ClubCar Precedent Golf Cart Tune-up Guide for All Gas Precedent Carts
Posted by Joe Mutton on
- Flathead screwdriver
- T15 Torx driver
- Socket Wrench with Spark Plug Socket
- A pair of needle-nosed pliers
Set the seat aside and locate the air filter box. On the 1992 – 1996 model DS Club Car with the FE290 Kawasaki engine, this is located on the driver’s side of the opening, and it is a black plastic box with two thumbscrews at the back. Turn each of these 90 degrees to unlatch and the back swings out. Note: if the box’s position in the well makes it too difficult to access the latches, remove the entire airbox by loosening the hose clamps at the front and back of the box.
The fuel tank is on the passenger side of the engine well and has a fuel filter inline on the fuel line leading to the carburetor. If you have one of the clear plastic filters, check the color of the fuel inside it to ensure the gasoline has not gotten too old and turned to a “shellac” condition--the fuel within the filter is a dark amber color rather than a light clear color. If the fuel gets to this stage, it becomes thick and hard to pass through the filter and carburetor jets.
Note the position of the filter with the tapered end and the flat end. The fuel flow on this filter goes from tapered to flat end…Don’t get this reversed!
Replacing the Spark Plug
Locate the spark plug on the top of the engine and remove the cable,
exposing the top of the plug. Use a spark plug socket and ratchet to remove the spark plug and inspect the ceramic insulator.
This should be light brown to brown and not oily or wet. If it is black in color, you might be running too rich of a fuel mixture, requiring an adjustment to the air screw.
Check the gap with a spark plug gap tool (cheap or free at most parts counters) and set this gap to .028 – .030. Replace the spark plug and screw into place using the socket and your fingers to prevent cross-threading.
Lightly tighten with the ratchet…no need to strip it out by tightening too much (you do not want to deal with a stripped out spark plug hole on the engine’s head). Push the wire connector back on to the spark plug.
Set Your Cart To “Maintenance Mode” to test the engine
After all of these steps are completed, it is time to test our work. Located on the wall of the engine compartment opposite of the engine is the switch cam. This is on the backside of the forward/neutral/reverse lever. Put the lever in the “Neutral” position.
Grasp the cam as shown in the picture and pull out on the cam. Rotate the cam about 180 degrees or so that when released the cam is now pressing upon the micro-switch on top. When the micro-switch is engaged in the “pressed” position, and the lever is in the “Neutral” position, you can start the engine without the cart taking off. Be sure to chock the wheels so the cart does not runaway if you bump the switch while working.
Start It Up
Reach in and press the accelerator with your hand and the engine will begin to turn over. If the engine is still cold, you may need to use your other hand and press the choke button until it starts. Listen to the engine while revving up and down to see if your engine is running better now. Note that the engine will not idle when you release the accelerator, because the cart is designed to stop running when your foot comes off the pedal.
Finish
Now that you have replaced the Air, Fuel filter and spark plug, the engine is running better than it was and you can begin traveling the countryside or neighborhood.
If you need to replace the Air, Fuel filter and sparkplug, we have a tune-up kit for the ClubCar DS
