As the beginning post for this Site, I would like to stress the importance of what should happen when you’re finished driving a golf cart, especially if you intend to do any work on it.
As a general rule, at least 3 things must happen to get a golf cart to move. First, the Key Switch must be turned to the “On” position. Next, a direction of travel must be selected (either Forward or Reverse). This involves either a “mechanical” switch lever of some type on older carts, or an electrical switch on the dashboard in front of the battery box on newer ones. I addition, to start the cart moving, the Accelerator needs to be moved from its resting position, indicating the driver is in the driving position and is ready to go.
In Chapter 5 of the book that I have available through this Site on page 20, there is a lot more technical stuff about this issue. The book is more or less a recollection of experiences I had working on golf carts for several years. It is called Electric Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half), and reveals a lot of stupid things that I did to learn many lessons including being sure these three criteria are NOT in play before assuming that the cart is NOT going anywhere.
There is a good reason to require the above mentioned 3 things. Lots of people simply take their foot off of the accelerator and walk away, leaving the Key Switch On and the direction selected. BAD IDEA. I, or any other golf cart mechanic will be able to tell you lots of stores about this subject, but let me tell you about a neighbor of mine. Russ does handy work around the condominium park where I live. Awhile back, Russ pulled up on his cart to help a neighbor with a screen door problem. Russ determined he needed to take the door with him back to his place. So, he removed it and wedged it into his golf cart. He had it almost in the cart far enough to haul it, but gave it one more shove just to secure it a little better. Well, that last shove was the perfect move to wedge that door between the roof and the accelerator pedal and by now, I guess you’ve figured it out. Sure enough, Russ had NOT shut OFF the Key Switch or put the cart in Neutral, so off went the cart with a bewildered Russ chasing along behind. It finally came to a stop in a pond, but with the water right up to the roof. I guess the water finally floated the door up off the accelerator pedal. About a year and a half later, I was doing a brake job on Russ’s cart and found a small dead and dried out fish in one of the brake assemblies. I returned it to Russ in a plastic bag as a reminder to ALWAYS put the cart in Neutral and shut the key Off, though I think he had already seen the light.
Ron Staley has published the following books, and you can get more information about them by just clicking on each title below:
Electric Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half)
Techniques, Tips, Tools and Tales
Gas Golf Cart Repair 101 (and a half)
Techniques, Tips, Tools and Tales
4-Stroke Golf Cart Engines Explored
What Makes Them Tick
By an old Slot Machine Mechanic
One reply on “What Should Happen”
Hope you get some good input