Marathon electrical issue?

[Firemen404]

Hi all, new to the site and hoping you can help. I have a 1987 Marathon with a gas engine, we have had the cart for a few years now and myself, wife and kids really enjoy it. Just this past weekend I had a small accident that has left the cart down and out. I have the cart wired with a plug to run my lawn sprayer with a gator clip to hook on the positive cable to power it up. In a silly rush I did not secure the clip well and it came off and grounded out on the negative post. The cart began to run rough as I went and then nothing. I can hear the solenoid click and have power at both sides, and every once in a great while it makes a small attempt but nothing positive. Any ideas on what may be wrong?? Any info is much appreciated, the family is really getting down on me for breaking there cart. Thanks

[1fast67]

There is a fuse below the shifter in the engine compartment. When it grounded I bet it popped the fuse.

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[Firemen404]

1fast67-

I will have to look again but if I recall correctly the only fuse link I found was between the solenoid and the key switch. Thanks

[1fast67]

Here's where mine is on my 79. Also double check all your grounds. Scrape all paint, rust off. The marathons are notorious for bad grounds.

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[Firemen404]

Very good thanks for the picture I will make sure to look tomorrow.

[1989Marathon]

Did the clip you had on the positive side of the battery come completely off and land on the negative side, or was it still connected to the positive side, and short out to the negative?

[Firemen404]

The clip came completely off and was touching the ground post.

[1989Marathon]

What is on the other end of the wire(clip). If it was just supplying 12v to the sprayer, falling off and hitting the negative side of the battery should not have caused an issue. I think I'm missing something here. Are you sure the battery just isn't low from running the sprayer?

[Firemen404]

I am not sure if I am not missing something, the cart started running rough and then quit. I opened the seat and found the clip hooked under the negative cable end. My assumption is that this was the cause of the problem. I did hook a battery jump box up shortly after that with at it made no change. I will throw a charger on the battery and see what happens.

[1989Marathon]

If the solenoid is clicking, the fuse isn't blown. The ezgo 2-strokes are known to have issues with the fwd/rev switch being dirty and not passing high-current power to start the cart. Work the switch back and forth between fwd and rev several times and try it again. Also, make sure the battery is fully charged. If it started running rough, I'd suspect the battery is low.