer that designed motorcycles and ATV's you would freak if i told you what big Japanese and a certain American company, has their OEM parts manufactured there.
 

Found dead 55

New Member
Question, will a bad voltage regulator burn out both a igniter and a ignition coil, as i noted my brand new coil i installed burned out while checking spark after putting it on, wondering if the regulator could of done that and also burned out the igniter, so before i throw another igniter and coil on, I'm thinking maybe the regulator should be changed out. Next, when i checked the pulsar coil AC voltage it was .1volts not sure if that is within spec and wondering what the pulsar coil should read for OHM's I've heard two conflicting measurements.
Lastly, i installed a new ignition switch, because the previous owner had lost the key and had a AB switch installed, but i noticed when i turned the key on and pressed the gas peddle the generator/starter would turn motor over, but when i turned the key off, it just kept turning and I had to remove the battery cable to get it to stop, bad throttle sensor switch maybe? Just not sure, there are a few things that seem to be going on, first that coil burning out right after install, not sure if the same thing that did that could of burned out the igniter, wouldn't be a good idea to install a new one before that was solved. I hate diagnosing electric, i know what each component does to get spark and I've heard all except the igniter can be checked if in spec, but what other things should i be looking at, any other known issue/s that can prevent spark so i can go through the checklist and use the method of deduction to pinpoint what could be the problem, is there a thread or a site with the specs, silly question, I'm sure there is, but a little help in locating it would be great and any help with the possible reason for burned out coil and igniter, other than the fact that Chinese parts can fail easily, it's like pulling teeth dealing with electrical, but there's not much to the system involved, just have never been strong in the electrical diagnostic side and this is the first gas golf cart I've dealt with, so i I'm a little frustrated by this problem and any help would be truly appreciated.
 

Tomd

Cartaholic
Question, will a bad voltage regulator burn out both a igniter and a ignition coil, as i noted my brand new coil i installed burned out while checking spark after putting it on, wondering if the regulator could of done that and also burned out the igniter, so before i throw another igniter and coil on, I'm thinking maybe the regulator should be changed out. Next, when i checked the pulsar coil AC voltage it was .1volts not sure if that is within spec and wondering what the pulsar coil should read for OHM's I've heard two conflicting measurements.
Lastly, i installed a new ignition switch, because the previous owner had lost the key and had a AB switch installed, but i noticed when i turned the key on and pressed the gas peddle the generator/starter would turn motor over, but when i turned the key off, it just kept turning and I had to remove the battery cable to get it to stop, bad throttle sensor switch maybe? Just not sure, there are a few things that seem to be going on, first that coil burning out right after install, not sure if the same thing that did that could of burned out the igniter, wouldn't be a good idea to install a new one before that was solved. I hate diagnosing electric, i know what each component does to get spark and I've heard all except the igniter can be checked if in spec, but what other things should i be looking at, any other known issue/s that can prevent spark so i can go through the checklist and use the method of deduction to pinpoint what could be the problem, is there a thread or a site with the specs, silly question, I'm sure there is, but a little help in locating it would be great and any help with the possible reason for burned out coil and igniter, other than the fact that Chinese parts can fail easily, it's like pulling teeth dealing with electrical, but there's not much to the system involved, just have never been strong in the electrical diagnostic side and this is the first gas golf cart I've dealt with, so i I'm a little frustrated by this problem and any help would be truly appreciated.
Your pulser coil should ohm between 19 and 21 ohms. The reading you get when spinning over probably relates to what scale your meter is on.

A bad voltage regulator would not burn up a new ignitor and coil when its not even firing. If you do get it running then yes it could take out the ignitor if overcharging. Never had it to happen with coil.

I have worked on a few carts in the last few months that were firing fine with these cheap ignitors but they are a hit and miss thing. There are no more OEM to be found so these cheap ones are the only option I see right now. Thank goodness I have a test OEM ignitor to use.

There is a blue wire connected to solenoid. When you push the gas pedal 12 volts is supplied on that blue wire to the solenoid to make the S/G turn over. When this cart continues to run remove that blue wire and see if it stops turning over. If it does then you solenoid is bad.

Also I will ask you to make 100 % sure your battery is not in backward. Being both cables are black so its not hard to connect them wrong. I had a customer install one backward last year. After I found what he did and corrected it the same thing happened as you. When I let off pedal it continued to run. More later as I got to go.
 

