ezgo dead short when connecting the negative terminal on the battery

[juatinwatokal]

hi im a noob here.
my problem is when i try to connect the battery i get a dead short.
the cart is switched off at he ignition the forward reverse switch in neutral and the run tow switch on run. in tow position i get no short though.

i also tried connecting the 2 big terminal posts on the motor to b+ and b- just see if the motor runs but also get a dead short. how could i tell if the motor is gone? also whats the function of the 2 smaller posts on the motor? aux windings to switch the direction?
call me clueless
help would be appreciated