How to Fix a Yamaha Golf Cart that Keeps Running (Won’t Shut OFF!)

Why does your Yamaha golf cart keep running? 

Your Yamaha golf cart probably keeps running because of loose wires, a sticking accelerator stop switch or a sticking solenoid. It could also be a problem with the engine stop relay or a problem with the voltage regulator. 

• Your Yamaha golf cart keeps running because of loose wires.
• If you suspect the issue is loose wires,  check that the TCI wire connector which is at the front of the engine hasn’t been pulled out of the wire harness connector.
• Sticking accelerator.
• If you have to push the accelerator stop switch multiple times to get your engine to stop running, you probably have a sticking accelerator which means there’s a contact problem. You may need to replace your accelerator in the worst case.
• Sticking solenoid.
• Go and check if there’s any lag between the time you push the pedal in and the time the cart starts to crank. If there’s any lag, you might have a sticking solenoid.
• Fault with the engine stop relay.
• Go and unplug the engine stop relay in your cart. Check if it stops your engine running.
• Problem with the voltage regulator.
• A faulty voltage regulator causes a lot of engine hiccups, such as making your cart keep running.

 

Why won’t your Yamaha golf cart shut off?

The reason why a Yamaha golf cart does not shut off can be because of loose wires or a faulty voltage regulator.

Check to see if the engine wire connections are faulty. Also check the connection of the black and blue wires at the front of your cart’s engine.

If you find that the wires are just disconnected, you only need to reconnect them to get your golf cart to shut off properly.

 

Your Yamaha golf cart has a sticking accelerator switch.

If your cart has problems stopping, you might have a sticking accelerator switch on your hands. This will make you need to push the gas pedal multiple times to get it to work properly.

 

You can usually fix this problem by cleaning all the connections to the pedal to make sure everything isn’t sticking. 

 

Your golf cart has a sticking solenoid

There’s probably a sticking solenoid problem with your gold cart if there’s a noticeable lag between when you push the pedal and when your cart starts to crank. You can check and test for this problem using a voltmeter or test light.

 

If you have a faulty solenoid, you need to replace it. 

 

Your golf cart has a faulty engine stop relay

You can check if your engine stop relay is faulty by unplugging it and then seeing if it shuts down.

 

If you have a faulty engine stop relay, you need to replace it.

 

Your golf cart has a faulty voltage regulator

You can check if you have a faulty voltage regulator by unplugging the wires its wires. If it can run but doesn’t charge this way, you have a faulty voltage regulator on your hands.

 

You need to replace faulty voltage regulators.

 

 

How do you fix a Yamaha golf cart that keeps running?

Yamaha golf carts can keep running and not stop for many reasons. It’s usually loose wiring, a sticking accelerator stop switch, a sticking solenoid or issues with the engine stop relay or the voltage regulator.

 

Here’s instructions on how to fix these issues:

 

• Loose wiring.

1. Look at the front of your cart’s engine to look for black and blue wires.
2. See if the wires are unplugged from the wire harness connector.
3. If they’ve been unplugged, reconnect them.

 

• ‘Sticking’ stop accelerator switch.

1. Remove the floor mats from your cart.
2. Remove the exposed floor plate and then unplug the stop switch.
3. Open the wiring harness clip.
4. Disassemble the backing plate.
5. Use electrical contact cleaner to clean the rocker plate.
6. Take the other side of the switch, turn it upside down while being cautious to not misplace the ball bearing and spring.
7. Remove the spring and stretch it slightly. Now it should sit higher in the mounting hole.
8. Reassemble your cart’s switch and test it.
9. If everything works, reinstall it.

 

• Sticking solenoid.

1. Take out any cables connected to the two large terminals.
2. Wrap up the cable ends with electrical tape then make sure to keep them separated from each other.
3. Put the cart direction switch in the neutral position and make sure the key is off.
4. Get your voltmeter and set it to ohms.
5. Place a probe on each of the large terminals.
6. There should be no reading on your voltmeter.
7. Put the cart direction switch in the forward position and make sure the key is on.
8. Put your foot down on the accelerator.
9. There should be a clicking noise coming from the solenoid.
10. After you hear the noise, put a probe on each large terminal.
11. Your voltmeter should read 0 to 0.4 ohms. Any higher than that means you need to replace your solenoid.
12. If you didn’t hear a clicking noise, take your voltmeter and set it to DC on the 200 scale.
13. Put a probe on each small terminal.
14. Put your key in your cart and put your cart in the forward position.
15. Push on your cart’s accelerator.
16. Your solenoid is busted and needs to be replaced if your voltmeter shows full battery voltage with this setup.

