I replaced the front brake shoes on my 2000 GEM, bled the brake lines & now it doesn’t have power to the motor. The contractor does not engage, all 12 volt systems work & it has power on the 72 volt side to main fuse under the contactor & the controller. Battery charger works & fully charges the batteries. I see two switches on the brake pedal mount, one above & one below the pivot point. The upper switch activates the brake lights, what does the lower switch do? Is it an electrical cutoff that is activated when the brake pedal is depressed all the way to the floor board like when I bled the brakes? What would cause it to stop working? Is it related to the brake job? The BDI has not worked since I got the car, a known good replacement BDI does not work either. The wiring harnesses appear to have been spliced, soldered and taped & they should probably be replaced. Any suggestions to identify the problem would be appreciated.
Is it possible you may have jostled the spliced connections while doing the brake job? I would look over the spliced area real well and correct any shoddy repairs. There should be soldered joints if done correctly.
Yes, that is possible, I’ll untape all the splices and make sure none of them have separated. Thanks,
Bob
That second switch on the brake pedal is an over travel switch that activates the warning lamp on the dash. I believe you have a wiring problem that is unrelated to the brakes.
Daniel
Daniel, thank you for the reply, that narrows down my approach to troubleshooting this issue.
Bob
Hi RJOL
You might also find some more useful comments in our array of other posts about this matter :-
If the BDI doesn’t work then you could simply be missing the -04 which you’d get if the parking brake was on. Check the microswitch under the seat.
Thanks for the reply, I installed a parking brake switch over this past summer, it was missing when I got the car. The switch seems to be working. I had it jumpered before I got the switch to bypass the cutout but I don’t recall which of the 3 wires on the switch to jumper to by pass it.
Bob
I found the problem, this relay was bad. It was also the reason for the cause of a problem I posted awhile ago, the car would go even if the key was off. I have second E825 that I took the relay from & confirmed the cause of the problem. With the replacement relay the car will engage the contactor and the motor only with the key on.
Now I just need to find the replacement relay so I can use both cars.
Check the following link:
J115F31A12VDCS datasheet pdf datenblatt - CIT Relay & Switch - CIT SWITCH ::: ALLDATASHEET :::
Does not look like this exact relay is easy to find. However, it is a single pole single throw relay (SPST) with a 12 volt DC coil. Just go to a local electronics supply and ask for just that. 20 amp contacts should be enough. Remember that polarity on the coil wires must be correct, but the contact wires will not matter.
Daniel
Hi RJOL
I hope that your issue has been solved now? I was reading the post and it was all very intriguing.
Hi Editor, yes I finally got a resolution to my initial issue from June of 2011, the ignition key was by-passed & the car ran with the key off, & without the key at all. I also got a resolution to the recent problem of no power to the contacor or motor. There lay under the dash is bad. I confirmed this diagnosis with the identical relay from my other car. Now I just have to find out where I can purchase the replacement relay. This is a more difficult task than I expected.
Thanks, Bob
Try here: Relay Specialties, Inc. - A World of Components (Specializing in relays, switches, circuit breakers, terminal blocks, timers, sensors, controls and thousands of other electromechanical components.)
or here: CIT RELAY J115F31A12VDCS.9 RELAY, SPST-NO, 12VDC, 30A
or here: IHI Electronics - Part Search
or here: http://www.masline.com/commerce/product/81955
Hey Bob, thanks these are great leads, I’ve done some research but Ido t recognize these. I’ll let you know how it works out.
Bob
How did you replace the shoes on the gem?
Font right or left side
please let me know how you got the brake shoes on. Thanks!