I just purchased a 2000 gem E825, put 6 new Renogy hybrid gel cells in it, and the only thing it will do is buzz if it is in road mode with the brake off! I have voltage at the main contactor (but NO click) but no display or anything else! HELP!
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Is the car still plugged in?
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When you first switch the main power on at the battery pack does your display light up for a few seconds then go out? (this is normal- Just a check)
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With no display I suspect the keyswitch or interlock is suspect.
Interlock is easiest to get to. Jump those and try again.
Then try jumping your key switch.
FYI, the dashboard comes off pretty easy to get to the guts of what makes these run. There are 2 philips head screws in the channel below the windshield once you flip open the hood. Once those are removed, there’s just some velcro at each corner of the dash and one or two across the middle sections of the dash. Just grab and edge at one corner of the dash and pull up and out then work your way around the dash to the other end.
I tried jumping the key switch - no luck. How do I jump the interlock?
Connect the two interlock wires together.
on the Zivan charger they are the 2 wires in the back left(IIRC) corner looking at the charger and they are the only 2 wires with spade-type ends on them. The interlock is a relay inside the battery charger which is normally closed(connects the two wires electrically ) but when the charger is powered, that relay opens and disables vehicle operation so you don’t drive off with the charge cord connected.
Doug - it’s a 2000, those would have Schott charger unless it was swapped for a Zivan later as those were not typically included until '02 sometime. IIRC, the interlock wire colors remained the same so if I’m remembering correctly, it’s the while and green wires. But, I think putting a jumper on the interlock might be premature.
I’m reading where other things were jumped to try to get the GEM to turn on, but I’m not seeing any voltage reads. Was there 72V DC at the key switch? Or if the fuses were even checked. What’s the voltage in each battery? What’s the total pack voltage? What charger is in there? Schott (under dash, bright aluminum color), Zivan (under dash, back plastic, fan cooled) DeltaQ/QuikQ (yellow, black fins, big), When the charger was connected to 110v power, did it even come on? Which DC-DC converter is in there (what does it look like?) ? And does it work? GEMs won’t run witout the 12v Has the VIN been punched into NTSB recall database?
Did the goddamn thing even run when OP got it? If yes, then back the truck up and go see what went wrong with it when the batteries were installed. If not, WTF was wrong with it? What did they tell the OP. Also if it didn’t run,… and, Bugzap, you seriously just dropped $1600 on six gel cells for a 22-year old non-running GEM?.
Which, BTW, if it still has the original Schott charger, you need to swap it out for something newer, _much_newer. If you don’t… that Schott will cook your Gel cells in very short order.
Schott chargers used in GEMs only have one profile: flooded lead acid. Peak voltage during charging for FLAs is just under 15v. Peak voltage for Gel is barely over 14v. That’s not the only difference btw. But it’s pretty major. Basically, that extra voltage will boil the gellied acid and this will leave pockets inside the battery.
If it does have a Schott, and it got plugged it in, did the led on the pod gauge face side light up? If it did, what color and was it blinking or sold?
Based on what is written in this thread, the system checks are all out of order and possibly incomplete. Go back to the beginning and start over.
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