try to go south by driveing the chariot north--act in a way that defeats one's purpose; head in the direction opposite to one's intention; run counter (to)

the right direction is north(辙the print you are supposed to trace), but you are heading south.(辕like the steering wheel of your cart)

辕:车前驾牲畜的两根直木。 The wood in the front of carriage. 辙:车轮压的痕迹。 The trace on the road which made by wheel. The wood towards south, but the carriage runs towards north. So it means you do something in a wrong way. What you have done makes you more difficult to archive what you want to do. 《南辕北辙》寓言故事出自于《战国策·魏策四》，讲述了一个人要乘车到楚国去，由于选择了相反的方向又不听别人的劝告，只能离楚国越来越远了。告诉我们，无论做什么事，都要首先看准方向，才能充分发挥自己的有利条件；如果方向错了，那么有利条件只会起到相反的作用。