EZGO TXT 1994 Electric Golf Cart will not go forward or backwards

[Bailie]

My 1994 EZGO Golf Cart stopped on me. I checked the wires and the battery connections and all was good. Batteries were charged. I pressed down on the throttle and the cart did not move. I looked under the cart on the passenger side and found that two of the large cables that lead to the motor had rubbed on the battery compartment and bare wire was grounding the cart out. I moved the wires and tried the throttle and the cart moved. I then disconnected the wires from the controller and something else, just below the controller but I don't know what the name of those 2 parts are, "The 2 parts are electrical and have several large bolts for these large wires and several connectors for small wires. I disconnected three large wires so that I could wrap the wires with electrical tape? After wrapping the wires and being very careful to connect them back to the terminals they came off of I connected these 3 large cables. After connecting the wires back up I noticed that my charging light was on even tho the key was in the off position. Normally it is only lit when the key is on. I turn the key on and tried the throttle but it did not move. I then turn the key to the second position, "In the 2nd position the lights turn on", this time the lights did not turn on. I pressed down on the throttle and heard the clicking of the solenoid when the key is in the 2nd position but not the 1st position. My cart still did not move.

Where do I go from here?

[radioman]

You are going to need a digital voltmeter if you are going to try to work on it yourself. You need to familiarize yourself with different names for various parts that make the thing run and some money.

[Bailie]

I have a meter and I am mechanical and will try to understand what I need to do when you tell me. Please let me know what I need to do? Thank you.

[DaveTM]

First, it sounds to me like you have re-connected your wires incorrectly. Either that, or when you re-connected them they are still coming in contact with the cart's frame and shorting out. In either case you must replace those cables that have been cut. You have to understand that if the rubber part was cut through, how in the world is electrical tape going to hold up? In addition, the reason the rubber on those cable had probably cut through, is (I would guess) because there must have been a cable tie (You know, those plastic cable tie's that loop around cables and wires and pull them into a nice little bunch while at the same time hold them in a place where you want them to be) that broke and allowed your fat cable to drop down and begin to rub against the battery box frame. You have to get that issue fixed by buying new cable tie's and properly "tying up" your cable's.

I would hope that JohnnieB jumps in here to give you the wiring diagram of how your F\R switch should be on your cart. But please, don't expect electrical tape to work and don't go forward without replacing the bad cables and using proper cable ties to prevent this from occurring again.

Dave

[jfsegar]

It might be helpful if you could post some pictures of the area.

[JohnnieB]

What leads you to believe it is a 1994 Cart?
Are there any tags with serial number or Manufacturer number on it?

The year (1994) doesn't match the body type (TXT), so the first thing is to figure out what drive system your cart has.

EZGO didn't introduce the TXT until 1996, so if it truly is a 1994 model year cart, I suspect you have a Medalist (metal body) that someone has retrofitted a TXT body (plastic) on, but it is most likely a series drive (series wound motor) since the Sepex drive (DCS) didn't come out until 1995.

Need to know which drive system the cart has to troubleshoot it.
Use the attached drawing to determine the drive system type and we can go from there.

[Bailie]

Hi Johnny, the Serial number on the cart in the clove box is: 819152-10994. I believe from the diagrams that you sent me my system is a Sepex but the controller looks to be from the Series. I will post some pictures with this note and hope they tell you more.

[Bailie]

Hi JohnnyB, here are some more photos.

[JohnnieB]

The EZGO serial number look-up website says that serial number was a 3-wheel gas Marathon when it rolled out of the factory in 1994, which obviously isn't true.

Based the pictures you've posted, you have a series drive with an aftermarket reversing contactor rather than the stock mechanical F/R switch assembly. The controller appears to be a Curtis 1204 or 1205.
You also have an aftermarket DC to DC voltage converter (Voltage reducer) for the 12V accessories.

Sounds like you have more than one issue (cart won't move and lights don't work), so troubleshoot them one at a time. Getting the main solenoid (silver one mounted on the controller) to click when the pedal is pushed is the first step.

I don't have a schematic for your drive system with the reversing contactor shown, but it is most likely the same as a stock system except for the reversing contactor and you should be able to trace the solenoid activation circuit from a stock series schematic.

Attached is a stock wiring diagram. MS-2 on the F/R assembly is now part of the reversing contactor, which I don't have any info on, so you'll have to trace the circuit path through it manually.

[Bailie]

Thank you for the electrical diagram. I will trace the diagram and check things. I do have a click in my solenoid when key is on and I press on my accelerator. Can I check anything else with the volt/amp meter? Thank you