Wondering if your golf cart isn’t starting because of something you’re not doing or worried it might be ready for the scrap yard?
Well,, don’t worry. It’s probably a small detail you’re missing, and by the end of this post, you will be flying down the golf course in no time.
Golf carts come in all shapes and sizes, making operating one trickier than expected.
Some have levers, and others have switches.
This means starting and reversing your golf cart can be a hassle, especially if you’ve never used one before.
In this post you will find out how to start or reverse your cart and what are the potential reasons it’s not behaving as it should.
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Starting Up A Golf Cart Guide:
Check Everything Is As It Should Be
Before you take off in your cart to the first tee, you should perform a few safety checks to ensure that it is safe to drive.
Now, if you use the cart often, then you don’t need to do these checks every time but should definitely do them regularly.
Safe To Drive Checklist:
Tires – Inspect all your tires to ensure they are not punctured or under-inflated. Having properly inflated tires is crucial for controlling the cart and improving safety.
Once you’re happy that the tires are inflated and not damaged, check to see if the grip is okay or if they should be replaced.
You can tell if the grip is gone as the depth of the threads/grooves will be almost surface level.
Now that the tires are taken care of you can do your next safety check!
Oil – This only really applies to gas-powered carts but make sure your oil levels are okay.
If you notice the level is off, or the oil color is off, you should replace it before driving down the fairways.
Batteries – Finally check the batteries to see if there is any excess corrosion or if they are bulging from the sides.
A little corrosion doesn’t mean you can’t drive your golf cart, but that you should address this issue sooner rather than later.
If the batteries are bulging, it would be wise to walk the course the next round until you can get them replaced.
Put The Key In And Get Ready To Start The Cart
Now that safety checks have been completed it’s time to get ready for take off.
First things first, get into the golf cart and sit down, you’ll have a tough time trying to drive it from the outside.
Once you’ve sat down, put the key in the ignition and turn it on until the cart is powered up.
Assuming the cart has started at this stage of your journey, look down to locate a small lever usually found at the back of your legs.
You are likely to see three letters: (D) for drive, (N) for neutral, and (R) for reverse. The cart will most likely be neutral, meaning that stepping on the pedal will not cause it to do much.
Take the lever and slide it across to (D). Once you’ve got the D… you must disengage the parking brake.
Some parking breaks are located on the brake pedal, and it’s a matter of pushing it in slightly to disengage it.
Finally, now that it’s safe to drive, switched on, in drive (D), the parking brake disengaged, and nothing in the way, you can start to apply pressure to the accelerator, and the cart should start moving.
If it doesn’t then you either missed one of the steps or more likely there is an issue with the golf cart. Don’t worry you will learn about the potential causes of your starting problems later in the post.
Starting The Golf Cart In The Cold (Winter)
Overall, starting your golf cart will be the same in the winter months. The main difference is that you should leave your cart running for a few extra minutes before you begin driving.
Due to the temperature, parts will be cold, so for optimal performance, wait for them to warm up properly before taking off.
There are some additional considerations you should make depending on the conditions where you live which we will go into more detail below.
Ensuring your oil and batteries are well maintained is even more important during winter. So if you check them once a week, you should check them twice in the winter.
Next up are your tires. When the weather gets colder, you need to inflate them more than you would usually.
It’s recommended that you under-inflate your tires slightly when it’s hot out and over-inflate them when it’s cold.
Also, in the winter months, you can’t go wrong with investing in some all-terrain tires for your golf cart. These tires have additional grip, so you won’t be sliding around your beloved golf course.
Once you get a set, you can always swap them out with your normal tires when the winter season is over.
Something you could consider getting but isn’t a necessity is a rain cover for your cart to shield you and it from heavy rain, winds, and tough conditions.
It will protect both the interior of your cart and you.
Starting The Golf Cart If You Lost Your Keys
Okay, so you’ve lost your keys and can’t start your cart. Don’t worry. You’re about to find out how to start your cart below.
Starting with the fastest way of getting your cart started would be using a flathead screwdriver.
Once you have the correct screwdriver, you’re going to use it as your key.
The main difference is that you won’t be able to turn it on the first try and just twist it, in fact, you may break your ignition switch doing that.
Instead, you will insert the tip of the screwdriver in the key slot beside the wheel. Once you’ve done that, you will have to jiggle it, move it around and gently twist it in the direction your keys would usually go.
