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Electric EZGO Electric EZ GO Marathon, Medalist, TXT and RXV. |
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08-12-2020, 08:48 AM | #1 |
Not Yet Wild
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 56
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1988 Marathon Issues
I have a 1988 Marathon that worked great for about a year. Then it slowly started to have issues. I have a gravel drive that has about a 30% grade up towards the road and the cart with the throttle to the floor now drops to about 4-5 mph while climbing that "hill". On the flat asphalt drive it only goes about 13. Since it seemed to be a slow regression I thought the batteries might be the culprit. They were 6 years old so I replaced them, and the battery cables while I was at it. No change. I took it to a local Cart shop and after a few days they told me I needed a new motor. I have since replaced the motor, and it still acts exactly the same.
Someone mentioned Inductive Throttle Sensor, but I didn't think the 88's had an ITS? Thoughts? Ideas? What else am I missing? |
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08-12-2020, 10:34 AM | #2 |
Not Yet Wild
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 56
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Just to add more info here. I tested each battery, all running 6.6-6.8. Under load the entire bank is at 38+.
What else should I be looking for here? Batteries are good, now motor, what else could cause what i'm seeing? Would anything in the gearbox cause this issue? I'll clean up all the connections out of the batts and at the switches and everything to make sure also, but looking for some expertise in the meantime. |
08-13-2020, 01:21 PM | #3 |
Not Yet Wild
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 56
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Test the controller today and it seems fine, so i'm stumped.
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08-13-2020, 01:34 PM | #4 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,895
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
88 won't have an ITS..it should have a potentiometer I believe...is there a small silver box with a lever attached that moves when you press pedal down between your battery pack? If so you would remove the number 2 and 3 wires from your controller and hook them(wires) to an ohm meter...should start close to 0 and slowly climb to around 5 to 5.5 ohms...anything over 6 is unacceptable and would cause issues but sounds like you would have the opposite and wouldn't go far enough possibly....I'll be honest though these Marathons are famous for struggling to get up hills or trailers when the controller gets weak and thats most likely your issue...but we can start with potentiometer test for now
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08-13-2020, 02:02 PM | #5 |
Not Yet Wild
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 56
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Thanks. Didn't test that, but did test the solenoid and controller and both seemed to test out fine based on the criteria I was looking at from what I found online. Controller climbed from 0 up to just over 37 as the accelerator was pressed. I'll run your test next.
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08-13-2020, 08:30 PM | #6 | |
Not Yet Wild
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 56
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Quote:
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08-13-2020, 08:56 PM | #7 |
Gone Insane
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Richmond, VA
Posts: 14,214
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
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08-14-2020, 02:23 AM | #8 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,895
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Agreed...I think it should top out around 5.5 but if it isn’t cutting out I think that sounds acceptable. With that being said IMO, If your batteries are all good and connections are tight, that points me to a weak controller, but perhaps others will have another suggestion for you to try first...
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08-14-2020, 12:29 PM | #9 |
Techno-Nerd
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 19,654
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Since the throttle input to the controller is for 0Ω to 5.92kΩ (5,920Ω) the controller is most likely wide open when going up the hill, so the problem is either the amps from the battery pack are not getting to the motor, or the battery pack is not capable of supplying them.
Since you have new batteries, they should be capable of supplying the needed amps, but not necessarily since new batteries only have about 75% of their rated capacity until they are broken in. You also mention new battery cables. Does that mean you only replaced the 5 cables that connect to the batteries together, or does it include the 2 connecting the battery pack to the solenoid and controller, or does it mean you replaced a 13 (or 14 if you have a 4 terminal controller) high current cables? Troubleshooting: Measure the battery pack voltage between the battery pack's main negative and main positive terminals while cart is at rest and again while climbing the hill. What are those two readings? Measure the voltage between the controller's M- and B+ terminals on same hill. The battery pack voltage and controller's output voltage ought to be the same when climbing the hill with pedal on floor. If not, there are bad cables, connections or contacts (Solenoid or F/R) |
08-14-2020, 01:04 PM | #10 |
Not Yet Wild
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 56
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Re: 1988 Marathon Issues
Just over 38.2 from the bank at rest
36.5 going up hill from the bank 33.2 going up hill from the controller. And the cables changed here just the ones connecting the batteries. Not from bank to controller or any other electronics. |
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