 

• Engine stop relay

1. Look for a little cube that has a blue top next to your cart’s solenoid.
2. Unplug all the wires and see if your cart shuts off.
3. If you cart doesn’t shut off, replace your engine stop relay.

 

• Voltage regulator

1. Take out the drive belt from your cart.
2. Use your voltmeter to check the battery.
3. If your voltmeter shows readings above 15V, that’s a sign of overcharging.
4. Next, you need to release your cart’s pedal and check if the reading on your voltmeter is around 12.5V or slightly higher.
5. If this isn’t the case, you may have a faulty voltage regulator.

 

Why does your Yamaha G1 golf cart keep running?

Your Yamaha G1 golf cart might not be able to stop and shut off properly because of loose wires, a sticky solenoid or a sticky accelerator stop switch.

 

Your Yamaha G1 golf cart has loose wiring

To check if your cart has loose wiring:

1. Look at the TCI wire connector at the front of the engine.
2. Look for the black and blue wires.
3. Are the wires loose or completely unplugged from the wire harness connector?
4. If they are, reconnect them.

 

Your Yamaha G1 golf cart has a sticky accelerator stop switch

To check if your Yamaha G1 golf cart has a sticky accelerator stop switch:

1. Take out the floor mats from your cart.
2. Take off the exposed floor plate and then unplug the stop switch.
3. Look for the wiring harness clip which you then need to open up.
4. Remove the backing plate.
5. Using electrical contact cleaner, clean the rocker plate.
6. Look for the other side of the switch. You need to turn that upside down carefully.
7. Take out the spring and stretch it slightly. Now it should sit higher in the mounting hole.
8. Put your cart’s switch back together and test it.
9. If everything is in working order, reassemble everything.

 

Your Yamaha G1 gold cart has a sticky solenoid

To check if your Yamaha G1 gold cart has a sticky solenoid: 

1. Remove the cables that are connected with the two large terminals.
2. Take the ends of the cables and wrap them up with electrical tape. Make sure you keep them safe and separated from each other!
3. Put the cart direction switch in the neutral position and ensure your key is off.
4. Take your voltmeter and set it to ohms.
5. Take the probes and put one on each of the large terminals.
6. Take the reading on your voltmeter. There shouldn’t be any readings.
7. Put the cart direction switch in the forward position and ensure your key is on.
8. Press down on your cart’s accelerator.
9. The solenoid should make a clicking noise after you press down.
10. Once you hear the clicking noise, place a probe on each large terminal.
11. Take the reading on your voltmeter. It should read 0 to 0.4 ohms.
12. Now if you didn’t hear a clicking noise, you need to take your voltmeter and set it to DC on the 200 scale.
13. Take the probes and place one on each small terminal.
14. With your key in your cart, put your cart in the forward position.
15. Push your accelerator down.
16. You need to replace your solenoid if your voltmeter shows full battery voltage.

 

Why does your Yamaha G2 golf cart keep running?

If your Yamaha G2 golf cart won’t off and keeps running, it might be because of loose wiring or a sticky solenoid.

 

Your cart having loosened wiring

To check if the problem with your cart is loose wiring:

1. Look for the black and blue wires at the front of your cart engine. Look at the TCI wire connector for them.
2. Are the wires unplugged or loose?
3. Plug in any wires that are loose of unplugged.