Metalhead 55

New Member
Ok, awesome, my pulsar tested at 20 ohms so hopefully it's good, next i bought a igniter from Jason's golf carts, there was an OEM coil in the picture and i called them to ask the sales rep if it indeed was an OEM igniter and she assured me that if it shows an OEM igniter in the picture, it will be an OEM part, I'm hoping this is true, because, i too had heard an OEM impossible to find and they charged me $101 for it, plus $40 shipping for a 3 day delivery, is it is not, I'll be pissed to say the least and will fight them tooth & nail to get my money back for sending me a part i could of got for $25 on Amazon, i also ordered the throttle micro switch, since I'm having the issue with run on after turning off ignition key switch, the solenoid was recently changed, but that does not mean that it's a functional part, so I'll check the blue wire to see what's up, I'm pretty sure that the battery is not connected up backwards, but I've done sillier things in the past, so that'll be on my check list too, next when i checked the output from the s/g i got a 10v reading, i thought that may be only because they motor isn't spinning fast enough to have a normal charge rate of 13-15 volts (that's if it should match the normal 14.7v of a cars alternator) i found some info online on how to check the solenoid on a cart, so that'll be on my checklist too and the voltage regulator looks to be the factory part, so i can easily change that out too, if needed. The one thing was the pulsar coil, I've heard carts running with the .1volt AC and if the 20 ohms shows it to be good, that'll have me close to solving the mystery, but if i do need to change the pulsar coil, my question is this and I'll explain why i ask this later, can it truly be done without removing the motor, I've been wrenching on motorcycles and ATV's for 40+ years, I've raced, owned a dealership and did some design on complete bikes and ATV's and from what i can see, only the shroud needs to be removed, then the magneto and I'll have access to it, looks like there's plenty of room to get both a impact wrench to remove the nut and a mag puller to remove the mag, finally, the reason i ask this, is, because one of my local clowns had claims of 30 years working on carts, said he'll require the motor to be removed to change it, well he said we'll see, i said, if you don't know, both by looking at it and by past experiences with working on this year, model and make, then your 30 years doesn't amount to much and you might as well retire, i even had a second shop tell me the same thing, uhh I'm not sure, wow! Really, because i can tell you the repair process on most years, models and makes of bikes and ATV's and there are more is those, than any few years, models, and makes of carts, but hey maybe they either haven't worked on one recently, or plan on milking a job, by adding the cost to R&R the motor. Hence the reason I'm planning on doing this myself, I've rebuilt complete motors overnight for the following race day, so I'm sure this isn't rocket science and could be done in about an hour, what is needed is, some knowing of factory specs for components, having the required diagnostic methods to test them and having basic skills in small engine repair, former i can gather, the latter i have plenty of. So your help has been truly appreciated, it has helped me a lot and I'll let you know exactly what happens after each step and the final result, which I'm hoping will be a nice running cart, i need this baby running, it's what i use to care for about 300 birds in my local bird sanctuary, i do it, not as a job, but because i love animals, but i can't walk around a 50 acre sanctuary, so the cart is a tool i need to help them. Thank you once again for your help.
 

Metalhead 55

New Member
Oh, one thing i don't mention, when i did the test on the pulsar coil, i checked the resistance at the cable coming from the pulsar coil, that's where i got the 20 ohms reading and also where i got the .1 volt AC reading when the motor was turning over, i hope that's the correct way to check the pulsar, that's what I've read online, but it's still odd, I've read that it was supposed to be 3.7-5.2 i thought that was what i was looking for when testing the ignition coil and then about 15-20 from ignition coil plug to plug, before i pull the pulsar coil off, I'll install the new ignitor i bought and change the throttle micro switch, I'm also ordering a new solenoid, voltage regulator and carburetor, just to make sure all is fresh once i get it going, i know why fix what you don't have to and i will test it after the ignitor, micro switch and carburetor (only reason I'm changing that out is because there's been fuel sitting in the bowl for so long that I'm sure the jets and float bowl needle valve are gunked up and i would like it to run at it's best once it does) i thought originally that i would have my local shop do the repair, but as i said before, I'm not feeling so confident in their skills and fear they will fix what doesn't need fixing and overcharge for their work, yes i know I'll be changing things that might not be in such bad condition, but like i said i want it to run the best it can and I've found all the parts for such cheap prices, that it just makes sense to recondition the motor as much as i can, I'd rather not have to fix anything else for awhile. Anyways i do appreciate everybody's help and keep it coming, it's always good to hear from those of you who have solved these issues in the past and have the knowledge to pass it on.
 

Metalhead 55

New Member
Solved the problem with a new Red Hawk igniter, coil, regulator, solenoid, carb. Got weak spark with tester and with sparkplug to engine block test, have some grounds I'll be cleaning up, but a weak spark will brighten up under compression in the combustion chamber, so i got her running, don't buy Chinese ignition coils got 4 off Amazon and 3 were dead in the box, so i grabbed a Red Hawk ignition coil, I've heard mixed reviews on them, but my local dealer swears they work great and it worked, Red Hawk parts are made in Taiwan, so the quality is a little better. One thing you must check before you throw $200 in new igniter and coil down the drain, check your voltage regulator, mine was bad and a bad regulator putting out even 14v or more could fry a Chinese igniter and coil in a minute, so check or replace, i chose to replace it, only $15-25 online, change the solenoid while your at it, i got one for $12 and a new carb for $17 my cart still needs a little work to run like i want, but it's running and i can only suggest that you check each component and replace as needed, parts are dirt cheap and OEM and even the coveted NOS parts are nowhere to be found, but the igniter and ignition coil should be where you invest the money, Red Hawk seems to be a solid manufacturer and Taiwanese quality control and tooling is hands down better than Chinese, I've dealt personally with both countries in my past business ventures and Taiwan is normally is equivalent or only slightly less in quality than Japan, so that's my 2 cents. Oh one other thing, i had to set the sparkplug gap really tight to get my motor to idle smooth, so I'm thinking i still need to check my ground connections, I'll let you know if anything improves after i do.
 

rbdaves

Member
I have a coil that checks out as follows: Primary 3.5 ohms, Secondary 17.4 ohms
It’s a little outside of the Pri. 3.7-5.2 ohms and Sec. 10-17 ohms.
Are these variances critical?
Should I send it back?
 

Delvilla

New Member
if the Engine don’t shut off when the ignition is turned off would indicate a solenoid fault but I replaced the voltage regulator and this rectified the problem so don’t rule out the regulator.
 
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