1993 marathon solenoid clicking cart wont go

[snake91876]

93 marathon wont go but clicks at microswitch and solenoid. I have 35.8 volts at solenoid and without mashing pedal i have 32 on controller side of solenoid. B plus on controller has the same 32 volts going to a2 on motor. the selector wires on motor s1 and s2 all have 32 until i mash the gas full on and i have the 35.8. what is going on here i just acquired this junk from a friend. i jacked up the cart and wont turn the wheels at all.

[snake91876]

solenoid is passing the 35.8 volts when gas is pressed

[scottyb]

Originally Posted by snake91876

solenoid is passing the 35.8 volts when gas is pressed

You have to test the solenoid with the resistor removed to be sure of that.

[snake91876]

i test b + to the m- on the controller in forward with key switch on and depress pedal and have no voltage , is this a bad controller.

[snake91876]

one more thing i built a new battery frame and when i reset the potentiometer in cart it wouldnt engage microswitch so i moved the vertical linkage rod to where the microswitch is hit just as the pedal goes down. could i have this so far out of range that it wont let any voltage through the controller. Cart was running two months ago before i rebuilt battery tray.

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by snake91876

one more thing i built a new battery frame and when i reset the potentiometer in cart it wouldnt engage microswitch so i moved the vertical linkage rod to where the microswitch is hit just as the pedal goes down. could i have this so far out of range that it wont let any voltage through the controller. Cart was running two months ago before i rebuilt battery tray.

You might be saying this in different words, but the lever on the microswitch is pushed in when the pedal is up, opening the NC contacts.
When the pedal is pushed, the lever is released and a spring inside the microswitch closes the NC contacts, thereby completing the solenoid activation circuit.
Sounds like the solenoid is closing, so the microswitch adjustment is at least in the ballpark.

Instead of going from B+ to M-, try going from B- to M-. That puts your DVM directly across the MOSFETs inside the controller and only the MOSFETs.

When the solenoid first clicks, you should be reading full battery pack voltage.
IF not, there is something wrong with the high current cables, main solenoid contacts, F/R switch or motor winding.

If so, the reading should decrease to almost zero as the pedal is pushed to floor.

If that doesn't happen, check for battery voltage at push-on terminal on controller with blue wire on it.
That's what turns the controller on. It should be there whenever key is on and F/R is in either F or R.

If that is good, pull the black and white wires on the other two push-on terminals on the controller and measure the Ohms as the pedal is pushed.

I'm not sure if it will be 0-5K or 5K-0, but it ought to vary in that general resistance range.

If all of the above checks out, you've pretty much eliminated everything except the controller.

[snake91876]

So i need to check m- to battery negative , let me make sure that I'm right
M- will be the terminal on controller going to bottom lug on fnr switch

[JohnnieB]

If your cart is wired like this, I think so.
Here is the terminal layout for a Curtis 1204 controller. I think that is what you've got. But I might be wrong.

Whatever it is, M- and B- should be labeled on the controller.

[simple man]

In your first post you stated that you are reading 35.8V at the solenoid. The batteries are dead, or nearly so! Here's a chart for state of charge and specific gravity readings. You may have one or more bad batteries also. I would start by charging the batteries!

[JohnnieB]

Originally Posted by simple man

In your first post you stated that you are reading 35.8V at the solenoid. The batteries are dead, or nearly so! ............

OOOOPS - I missed that.