Is it risky to bypass on the master solenoid on a resistor car?

[Lord Gothington]

I have a 1981 DS Club Car. It uses the 5 solenoid resistor coil setup.

The car stopped going and I have determined that it is definitely the master solenoid. After doing some initial voltage probing, I temporarily bypassed the master solenoid and it goes again.

I have a new solenoid in the mail, but it will take at least a week to get here. So this leads to me to the question, "What purpose does the master solenoid serve and what risks am I creating if simply bypass it until the replacement arrives?"

From what I can tell, the primary purpose of the master solenoid is to break at an inconvenient time. But.. perhaps it has another purpose as well?

I've searched the web and the forums, but was not able to dig up the answer.

Thanks!

[Fairtax4me]

The maser solenoid or first solenoid is basically the main On or Off. It provides the pathway for power flow for all of the other solenoids.
With that solenoid bypassed, the main danger is if one of the other solenoids welds closed. The contacts arc and burn so the contact bridge in the solenoid stays in the ON position, and passing power to the motor regardless if the solenoid coil is powered or not.
If that happens, and you have no main shutoff due to the bypassed main solenoid, you can end up with a run-away situation where the cart motor remains powered all the time, and nothing will turn it off. The cart will keep driving even with your foot off the throttle, and key switched off.
The only way to stop it if that happens will be to shift the FnR switch to neutral and it will arc the contacts in the switch big time due to changing the switch position while the motor is under power.

It is fairly common for people to bypass the main solenoid, but IMO it's not a great idea. If it's for an emergency situation and you just need to get the cart home, then it's a viable option to get the cart back home so you can repair it. I would not continue to drive the cart until the solenoid is replaced.

[Lord Gothington]

Thanks! This makes sense and meshes with my understanding of the circuit diagrams.