 

A sticky solenoid

To check if the problem with your cart is a sticky solenoid.:

1. Unplug any cables connected to the two large terminals.
2. Use electrical tape to wrap up the cable ends. Keep the cables separate from each other.
3. Put the cart direction switch in the neutral position.
4. Make sure that the key is off.
5. Take out your voltmeter and set it to ohms.
6. Put a probe on each of the large terminals.
7. Your voltmeter should have no reading.
8. Put the cart direction switch in the forward position.
9. Make sure that the key is on and then push down on your accelerator.
10. You should be able to hear something like a clicking noise from the solenoid.
11. When you hear the noise, put a probe on each large terminal.
12. Your voltmeter should read 0 to 0.4 ohms. Anything higher than that means you need to replace your solenoid.
13. If you didn’t hear the noise, take your voltmeter and set it to DC on the 200 scale.
14. Put a probe on each of the small terminals.
15. Put your key in your cart.
16. Put your cart in the forward position and then press on your accelerator.
17. Remove the old solenoid and replace it if your voltmeter shows full battery voltage.

 

A faulty voltage regulator

To check if your cart has a faulty voltage regulator:

1. Remove the drive belt from your cart.
2. Take your voltmeter and check the battery.
3. If the readings shown are above 15V, that’s a sign of overcharging.
4. Release the pedal and check if the reading is 12.5 V or just above this value.
5. If it’s not, the voltage regulator might be faulty.

 

Why does your Yamaha G9 golf cart keep running?

A Yamaha G9 golf cart may not shut off due to a sticky solenoid.

 

How to check if your Yamaha G9 golf cart has a sticky solenoid.

1. Unplug all the cables from the two large terminals.
2. Wrap the cable ends in electrical tape and make sure to keep them separated.
3. Put the cart direction switch in the neutral position with the key off.
4. Take your voltmeter, make sure to set it to ohms, then put a probe on each large terminal.
5. Your voltmeter should have no reading.
6. Put the cart direction switch in the forward position with the key on.
7. Step on your cart’s accelerator.
8. There should be a sound coming from your cart’s solenoid. It should sound like a clicking sound.
9. When you hear the clicking sound, put a probe on each large terminal.
10. Your voltmeter should read 0 to 0.4 ohms. If it’s higher than that, your solenoid is faulty and must be replaced.
11. If you didn’t get a clicking sound, take your voltmeter and set it to DC volts on the 200 scale.
12. Place a probe on each small terminal.
13. With the cart in the forward position and the key on, step on your cart’s accelerator.
14. If the voltmeter shows full battery voltage and there’s no clicking sound, that means the coil inside the solenoid is faulty and must be replaced.

 

How to check if your Yamaha G9 golf cart has a sticky accelerator stop switch.

1. Remove the floor mats from your Yamaha G9 golf cart.
2. Take out the exposed floor plate and then unplug the stop switch.
3. Next, open the wiring harness clip.
4. See the backing plate? You need to disassemble it.
5. Clean the rocker plate using electrical contact cleaner.
6. Get the other side of the switch and turn it upside down. Remember to be careful while you do this.
7. Take the spring and stretch it slightly. Now it should sit higher in the mounting hole.
8. Reassemble your cart’s switch and test it. After all that, put your switch back together and test it out.
9. Reinstall it if everything is working correctly.

 

Why does your Yamaha G16 golf cart keep running? 

Your Yamaha G16 golf cart can keeps running because of a accelerator switch that keeps sticking.

 

• Loose wiring in the engine

You might have loose wiring in the engine of your Yamaha G16 golf cart if it keeps running. You can check by following the following steps.

1. Check and see if the TCI wire connector located at the front of the engine has any problems.
2. If there’s no problems there, look for black and blue wires.
3. Ensure that the black and blue wires aren’t unplugged from the wire harness connector.
4. If the wires are unplugged and disconnected, plug them back in. Makes sure they’re plugged in tightly.

 

• Accelerator stop switch that keeps sticking

Your Yamaha G16 cart might keep running because of what you’d call a sticky accelerator stop switch.

You can fix this problem by following these steps.

1. Take out the floor mats in your cart so that your floor plate is exposed.
2. Take out the floor plate and unplug the stop switch.
3. Go and open the wiring harness clip.
4. Disassemble the backing plate and then clean the rocker plate using electrical contact cleaner.
5. Take the other side of the switch, turn it upside down while being careful not to remove the ball bearing or spring and subsequently losing them.
6. Take the spring and lightly stretch it. By doing this, the spring should sit higher in its mounting hole.
7. Test out your cart.
8. If everything works, reassemble the switch and reinstall it.