Please tell me my friends didnt just mess up my buggy

[chaselee]

Hello guys!
I'm new to the golf cart world. I just 3 days ago picked up a 2005 ezgo 36v (and thats truely all i know about it). Im at work and got a call from my wife saying that the buggy had died with all the kids on it and some friends were headed down to tow it home. I quickly called them and told them to make for sure that they switched it to "tow" mode before they moved it. They called back and stated that it was already in "tow" mode when they got there to it. Honestly ive seen the switch but havent payed much attention to it, especially since ive only had this thing a few days. Is it driveable in the "tow" mode? Because my son didnt even know it was there to mess with it in the first place. So im confused about that.

Secondly, i just read, that anytime you tow these things that the forward/reverse rocker on the dash needs to be in the neutral position which i didnt know to tell them to do. Im still at work typing this so i havent made it home to look at it, im just really hoping they havent messed something up on my new to me buggy.

[kgsc]

Fnr switch doesn’t matter as long as it is in tow. If it was already in tow the switch might be bad. If it is in tow the reverse buzzer does not work.

[chaselee]

Well I had a second to check it out this morning when I got in from work. It turns out that somehow my tow/run switch is backwards somehow, maybe switched wires in the back? I'm not sure. So it did get towed in run mode although the actual switch is flipped to the "tow" side. I noticed that someone had written with sharpie "tow" on the run side and "run" on the tow side. If that makes since.

The whole cart was totally dead, so I started looking around and found that one of the batteries had a melted cable and had actually melted through the top of the battery case itself. I'm not sure if this is due to towing it in "run" mode or what. Maybe you guys can tell me.

So now what? Can I replace just that one battery and see if she comes back to life or what? If yes, can I replace it with a different brand battery? Because it's got interstate 6volts in it and I can't seem to find a dealer near me.

[scottyb]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Most likely the battery is collateral damage. Also real possible the motor and controller are fried.

[meimk]

Is there still continuity through the melted battery terminal? If it quit running because it "disconnected" your battery pack there, you MIGHT have gotten lucky. See if you can put power from the damaged terminal to the next battery with a jumper cable. Not enough to drive it on, but might let you know if it powers up again or not.

[chaselee]

Originally Posted by meimk

Is there still continuity through the melted battery terminal? If it quit running because it "disconnected" your battery pack there, you MIGHT have gotten lucky. See if you can put power from the damaged terminal to the next battery with a jumper cable. Not enough to drive it on, but might let you know if it powers up again or not.

The only time the thing shows any life is if I hold the broken/melted cable on the broken/melted battery terminal and flip the switch to run...it will spark and the battery life gauge will light up.

[chaselee]

Originally Posted by scottyb

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Most likely the battery is collateral damage. Also real possible the motor and controller are fried.

Oh yeah, the battery is for sure done...its got a hole in the top of it!

[meimk]

Originally Posted by chaselee

The only time the thing shows any life is if I hold the broken/melted cable on the broken/melted battery terminal and flip the switch to run...it will spark and the battery life gauge will light up.

I'm suggesting trying to get a better, though still obviously temporary, connection. See if the "beeper" comes on if you put it in reverse. Maybe even lightly push the pedal & see if it will try to move. If it DID break connection first, and that be why it quit on them to begin with, it could have the same effect as the tow switch - and MIGHT have saved your controller & motor. ScottyB is right that that if the power was still connected when towed home
it would be bad. I'm just suggesting you check before you start replacing some expensive parts.

[chaselee]

Originally Posted by meimk

I'm suggesting trying to get a better, though still obviously temporary, connection. See if the "beeper" comes on if you put it in reverse. Maybe even lightly push the pedal & see if it will try to move. If it DID break connection first, and that be why it quit on them to begin with, it could have the same effect as the tow switch - and MIGHT have saved your controller & motor. ScottyB is right that that if the power was still connected when towed home
it would be bad. I'm just suggesting you check before you start replacing some expensive parts.

So your saying to just bypass the first battery that is fried with jumper cables to see if it will come alive?

[chaselee]

The cable that melted to the terminal is the one that comes out from under the cover where the tow/run switch is. Its the first cable in the series. I hope this is making sense guys, Im sorry I don't know all the terminology yet