2002 Gas EZGO issue(s)

[BigRed77]

Not sure how to title it because this seems like a strange issue, and maybe more of a story than really is needed, but you never know what tidbits turn into clues.

2002 gas ezgo has been running flawlessly for years.
one day I hear a noise, grandson and I find a stick stuck dragging under the cart. pull it out and all seemed fine

later that day the cart seemed to not want to run, would just push along with the starter, idol basically

get up under cart and check every wire connection I can find, thinking the stick had knocked something loose

I eventually found one of the spark plug cables had just come loose (after buying new spark plugs). New plugs in and cables on and things seem great.

A few days later, the cart died. running fine, came to a stop and got off for a few minutes, and it was dead.

Seemed like the battery, so I hooked up the charger over night and it ran great for 30 minutes or so and was dead

I figured the battery had probably gotten stressed out by the couple of days of me fiddling with it when the spark plug cable was loose, it would run on and off and "idle" home when it wouldnt run
Took the battery to autozone and it tested bad, put a replacement in

that was a couple of weeks ago, and things have been running great

then night before last, it just died again, like the battery was dead again

pushed it home, and suddenly it would start and run, but get to the end of the driveway, switch from reverse to forward, and it was dead again

pull the battery and back to autozone, they test it and say its low on voltage, but checks out ok.
battery back on the charger over night last night

little research and I was curious if my starter solenoid could be bad, so I followed these instructions
https://golfcartresource.com/symptom...n-a-golf-cart/
and with battery removed, pressing the gas pedal the Ohms read in the 30's

so what do yall think? Bad solenoid?
I am not sure, because I cant find a repeat of that procedure to check the solenoid anywhere else, and it seems to be describing doing it with the battery in the cart

any help is greatly appreciated, I have a basic understanding of how these engines work, but getting into the electrical gives me tired head

[cart around]

Test the voltage regulator.

Put it in neutral.
Put meter probes on battery terminals.
Check static battery voltage. A full charge is 12.75 volts.
With the probes on the battery, start the cart.
Voltage should climb to at least 13.5-14.5 volts.

How did that go?
If the voltage went down, or didn't climb, follow the next steps.
Find a small green wire that runs between the starter, and the voltage regulator.
Remove the wire from the voltage regulator, and ground it to the frame.
Start the cart.
Voltage should now climb to 15, 16, 17, maybe even 19 volts.
If the voltage does climb, congratulations, you need a voltage regulator.
If it still stays at the same 12 volts, or lower, bad for you. That means more trouble shooting is needed, but could be brushes in the starter.

[BigRed77]

Originally Posted by cart around

Test the voltage regulator.

Put it in neutral.
Put meter probes on battery terminals.
Check static battery voltage. A full charge is 12.75 volts.
With the probes on the battery, start the cart.
Voltage should climb to at least 13.5-14.5 volts.

How did that go?
If the voltage went down, or didn't climb, follow the next steps.
Find a small green wire that runs between the starter, and the voltage regulator.
Remove the wire from the voltage regulator, and ground it to the frame.
Start the cart.
Voltage should now climb to 15, 16, 17, maybe even 19 volts.
If the voltage does climb, congratulations, you need a voltage regulator.
If it still stays at the same 12 volts, or lower, bad for you. That means more trouble shooting is needed, but could be brushes in the starter.

voltage regulator seemed to test fine

ended up replacing the solenoid
got one off amazon that wasnt an exact fit, only had to mount it a little differently

replaced the starter and drive belt while I was at it, am amazed at how much smoother the cart runs with new belts