Why Club Car Golf Cart Won’t Move Forward or Reverse

Why Won’t My Club Car Move?

A Club Car golf cart will not move if power from the battery pack is not reaching the motor. Faulty parts such as the solenoid, OBC and wiring can also cause a golf cart to not move.

Table of Contents

There are several reasons why your club car won’t move:

Batteries; in a pack of 3 or 4 batteries even if one fails, the required power won’t reach the motor
Solenoid
Wiring and connections
Controller
OBC
F & R switch
Resistor & Diode

You must check your battery pack thoroughly. A 36V battery must show 38.3V on a full charge, while e a 48V battery reading must be 50.3V. If you are not getting these readings, change your batteries.

You must keep in mind that there are differences between the various models of golf carts. Each model may have a different component and you have to be careful while handling them. Wrong handling can cause problems and the golf cart can get damaged.

Be mindful of how the battery charge is measured.

Club Car Precedent Won’t Move Forward or Reverse

If the power from the battery pack is not reaching the motor, then the Club Car golf cart won’t move forward or reverse.

In such cases, there are a few components in between the two that need to be checked. The solenoid is one major component.

Check if the resistor between the two big terminals on the solenoid is hot. If it is hot, the issue could be due to the controller. You have to replace it.

Some of the other things to be checked are:

Wires – Just pull or shake them gently to ensure they are securely fastened
The Run/Tow switch and the relevant connections
The F & R rocker switch (check if it has any corroded parts or if the wires are disconnected)
Fuses (the fuse holder is next to the solenoid) -They could have accidentally blown out or got shorted

A word of caution here; whenever you work on the golf cart, follow certain standard procedures:

Disconnect the batteries
Raise the rear of the cart using a jack
Keep the Run/Tow switch in the Tow position

Club Car Goes in Reverse But Not Forward

A faulty Forward/Reverse switch can cause a Club Car golf cart to move in reverse but not forward. Replace the entire switch and the contacts if they are burnt.

The cart moving only in the reverse and not in the forward position is peculiar and there are only a few areas that need to be checked.

Batteries: Some golf cart batteries are designed and structured in such a way that in a pack containing six batteries, #1, #2 and #3 will service the forward movement of the cart and #4, #5, #6 take over when the cart is reversed. So, if one of the batteries were to fail then the movement in that direction will be curtailed. Checking individual batteries is very important to avoid such a situation.

Controller: The design and functioning of the controller are similarly divided into forward and reverse movements of the golf cart. If due to any reason, you have a damaged controller that controls the functioning of the forward movement of the cart, you will face this situation of the cart moving in reverse but not forward.

On the controller, the expert advice is to go for Alltrax controllers, preferably 400a.

Club Car DS Won’t Move Forward

If everything else is working and the Club Car DS golf cart is not moving forward, the area to check is the OBC. A brief test to bypass the OBC will confirm where the problem lies.

The first to check is the batteries. Users have to measure the voltage of the pack first and then the individual batteries.
The problem is when the cart is started and the forward switch engaged. When the foot is on the pedal what happens to the voltage? This is missed by many. Use a voltmeter to check the battery voltage drop and you will be able to identify the problem.
If you suspect the motor, put the cart on a jack. Move the Run/Tow switch to Tow and now start the cart to see how the motor behaves.
Checking all the wires and cables is another ritual you need to carry out every time you run into any trouble with the Club Car DS golf carts. Wires have to be securely connected without any loose ends. Check if a particular wire is getting heated.

In a 1999 DS 48V, the following test is recommended to check the continuity:

Remove the battery cable from the negative stud; this is to ensure safety
Leave the F & R switch in the Forward position
Turn the knob in your meter to ’Continuity test’
Now, check for continuity between the cable from controller M- and the controller B+
Repeat the same with the F & R switch in the Reverse position
If you are seeing continuity on both these, then there is no issue with any of these

1991 Club Car Moves Forward Only but Not Reverse

In this case, if you suspect that the motor of the 1991 Club Car is faulty, there is a swift test to make certain of that.

The usual precaution of lifting the cart from the rear using a jack is required
First, remove all the wires from the motor after marking them
Make two connections; Stud S1 on the motor to A2 (use a 6g or better 4g cable)
The other connection should be between Stud S2 and the A2 terminal of the power supply (+ve)
Then connect Stud A1 and one to the -ve terminal
When you touch the cables, the motor should run
This process of touching the cables should be for less than a minute and not longer

Checking all the cables thoroughly is very important since cables can get corroded internally.

2007 Club Car Precedent Won’t Move

Check if the solenoid is in good condition. The contacts inside may have burned. The motor will also need to be checked.

Method to check the motor on a 2007 Club Car Precedent is as follows:

Remove the connection to the batteries
Turn the Run/Tow switch to the Tow position
Remove all the wires connected to the motor (there will be four of them)
Take a multimeter and set it to ‘Diode test’ function
Now check the posts A1 and A2 on the motor. If there is continuity, the meter will beep
Similarly, check the posts F1 and F2 for continuity and see if the meter beeps
Now if you get the beep sounds on both, there is no basic issue
There may still be some shorting inside and to check that, you have to do more tests
Now check continuity from the posts to the frame of the motor
Here you should not hear the beep. If you hear it then there is an internal short

These tests will rule out if there is an issue with the motor.

The controller could also be an issue if the cart does not move. The other component that can cause this to happen is the OBC.

You can try bypassing the OBC controller lockout circuit and see if the cart moves.

The way to bypass the OBC is to run the 10ga black negative wire from the charger receptacle to the negative battery post (designated controller B-).

These should tell you where the real problem lies.

2008 Club Car Precedent Won’t Move

Check the controller. Clean or change all contacts and other exposed parts that might have corroded.

To check the controller, these are the steps:

You will need a digital voltmeter (DVM) to check the 16-pin connector at the controller
Lift one wheel of the cart on a jack
The black probe from the DVM should be on the pack negative post
Keep the cart in the Run position
Put the F & R switch to Forward
Now, press the pedal till you hear the click of the microswitch
Next, use the red pin of the DVM to check the voltage you are getting on Pins 5, 6, 8, and 9 of the connector pins at the controller. To identify these numbered pins, their colors are light blue, green, brown, and tan respectively.

If you get uniform voltage across these pins then the controller is getting the correct power from the battery.

Buy new batteries for your golf cart only when you are sure your old ones have gone totally bad. Place an order for the correct brand and specifications for the model of cart that you own.

2010 Club Car Precedent Won’t Move

You may have a situation where you might be doing some electrical work on your cart and the wires touch each other by mistake and some sparks fly out, following which the cart won’t move. For this, the first place you must check is the main fuse. In the 2010 Club Car Precedent, the Delphi fuse holder is located near the solenoid.

There are standard operating procedures to be followed while working on your golf cart. The Run/Tow switch must be on Tow and preferably you should disconnect the batteries.

Troubleshooting problems with the 2010 Club Car Precedent golf cart is always through the trial and error method. You keep checking and eliminating the cause of the problem one after the other.

When the cart won’t move, you have to be sure that the batteries are sending sufficient power to the circuit. You must check the fuse. Use the voltmeter to check the voltage at the key switch. In a cart with batteries rated at 48V, it must show 48V at the key switch.

With the steps given above, you should be able to identify the problem and fix the issue.