Hello All - New to EV’s. Picked up this GEM. Ran fine initially, but maybe I screwed it up? Was driving out driveway when I noticed it was in “Turf” mode. I switched it to “Road” while still moving (is that bad?). The “Wrench” light immediately came on and the power shut down. Reading other posts, I checked the Parking Brake contact switch, as the code -04 is always on with the key switched to ON. The Buzzer does stop however with the brake OFF. I’m not 100% sure how to test that circuit, as the wiring diagram in the service manual is not too clear to me (all I can see is that the Green wire is normally open when the brake is off - not too sure what the other 2 wires do). Fuses all look good. Not sure what to check at this point? Thinking I might disconnect the Motor Controller and see if that will cause a reset of the codes? Any thoughts would be appreciated!!
Thanks in advance!
What year? It sounds like a pre 2004?(duh- I see it now in the heading) 2002.
Rather than disconnecting the controller just try switching off the main battery disconnect, waiting a minute or two, and bringing it back on again.
Early cars had that under the seat. 2005 and newer have a switch under the fuse panel on the dash.
I tried that…more I thought about it, that would do the same as disconnecting at the controller…duh. If the PB buzzer is off, could there still be an issue with that switch? Is there a way to bypass that switch to eliminate that potential issue?
OK! New info! After messing around a bit, it is definitely related to the Parking Brake…here’s the weird part. With the PB level all the way down (fully released), I get the wrench and no power. If I pull the PB lever up one ‘click’, the wrench goes away and it runs, but then the ‘Buzzer’ sounds, even with the key removed. Bad switch or just needs some kind of adjustment?
Disclaimer: I am not the best on the early cars but will take a stab at it.
I was in edit mode when you followed up with your new observation.
Try this, Pull up the handbrake to the first click to where the wrench goes away but the buzzer sounds. Pull off the Y/GR wire to see if the buzzer stops. does the car still go?
Try that to the W/GR wire.
If you have a meter you can check that the switch is functioning. One tab will be Com. Usually it is the one on top all by itself. The other two contacts will switch between open and closed depending on lever up or down.
According to the dusty diagram I have the Green is 72v Gnd. It should be on Com.
The Yl/GR is marked unused. It is on NO.
The Wt/GR is the signal wire and it is connected to NC on the switch. It goes to the PWB under the dash and carries on to the Controller. This tells me the contacts need to be Closed to go.
This also points back to your action of switching from Turf to High as the cause for this -04 error. It doesn’t make sense.
You may be aware of the recall related to this switch. If you haven’t already you can go to a website, enter your vin# and it should tell you if the repair has been done on your car already. Depending on your local dealer they may be grumpy about working on a 20 year old car. Sometimes it is best to source the switch and repair it yourself.
Non related tangent -
Be aware there is another recall on early cars relating to the DC/DC converter. This one is more serious. The early cars had an “open air” circuit board that did not like being exposed to elements and liked to occasionally catch fire. I think it is under your dash. You should look for it and see if it has been done. The website will tell you this too, but some have discovered their cars were marked “done” and clearly the old board was still in place. If yours has been done then you will probably find a black box with fins.
Thanks SO much! I will go try now and let you know!
Looking at the wiring diagram again I realize that the Y/GN wire stops at the PWB also and it could easily be doing some unknown voodoo in there before it exits to where I saw the note that it was not used.
What might be happening with the switch is that a normally 2 condition(1 or 2) switch is being forced into a third state. The last condition being a narrow window of nothing (dirty contact) or perhaps both? Usually these things have a very positive snap between the two.
In any case you should be able to jump the green to one or the other and get your desired results.
OK - I think I’m good now. The switch appears to be operating as it should. Maybe just had dirty contact or connections, but after messing with it, seems ok now. I checked the recalls and as you said, it shows the status of the Aux Board Retrofit as “done” (I’ll have to inspect to be sure) and the parking brake as “Unknown” (this one seems to be about the lever itself).
Thanks for the input!
It works now?
So this one can be filed away as “if you play with it enough it may produce desired results?”
Now that it is working, listen close in the dash area for a relay click as you cycle the e-brake. See if you can identify that relay and make note of it. Sometimes those contacts and terminals get a little grungy and need an occasional skritch and wiggle.
Again- I have no idea why the mode switch set this whole thing off.
Run your GEMs VIN through the recall database checker at NTSB.gov. There are a few open recalls on the 99-04 carts, one of which is the brake switch. Another is the dc-dc converter. I forget the other. The brake switch is annoying, the old open dc-dc converters were known for starting fires.
Apparently, NTSB only goes back 15 years;
Per NTSB:
"What this VIN search tool will show
** An unrepaired vehicle affected by a vehicle safety recall in the past 15 calendar years"*
Check your VIN again, my 2002 comes up in the nhtsa.gov database. Polaris will repair under warranty. Also if your DC/DC converter is an open circuit board, it’s been recalled as well.
As @Reddevil said, run your VIN anyway. My '02 shows up in the database with L-13-02 unapplied, which is the parking brake sensor switch. Which is correct AFAIK, the switch was bypassed by the UC bus line that operated it prior to me buying it.
The DC-DC and the Zivan charger were both done on mine, so it doesn’t even mention them.
**: I’m not 100% sure that the Zivan went through NTSB or not, if you have a Zivan NG-1 charger, look for a “Microcode Updated, blah, blah extended” sticker on the front. If it has that, it went back to Electric Conversions for the update.