How to Adjust the Throttle on a Golf Cart (STEPS)

What Does the Throttle Cable Do on a Golf Cart?

The throttle cable plays a key role in ensuring smooth power delivery and acceleration of the cart. It ensures that your golf cart operation is smooth and safe.

Table of Contents

A throttle cable assists in the efficient utilization of the batteries and gas of the golf cart.

How do you adjust the throttle cable on an EZGO golf cart?

Close the carburetor throttle plate.
Rotate the governor arm in a counter-clockwise direction.
Keep the cable inside the throttle cable bracket that is fitted on the rear axle.
Make sure that the governor and carburetor are seated with minimum slack and no tension.
Fix the cable in place by tightening the nuts at the end of the cable.

As the length of the throttle cable increases, it stops the throttle lever from being pulled back. This will in turn increase the speed of your golf cart.

EZGO TXT throttle adjustment

The throttle adjustment for 1996 to 2003 model EZGO TXT golf carts can be done as given below.

Ensure that the throttle plate is closed fully and the governor arm is rotated in the counter-clockwise direction completely.
Loosen the nut that is near the throttle cable bracket and positioned towards the back of the cart.
Tighten the other nut that is before the bracket making sure that the throttle plate continues to be closed.
Press the accelerator and listen for the clicking sound of the accelerator microswitch. The throttle plate should have moved only very little after the clicking action.

The above adjustment will not increase the speed of the golf cart a lot but it will open up the throttle plate completely so that you get the right top speed.

For 2003 and later models, you will additionally have to do the rear cable adjustment. This must be done after the forward cable adjustment. You can use the following guidelines for the adjustment.

If the throttle plate opens before it actually should, loosen the rear cable.
If the throttle plate opens at the correct time but only partly, tighten the rear cable.
If the throttle plate opens before it actually should but only partly, loosen the front cable and then tighten the rear cable.

The steps given below can be used to adjust the throttle of your EZGO cart with an unhooked governor if the cart surges at slow speed but moves well at half and full throttles.

Compress the spring between the cable stop and the throttle lever to close the throttle until the pedal is away from the microswitch so that the cart can run at less speed with very less throttle. You must do the compression until your problem goes off.
Turn the key to the OFF position and press the accelerator pedal. As you do this, ensure that the throttle lever remains closed and the movement of the cable stop is away from this lever. The throttle must start moving only after this.

If you find that the stopper on the throttle cable doesn’t back out and rest against the idle screw as it should, the cable may not be getting retracted as it should be doing.

This is often due to a problem in the linkage near the back of the engine where two rods and ball joints are connected between the rear end and the carburetor. Replacing the linkage will solve the problem.

EZGO RXV throttle adjustment

The throttle cable is kept in position in the governor bracket using two nuts. This is where you should do the adjustment. The throttle cable requires only a little slack and not too much.

The following steps will help you to adjust the throttle on an EZGO RXV golf cart using a drill, a 10mm wrench and a T-45 bit.

Remove the screws on both the side panels of the golf cart using the T-45 bit. You can also take the floor mat off.
Remove the screws connected to the panel below the accelerator and cable. This panel covers their wire connections. Take the panel off from its place.
Loosen the nut on the spring rod to which the throttle cable is fitted. This will help to remove the rod from the bracket used to secure it in place.
Move the above nut towards the end of the spring rod as much as possible so that its distance from the cable is more than before.
Place the rod on the bracket and tighten the nuts once again to fix the bracket in position.

Method 2

Fit a heavy spring to the throttle cable at its end.
Adjust the throttle cable at the differential to the endpoint of the threads.
Bend the throttle cable bracket outwards by about 0.25 inches so that there is a slightly heavy pull on the governor and a short throw on the pedal at the same time.

Avoid bending the bracket too much as it can trigger the throttle movement before the ignition gets turned on.

Yamaha G2 throttle cable adjustment

Back out the throttle stop screw so that the butterfly isn’t open too much. Sometimes, it’s the throttle cable that causes the excess opening.
Tighten the nut that is at the end of the lever above the transaxle as much as possible. The throttle cable adjustment can be done below the floor panel so that the engine gets started before the carburetor opens up.
Adjust the rear cable from the governor arm to the gas pedal until the slack is almost nil. Also, adjust the front cable from the carburetor to the governor arm until the carburetor stops opening before the motor starts getting cranked by the gas pedal switch. The throttle opening at the carburetor is high when the gas pedal is pressed fully.