After a little jiggling, you should find the sweet spot and should be able to twist it round to start your cart. This can be done because most golf carts don’t have anti-theft systems in place.
If this doesn’t work, then your cart does.
The next fastest method is to hot-wire your cart, which we do not recommend unless you know what you’re doing.
You could end up breaking your cart or sending shocks up your spine.
Lastly, the slowest but safest way to start your cart without your key… use the spare key!
If you don’t have a spare key- and that’s why you’re reading this- you should order some spares.
They will take a bit of time to get out to you but is the only method in this post that won’t potentially damage the cart.
Possible Reasons Your Cart Is Not Starting
Important to note that the below are just a few reasons why your golf cart may not be working correctly.
Ultimately this is just a guide, but it could be anything from your golf cart’s motor, gas pedal, or the reverse switch.
Hopefully, you find the fix for your golf cart below, but it’s always recommended to bring it to a mechanic.
Gas Golf Cart
Probably the biggest culprit of gas golf carts that don’t start is that they have been left in storage for too long. This typically happens over the winter months or if you haven’t played in a while due to injury.
Either way, you can’t leave it not running as parts begging to seize up over extended periods of time, not to mention the fule goes bad after a while.
You can avoid this by regularly starting your golf cart and leaving it running when you are not using it for long periods of time.
It couldn’t hurt to change the fuel while you’re at it too. Another thing you should do is buy some fuel stabilizer and mix it in with the fuel in your cart.
Another issue that could prevent your cart from working is the air filter accumulating dirt over time. When this happens, your cart won’t perform as normal.
To fix this, you just need to replace the filter, and you should be good to go.
Lastly, it could be an issue with your battery, so check to see if they’ve gone flat. If this is the case, then charge it up and get back to golfing.
Electric Golf Cart
Okay, so with electric carts, you don’t have to look too far to find the issue.
Go straight to check your batteries.
Usually, your batteries may have died completely and need to be recharged before you can start your golf cart.
If you find yourself in a situation where your battery isn’t taking the charge they have more than likely dipped below the recommended level and modern chargers won’t do the job.
You’ll have to source an older charger or contact the battery manufacturer for directions.
The only other thing you should check is your wiring to and from your batteries. They may have become loose or maybe even a rat chewed through one overnight.
Either way, check the wires to make sure they are okay. If they are damaged a little, you may be able to fix the issue temporarily by plugging it with electrical tape, but that isn’t a long term solution.
Seek help whenever you’ve reached your limit as a makeshift mechanic.
What may take you a whole day could take them a few minutes to fix.
How To Reverse The Golf Cart Now It’s Started
Now that you know how to start your cart, if you need help reversing it too, check out the steps below.
We will assume the cart is started by now, so we didn’t include those steps below.
First things first, you need to locate the reverse switch or lever before getting into the reverse position.
Just in case you skipped to this section of the post without reading the rest, the lever should be located below the seat, at the back of your legs when sitting down.
Some modern golf carts may have buttons or something similar, but the majority will have the setup mentioned above.
Once you locate it, set your golf cart in reverse by moving the lever to (R), and you’re almost ready.
As always, before taking off, you should check to make sure there is nothing or no one behind the cart that you could hit.
Look for objects like trees, stumps, rocks, bunkers, water hazards, or sudden drops.
After you’ve checked around and are happy enough to proceed, you should move to the next step.
Next up, you want to disengage the parking break if it’s on.
Now that the parking brake is disengaged, slowly start to apply pressure to the accelerator pedal, and your cart should start moving backward.
Why Your Golf Cart Won’t Reverse
There are many reasons why your golf cart won’t reverse but will drive forward.
Below are some of the top reasons for this, but as always, unless you’re a qualified mechanic, fixing this yourself could be dangerous and costly.
One of the most straightforward problems to fix is battery issues. When your golf cart’s battery isn’t fully charged or damaged, it can affect multiple parts of a golf cart.
One of these is the reverse function.
The actual switch or lever itself could be damaged or disconnected meaning that although it looks like it’s set to reverse, it may not actually.
Next, if it’s not the electrics there is a high chance that transmission problems could be affecting your cart.
This won’t be as easy to fix, so you’ll need to bring it to someone who knows what they’re doing.
Lastly, the clutch in your cart is worn down so much that it won’t let the cart reverse at all.
Once again not easy to fix if you have no experience, so probably best to leave it to a qualified professional.
There are plenty of other reasons it’s not reversing, but these are some of the main culprits to be aware of.
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