hello, have 2001 gem 4 seater. when purchased a few months ago, it ran fine around beach but only few miles then became very weak. a month ago after ten miles it became very very weak, then heard a “clunk” and now nothing. car does have upgraded charger. batteries are suspect. getting 74 volts across controller. mobile service is coming this week to replace dc converter under recall. no codes showing up except -04 when brake on. hear the click when turn key on but nothing now. any suggestions?? batteries are over 72 volts when charged. lights all accesories work fine? dc converter fuses are ok but seem to spark at times even when no power on and main switch off. ???
I would suggest waiting until after the convertor is replaced before continuing with any troubleshooting. Those original convertors were a frequent source of trouble.
Daniel
Thats my thinking right now. That converter looks scary. Ill post to let you know what happens after this wednesday. Hopefully will be able to run some diagnostics after new converter installed. Thanks again
Well the converter has been replaced under recall. Updated new batteries. All accesories work. Hit the accelorator and nothing. No codes appearing either. So new upgraded charger new batteries new converter. ? Controller i am sort of lost at this point. Contacter works it appears as it should. Any help?? Thanks
Check the throttle switch and potentiometer. Turn of the large master switch first. The metal cover snaps off and everything is right there. Check ohms on the switch open and closed and then the potentiometer.
Daniel
thanks so much. found the repair manual on cd rom which kinda outlines the process of checking the resisitence of the accelerator and start switches. i will start measuring these next weekend when back at the beach. its just bizaare how all of a sudden the batteries were getting weaker it seemed and the car just “gave out”. well the good news is i guess that i know the conveter and batteries are fine. charger is upgraded and overall the car is in great shape. still no codes appearing on the bdi.
thanks again
jeff
Check all of the terminals, it sounds like there is something grounding it.
The throttle can be isolated by unplugging the plastic wire connector under the steering column. This connector has given us trouble in the past with poor connections and melting terminals. Look for darkened areas in the plastic. Damaged wires can be bridged with quick connect terminals.
Daniel
thanks so much it seems that i have some diagnostics to do this weekend over at the beach. hoping to find the answer and fix. you guys have been rel helpful
thanks
QUOTE=GEMmechanic;12813]The throttle can be isolated by unplugging the plastic wire connector under the steering column. This connector has given us trouble in the past with poor connections and melting terminals. Look for darkened areas in the plastic. Damaged wires can be bridged with quick connect terminals.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
okay its been awhile. work, vacation, hurricane etc. but it seems that the accelerator pedal is working at least testing with ohmeter
update. batteries fine 76-78 volts
dc converter replaced under recall.
have updated charger from RFF
all lights accessories work fine
nothing when i hit the accelerator pedal forward or reverse everything else working fine with ignition on. buzzer, dc contactor
ANY SUGGESTIONS? controller? motor? prior to this was getting weaker and weaker. became so weak at the last time running that a subtle clunk was felt and then nothing.
thanks
the batteries were getting very low and not holding charge very long at all. i figured that the weak batteries were the reason the car become slower and slower. when batteries were charged , the car ran very strong. i replaced the charger because i didnt want to invest in good batteries until i upgraded the charger from the original schott charger. i am going to check the motor with wheels elevated when down there next week. if there is nothing then probably next step is the controller and possibly motor. i believe the motor has 3300 miles on it and yes i believe it is the original factory motor
thanks again
jeff
With four GEMs over ten years, we have never had a motor fail. Some of our GEMs have over 10,000 miles and even the brushes are still in good condition. GE makes good traction motors. Up to 2004, there where made in the US. GE also makes traction motors for their line of locomotives and huge motors from diesel electric ships. Pulling the motor to check the brushes and armature is not a hard job.
Daniel
My 2001 Gem has been at the dealership since July. It was doing the same thing. I replaced the charger and batteries. It had started smoking and smelling before this and the charger was burned up. It wouldn’t do anything. I found out about the recall in July and took it in. They did all the recall work and now they are telling me other stuff is burned up and Gem won’t cover it. I don’t feel that is right. They also said my new charger is burned up. It wasn’t when I took it. I am trying to do research before I call Gem. They probably didn’t even call them. I am going to pick it up tomorrow. They want over $2000.00 to fix it. I am almost certain the recall problems caused this and I feel they should cover it. They said I should have already had the recall taken care of before this happened. I bought it used and knew nothing of a recall until July when I called Gem to ask about the problem. Anybody ever had this problem go this far? Ty for input.
We had all of ours taken care of years ago after two of them caught on fire. The dealers wanted to use duct tape to keep rain water from getting on the DC convertor. The new sealed DC convertors have worked well for years now. The dealers are a ripoff.
Daniel
[QUOTE=GEMmechanic;13301]We had all of ours taken care of years ago after two of them caught on fire. The dealers wanted to use duct tape to keep rain water from getting on the DC convertor. The new sealed DC convertors have worked well for years now. The dealers are a ripoff.
Daniel[/QUOTE]
The dealer wanted to use duct tape? WTH? I wonder if GEM would approve? 