03 ezgo txt no power on hills

[FramarFrank]

Hi all. New to BGW. Lots of interesting and helpful stuff here. Wifey is going to miss me.

Have a 03 TXT that was losing power and running real rough and blowing blue smoke. Cart would all of a sudden run good for a while and then no power again. Checked and found that it was spitting fuel out of the carb. Cleaned and re-seated the needle valve but no difference. Put a new carb on and it runs smooth but no power up hill. Runs pretty good on the flat but dies on the hill. Sounds like the throttle kick-up that it used to have isn't kicking in.

[1arunem]

Had one with a similar issue and one of the two plugs was fouled.

[slonomo]

check your plugs. If you were running rich with fuel spitting, I'm betting you fouled your plugs. They're cheap, get some new ones.

Also, the 295 Robin engine is really sensitive to valve lash being out of adjustment. Check and reset your valve lash.

What condition is your fuel in? Is it new? If there is some water in there or dirt or sand, it could be causing an issue.

Did this cart ever run good recently?

[FramarFrank]

Thanks for the input and info. I will replace the plugs as they are fouled. We have had the cart for 5 years and had no issues with it. It ran real good until this summer when it started acting up - no power at times. Did a maintenance tune-up on it - I replaced the air filter and fuel filter and plugs, changed the oil and filter. Seemed to run good again for a while but started acting up again. Problem is the wife would say "there's something wrong with the golf cart". Ok dear, what is it doing? Well it doesn't run like it did before. When I drove it it ran fine but I only run it once in a while. It finally acted up while I was on it and at least I knew where to start looking.

[slonomo]

When you changed the oil, exactly how much oil did you fill it with? If, by chance, you might have overfilled the oil, it could make it smoke. Check the oil on a level surface after it has sat overnight.

[trig123]

What is the compression on this engine ?

[FramarFrank]

Finally have some time to work on this again. Compression is 130 psi and 135 psi in the 2 cylinders. If iput it up on the jack it runs great. just no power when a load is on it. Runs pretty good on the flat but any hill it loses power bad.

[newtjl]

The compression isnt great but not the worst either. Try new plugs and check the valves. If you are using the 20$ carbs, they arent worth much either. Country cat has the oem carb for around 100$. Beyond that, Id start considering a rebuild as you would have to remove the engine for crank seals etc so you may as well freshen it up while you have it out.

[JPonLKN]

Originally Posted by FramarFrank

Finally have some time to work on this again. Compression is 130 psi and 135 psi in the 2 cylinders. If iput it up on the jack it runs great. just no power when a load is on it. Runs pretty good on the flat but any hill it loses power bad.

I realize you have been dealing with some engine issues, but it sure sounds like the driven clutch isn't down shifting like it should. If you can drive it without the cover under the seat back, or maybe without the seat on a hill...see if the belt returns to the top of the driven clutch sheave as you start up the hill. Or, if you can't see it...try stopping on a hill...then start again. If it seems to pep up, more like normal, it is the driven clutch and the reason it has no power on hills is that it is running too low in the driven clutch sheaves.

[Cartmaster]

If it is spitting fuel from the carb, Then as Slonomo said, you will need to attend to the valve lash before doing anything else.

Spitting fuel from the carb, low compression and losing power are all symptoms of inlet valves not fully closing. Adjust them .004 and test the cart. If still not wonderful but a marked improvement, you will probably need to replace the inlet valves and lap them in. If you dont, it will only get worse and the head / pistons may get damaged by a valve breaking up.

Once you have done this, we can look further such as the clutches as had also been mentioned.

I think, SLO, Trig and a few others will agree with this.

This will help

Valve adjustment

This is an old post but perfectly describes the job. On later models you may find the adjusters do not have a screwdriver slot, but get creative and make a tool to do it. I dont know what you call them over in the states, but some use a decking screw in a piece of wooden dowel, some just use pliers!


( EDIT ) Just found one of the old posts i mentioned.

My 2005 TXT 295cc vale adjusters don't have screwdriver slots. They have some sort special made tip that requires one of those $300.00 special tools to make the necessary adjustments. But, being an old type of fellow, and knowledge how to get around the idea... "what man put together, man can take apart" that is required to make the adjustment.. don't need that expensive tool...
Get a square drive sheet rock screw, and screw it into an old screwdriver handle. Fits perfectly on the adjuster.