Brakes play an important role in all vehicles including golf carts. The purpose of the brakes is to either slow down or stop the vehicle completely as needed by the vehicle driver or operator. There are various reasons that may necessitate the adjustment of brakes on EZGO golf cart. Both new and running golf carts may all need to be adjusted their brakes. It is important to understand the parts that make the braking system and how they work to comprehend the adjustment process. The major parts of a golf cart braking system are brake shoes and lining, brake drums, brake pedals and brake backing plates. The type of braking system determines the required adjustments for your golf cart. Modern inventions of golf carts use electric or regenerative braking system while others use disc or drum braking system.
Table of Contents
Why Brake Adjustment
The main reason why EZGO golf cart need brake adjustment are wear and tear of braking system components making braking system inefficient and improperly adjusted braking system for new carts to suit operator needs. Technical knowledge is a key factor in this process. It is therefore recommended to hire experts if you feel your brakes need some adjustment or authorized dealers to guarantee quality work.
Tooling
The first process is gathering all your tools required for the process. Use of the right tool for the right job saves time and does not damage cart components like nut heads. Generally the following tools are required for the process but however there may be variations for different model types. Hydraulic jack, socket wrench or adjustable wrench, spanner sets and wheel chocks are the most common required tools for the job. The advantage of adjustable wrench is that it can work on different nut sizes and some can loosen all nut sizes found on golf carts.
Brake Adjustment for New EZGO Golf Cart
The disassembly of EZGO golf cart brakes may be tedious depending on the skill of the person conducting the task.
- The first step in the adjustment of EZGO golf cart brakes is to park your cart on a level ground and make sure it is off. If the cart is battery powered disconnect the battery to make sure no accidental motion occurs that may lead to serious injuries. Locking out procedures are contained in manuals for all golf carts provided by the supplier and hence it is important to make sure you read and understand the lock out procedure for your golf cart before any maintenance is carried out.
- Place wheel chokes on the front golf cart wheels to make sure that the cart does not move while jacking up the cart. Place the jack on the rear wheel and lift the rear wheels simultaneously.
- When rear wheels are lifted, they can then be removed. Use the correct size socket wrench to loosen the nuts of the rear wheels and keep nuts safely for safe retrieval. Remove wheels and place them aside.
- Take off rubber boots from the wheels to access the brake adjustment screw. Tweak the rubber boots using your hands pulling them hard. To adjust the brakes on your new EZGO golf cart, turn the adjustment screw and it should move towards the wheels so that brake pads move towards the brake drum. Test the brake adjustment by turning the wheel and you should not feel any resistance to show that the wheel freely spins without any friction from brake action. If there is resistance you need to continue until there is no resistance. This way you would have successfully adjusted the brakes.
- After the adjustment you have to reassemble your new EZGO golf cart by placing back the rubber shoes back on wheels and put wheel back.
- Put back all nuts and tighten using socket spanner and remove the jack. Now you can test your brakes and they should work fine otherwise you have to redo the process to make further adjustments.
Brake Adjustment for Running EZGO Golf Cart
The reason for adjusting the brakes for a running or old EZGO golf cart is mainly inefficient braking due to wear and tear. The steps to do the adjustment are almost the same as those for a new cart. The major difference is that with old carts you may need to make some replacements for worn out braking components. Technical knowledge and experience is very important and key in performing these adjustments. For a novice, it is recommended to hire a technician to perform the adjustment for you.
- The required tooling are the same as explained above. There may be a minor differences depending on the golf cart model but the socket spanner set will definitely take care of all different size nuts for golf carts wheels. Also the adjustable wrench can also be useful to cater for different nut sizes for your golf cart.
- For safety reasons, always make sure that your EZGO golf cart is locked with all power sources disconnected before any adjustment.
- Lift the rear wheel for the cart and remove wheels using tooling explained above.
- Make sure the park brake pedal is released.
- Remove the brake drum by moving back the adjusting rod of the brake cable so that there is no tension on the shoe arm.
- Inspect the brake shoes for wear and tear. Also check if there any debris and clean. Make sure that the brake drum, shoes and brake plates are clean before adjustment.
- For manual adjusting brake shoes, put drum back on axle and lock the drum using the adjustment screw. Self-adjusting brakes should turn and slide back to and from without any resistance. Always make sure that tyres are torqued to the appropriate levels.
- Finally you may need to adjust the brake pedal height. When you push the pedal you should feel or notice some free play of about 2 to 2.5cm.
- Put back wheels as above and remove the jack. Now you may test your brakes to ensure they have been properly adjusted.
Proper service is required for keeping the brakes efficient. Always refer to supplier manual for more details on the brake adjustments for your EZGO golf cart. Above all good operator skills are very important to make sure that braking system components service life is increased.