Why Won't My Golf Cart Move? It Clicks But Won't Go

Short answer: a golf cart that clicks but will not move is almost always one of three things: a worn solenoid, a battery pack that cannot hold voltage under load, or a corroded cable connection. It is rarely the motor and rarely the controller, which is good news, because those are the expensive parts.

What the click actually is

When you press the pedal on an electric golf cart, a small relay called the solenoid closes and lets battery current reach the controller and motor. The click you hear is that relay pulling in. If you hear the click and the cart still sits there, power is either not making it through the solenoid contacts, or there is not enough of it to move the cart.

The three usual causes

1. The solenoid contacts are burned. Every start arcs the contacts a little. After enough years, especially on carts that live outdoors in East Texas humidity, the contacts pit and the relay clicks without passing current. This is the most common fix we do on carts that click and stay put.

2. The batteries are dropping under load. A pack can read a healthy voltage sitting still and collapse the moment the motor asks for current. That is why we test the pack under load, not just with a meter on the terminals. An older lead-acid pack on a Club Car, E-Z-GO or Yamaha will often click and refuse to move as the first sign it is done.

3. A cable end is corroded or loose. The big battery cables, the ground strap and the cable to the controller all carry high current. One green, crusty terminal is enough to stop the whole cart. This one is cheap and it gets missed constantly.

What we check, in order

1. Pack voltage at rest, then under load.
2. Every battery cable end and the ground strap.
3. Voltage in and out of the solenoid while the pedal is pressed.
4. The pedal switch and the forward and reverse switch.
5. Only then the controller and the motor.

Doing it in that order keeps you from paying for a controller when the fix was a cable end.

Gas carts that click

A gas golf cart that clicks and will not crank has a similar story: a weak starter battery, a bad starter solenoid, or a corroded battery terminal. Same order of testing, same cheap fixes first.

Around Quinlan, Lone Oak and Greenville

We work mobile and in the shop across Hunt County and the Lake Tawakoni side. If your cart is stuck at the lake house or in the pasture, it does not need to be trailered. Call or text 903 458 2311, tell us what it does when you press the pedal, and we will come to it.