Yamaha G9 throttle cable adjustment

Slide the cable through the little slit present on the side of the cart. Position the cable so that the wire part is in the spool. This ensures that the threaded part of the cable rests on the adjuster bracket. Move the housing backward and adjust the nut to where it was initially. Finally, run the cable to the governor as it was at the start.
Make the desired adjustment to the cable so that the switch gets started before throttle and the carburetor starts moving. Also, adjust the stop switch that it clicks when you press the gas pedal.

After adjusting the cable, check if the carburetor throttle opens and closes fully when the pedal is pressed and released. Do this check with the key in the OFF position.

Ensure that there is a little slack in the two throttle cables. The slack in the first cable at the accelerator pedal avoids the cable snapping at this end. The slack in the second cable causes the ignition to fire off, the engine to turn over or the accelerator stop switch to open before the throttle shaft in the carburetor opens up. This will in turn prevent backfiring.

Yamaha G16 throttle cable adjustment

Bypass the governor and connect the throttle cable to the carburetor directly.
Before adjusting both the throttle cables, you must turn the main switch OFF. Block the wheels and take off the rear access panel.

Adjust the throttle cable from the governor to the carburetor by turning the governor lever in the counterclockwise fully. Ensure that the carburetor throttle valve is open fully. If not, turn the adjustment nuts either inwards or outwards to adjust the throttle cable.

Adjust the throttle cable from the accelerator to the governor by releasing the accelerator to its limit and checking that the throttle valve opens up completely, exactly at this moment.

If the opening occurs before the limit is reached, the cable is undesirably tight and the nuts have to be turned inwards or outwards for adjustment. The cable must have a free play of only 0.02 inches.

Take off the throttle cable clevis and airbox. Check out the carburetor to ensure that the throttle closes completely. Put the throttle cable clevis back in place. Loosen the 10mm nut present on the bracket housed on the transaxle fitted to the governor to carburetor cable. Adjust the cable and locknuts until there is just sufficient slack for the carburetor to start opening when the starter begins turning.
Take off the floorboard and loosen the 10mm nut on the threaded rod to reduce the slack at the point where the cable is fitted to the pedal assembly. In some carts, the threaded rod may be hidden under a rubber block that will have to be removed to access the rod. Ensure that the cable is not tightened too much to avoid breaking at the cable end.

Often, it’s the throttle cable from the carburetor to the governor that needs adjustment.

The cable should have some slack to avoid backfiring. It can be challenging to do the adjustment as the bracket is located below the starter/generator.

Adjust the throttle cable at the throttle body. This adjustment must be done until the golf cart starts running when the accelerator is pressed a little more than when the start/stop switch is engaged.

Yamaha G22 throttle cable adjustment

Both the accelerator cables should have a little slack. The slack at the pedal on the first accelerator cable prevents breaking at the lead end while the slack on the second accelerator cable ensures that the cart engine turns over and the throttle shaft opens only after the ignition fires. However, the cable must have the required tightness to render full throttle. This adjustment must be done at the bracket fitted on the transaxle that is just under the starter/generator.
Loop the cable, if it’s really long, around the gas tank mount in the front followed by the carburetor. However, when you do this, there may not be enough room to adjust the cable. There will be no binding if the cable moves freely or is new.
Make the adjustment at the pedal when you replace a broken accelerator cable connecting the governor and the pedal. Ensure that the carburetor throttle opens and closes completely when the pedal moves.

Club Car DS throttle cable adjustment

After setting the golf cart to neutral and maintenance mode, jack up the rear.
Pull the spring that is present around the plastic piece located behind the shifter. Spin it until it falls back.
Loosen the throttle cable present in the cable box to adjust the extent to which you can take it out of the housing.
Press the accelerator so that the golf cart starts up and begins to idle. Check the cable tension to make sure that it’s still loose. The idle screw can be used to adjust the idling if it’s very fast.
Turn the key to the OFF position and put the cable back into the box.
Adjust the cable tension so that the microswitch in the throttle box clicks just before the movement of the throttle plate begins.
Turn the key to ON position and test if the adjustment is as desired. If not, repeat the above steps until you arrive at the preferred adjustment.