Fuses popping
 

I drove my cart home last week and when I pulled in the driveway, the cart suddenly would not work forward or reverse. No solenoid click. I have put some new 10 Amp fuses in but they pop as soon as I connect battery back up (even when key is turned off).

This is a Yamaha G1. I read on other threads about the floating ground, but I'm not much of an electrical expert. I think I might have a bad ground wire or its touching something that's causing it to overload.

Can someone post pics or give really specific instructions on how to check the ground on a G1?

Could this be something else? TCI? Magneto? I have two new solenoids put in last month, so that should not be the issue.

Thanks for any help!

Re: Fuses popping
 

Floating ground simply means that the cart is grounded to numerous spots via the frame via just one. To check things you just need to get a wiring the diagram (they are posted in a Sticky) and check were all of the grounds are located.

Blown fuses are a PIA to fix. I have found most often that a couple of wires are touching somewhere. It's painful but you may have to get the diagram and check things wire by wire. Components don't normally cause shorts.

Re: Fuses popping
 

Thanks. I'll start checking. There is a part of the ground wire that is not attached to anything but it has current flowing into it. Is that supposed to be part of the floating ground? Is it supposed to run back to the battery negative post? (See pic attached)

Re: Fuses popping
 

Are you saying the lose wire in your picture has 12 volts (+) to it? If so it needs to be either connected to something (can't tell what from here) or at least wrapped with a little electrical tape to keep it from touching something it shouldn't. It doesn't appear burned, so its probably not your problem right now. Look for wires that have charred / melted / heat distorted insulation. Short circuits turn the wires involved into heating elements so there is usually evidence of it getting hot. At the same time, look carefully around hot engine & exhaust parts to make sure no wires have touched off and melted there.

Re: Fuses popping
 

It's impossible to know where that wire goes to from afar. A few things:

1) As it's not connected to anything there is no current flowing through it.

2) Don't assume because the wire is black that it's for a ground. Lots of backyard mechanics use what wire they have on hand for repairs. Color of the wire is not always a consideration.

3) Don't assume that the presence of the wire makes it part of the original configuration. These carts can be wired many different ways and still work. People add and subtract accessories, jump things and create other work arounds. It can be tough to tell what someone was thinking in the past.

Regarding that phantom wire, follow that thing and see what's it's connected to. If it's not present in the wiring diagram then get rid of it. If it is present then see what it's supposed to be connected to.

Re: Fuses popping
 

Ok, I've checked all the wires, no major damage, just s lot of dust underneath the electrical tape. Everything seems to be accurate to the wiring diagram. The picture of the unattached black wire appears to be the"ground" in this wiring diagram. Is this supposed to attach to something?

Re: Fuses popping
 

IF it is in fact a ground, then yes it should be connected to ground. I would suggest putting a fuse in line (10 amp?) before connecting it to anything.

Re: Fuses popping
 

Luke as Lochlin says it can be a PITA.
I am going to guess a faulty key switch but could be something else.
On the unknown black wire it could just be a pigtail for accessory ground connection.

Here is what I would do to isolate.
You can do this one at a time but it may take more fuses.
Unplug connector 1 on key switch.
Unplug connector 2 on stop switch.
Unplug connector 3 on relay.
Unplug connector 4 on starter.

Does it blow fuses?
If so then the short is in the wire harness somewhere to ground.
If not then reconnect one at a time and see where the fuse blows.
I still think it may be the key switch so I would go there first.

Re: Fuses popping
 

Thank you. I'll work through those steps. I checked the CDI magneto and it has current through two posts but not the other two. Would that possibly be a reason for the electrical short?

Sincerely appreciate the help fellas!

Re: Fuses popping
 

Ok, the ground wire fuse pops as soon as I connect the batttery even with key off. I disconnected the key switch, but it's still popping after I did the first test in your post. It seems to me this is a faulty ground. I know G1 grounds's are not connected to the frame, correct? If so, what should they be connected to??