I just bought a 2001 GEM and took it for my first drive. It seemed to work well. I drove it for 15 minutes or so. Batteries were charged. I went around the block and up a steep hill and when I stopped at mt driveway to check the mail it wouldn’t go. It was running strong ip to my stopping. We had to push it ip the driveway. The lights come on but the horn quit.
This is my First GEM and I just bought it. Anyone have any ideas of where to start?
Does the dash still light up when you turn the key?
Do you see any error codes on your dash display that might indicate what the issue might be?
(For instance- If Display shows a -04 this means controller still thinks your handbrake is still be applied.)
When you Key ON do you hear the Main Contactor clap closed?
Do you own a blowtorch?
Thanks, Assy. I’ll check those things out. I don’t remember the dash screen being on after it stopped. THe speedometer was working while I was driving, The Hand Brake buzzer was working as well.
I’ll report back!
Joe
I do! So, is that a question derived from experience or just dislike of the GEM?
Thanks, Joe
Believe it or not, JJ is just trying to help.
Help you from continuing down the path where he(and others) once ventured.
Yes, and he is bitter about it, but medication is helping.
Awesome ! Any guns or heavy construction machinery?
Yes, it would help immensely.
Actually, step one begins from initial power up.
Since you were already driving, then I went to step 2.
When you initially power up the car by switching on the main battery, The Dash display should power up, show a few numbers, then go out.
Then when you KeyON, the display should light up again. If the handbrake is set, then -04 will show up on the display instead of 0 being speed.
Dropping the handbrake will clear that code, the Main Relay should close, and pressing the pedal will move the car.
The controller goes through a series of safety checks. If it detects an issue, or if it does not pass any of these checks, then it will display the issue on the display.
If your car is doing anything different, you need to describe what you have going on.
I’m sure he is, but before I assumed that I understood his humor, I thought I’d ask. I’m new here. I understand those feelings.
Dash doesn’t light up. The horn died, but the lights and wipers work. The parking break buzzes when I let it down which seems odd. I do not hear anything when I Key-On. Now, my hearing is not great, but I can hear my Club Car solenoid engage easily. I believe I got that -04 code the first time I drove it, but nothing after that. Then it just quit. When It quits raining here, I’ll test my batteries, but it doesn’t sound like a battery failure would have come on that way, but it’s possible. Now, I found a Service and Repair manual and just started reading it about he electrical. It said something about the battery charger being plugged in. Would that cause met to get nothing on the dashboard? I saw another item to check if he dash was blank. Nothing on the dash is lit up. I’ll need to locate the controller it sounds like. There are some wiring diagrams in it as well. It’s a start! Thanks
Charger plugged in will kill all action in the car. This is the charger interlock. It keeps you from driving away with the cord still plugged in.
You also need to identify if your car has the DC Converter/wiring update. The wiring path is different depending if upgraded or not.
When you get the dash off, look for a open faced board over on the passenger side. This is known as the PWB. It looks like this:
If you don’t see the PWB, you might find a black box with fins in that area. This would be a good thing.
Very good. That makes sense. I was actually looking into activating the Interlock on my CC. I have an onboard charger and it has an interlock connection. But, after it quit in the driveway, the dash was blank. I sure hope unplugging the charger will tell me something.
So what is a PWB? This car apparently was previously used at a car dealership to ferry customers around the lot. I doubt it has had any upgrades, but I’ll look for that PWB.
I’ll report back. Thx, Joe
PWB stands for Printed Wiring Board. It does some minor switching, harness interconnect, but more important, it is your DC Converter.
It was replaced in a national recall program as a safety/fire hazard. If yours has not been done, you might be able to find your local dealer that will do it.
FYI, lead acid batteries can indeed just die suddenly. This usually happens when they are old and have been shedding lead particles to the area under all the plates in the bottom of the battery and that gunk moves/shifts and shorts out a battery as a number of cells go to 0V. The 12.x volts on the battery go quickly to 10V or less and even one of those can drop the 72V pack below what the Controller accepts as enough voltage to keep going. Also, poor wire connections at the batteries can over heat to the point of cracking and a little bit of cooling creates an open circuit or a very high resistance circuit within the battery pack.
So whenever something like this happens, odd failure, you always want to make sure your batteries are in good shape so you can start troubleshooting. Nothing sucks more than chasing your tail around and around and it leads back to a bad battery or two.
Good Points! I have actually had a car battery die suddenly on me, but I would have figured out of 6 batteries and one shorted one that i wouldn’t lose everything, but if it was a short, I could see it. If the batteries are gone, then I’m just going to change it to Lithium. If it’s just one battery, I may replace it until I can get everything else running. Thanks
OK. I’m familiar with PCB (Printed Circuit Board), but not PWB. Interesting.
I took the charger cable out of the port and tried it again. Still nothing.
I noted several things:
1. Nothing shows on the Dash Screen. The Speedometer worked when it was running.
2. The wipers work
3. The horn works
4. the lights work sort of. One headlight is on, one blinker comes on and blinks once. The other one doesn’t come on at all, and, no rear lights, brakes or running lights. It does have a Yellow blinking light on the roof. I doubt that is standard.
5. The hand brake buzzer goes off when I release the brake.
6. The F&R switch does nothing.
7. I do not hear any clicks or sounds when I turn the key switch to On.
I will look for the PWB thing and test the batteries. That’s a start!
Thanks for the help.
Verify- You say some of the lights work? Is that when KeyON?
KeyOFF, then Wait 30 seconds. They should go off. Confirm-> Y/N?)
Then keyON and they work again? (Y/N).
Waiting for PWB or Black Box Surepower unit spotting.
(diagnostic path takes a turn at this crossroad)
Here are a few pictures under the Dash. I had to look up how to get it off. These pictures were taken while holding the dash up.
I’m going to take the das completely off as well as the bottom skirt to get a full view. Is that thing with the fins a battery charger. I have a separate external one they gave me that I’ve been using.
Thanks, Joe
I’m in the process of removing the Dash Top and Bottom covers to get a better look.
Thank you, Joe
Sure, Pull the upper/lower dash panels off if only to blow that dirt out of there! Best not go after it with a water hose tho.(it HAS happened).
I see one component I was looking for. It shows that you indeed have the wiring update. This is good news.
Prepare yourself with a meter! We be going probing next!!
BTW- all that key flipping and watching may seem trivial,
but it tells me Key is working,
Key loop is working,
DC Converter is working, (if only partially)
Acc relay/delay off timer is working.
We move down the line to test 5 (or is it 6?).
But not yet. (ball is T’d up and set, then snatched away like Lucy does to Charlie Brown)
I think you skimmed over an important test that happens way back at Step 1.
I know you said the display does not light up. (OK, I get that).
But what I’m looking for happens not with the key, but when you initially throw the Main Battery Switch from initial power-up (cold boot). Did you verify this? Your answer was not clear or I missed it. (Yes- it is important)
Confirm(Y/N?)
