Hello Everyone!
I have a new issue with my 2003 GEM E2. I purchased it about 6 weeks ago. It had been setting up for about 18 months. Needless to say the batteries were dead. Less than 3 volts. I tried to bring them back with 10 amp battery charger on each battery overnight and I did get the car to run but had a shorts battery life even after several charges. So new batteries brought life back to this car! I’m always amazed how new batteries feel… LOL
I’ve noticed it’s choppy when accelerating. If I try to maintain a steady speed it pulsates. If I let of the gas pedal a little to reduce speed it makes sort of an AC power sound and small surges and if I let up the pedal all the way it’s nice and quite. It’s like there some sort of oscillating going on in the controller. There are times where it runs fine. When I start to move Forward I sometimes think I feel dead spots in the pedal and other times it seems to be fine…
Any suggestions of what to check first? :juggle:
Donnie
[B][I]Car Spec:[/I][/B]
[ul]
[li]2003 E2
[/li][li]D&D BLUE 7.5 HP Motor
[/li][li]Delta-Q 912-7200 E254286 Charger
[/li][li]Heat System (Disconnected)
[/li][li]Top Speed 43Mph
[/li][li]14” Wheels
[/li][/ul]
Donnie
Controller model #?
Transaxle Ratio? Probably 10.35.
Unplug your sensor pick up - what happens?
Rodney
You don’t say under what conditions this occurs. Are you firewalling it or just gently accelerating from a stop. Assuming the former wIth a 7.5 hp motor and 43mph top speed I assume the controller was reprogrammed and wonder if that isn’t part of the problem? Maybe hitting a limit like max amps and that momentarily shuts down power? Or possibly overheating the controller? More details might suggest something else.
Also might want to put ohm meter on accelerator looking for dead spots when depressed.
Al
Check emergency brake switch and adjustment.
Jack up cart and checking for sticky brakes
Sorry guys for the delay, I had to do some Honey Do’s… LOL
I pulled the dash and the controller is the GE IC3645SH7R353T2. I don’t know the gear ratio. Also I need to mention the MPH does not show how fast I’m going and hasn’t worked since I picked up the cart. This could be due to some mods made by others. The brakes are fine and can push the car with 2 fingers.
I’ll check the parking brake switch but I don’t think it will be the problem because it works correctly each and every time I use the car. Also I ohm out the accelerator for dead spots. I’ll let you know what I find.
Donnie
[quote=ARandall;24863]You don’t say under what conditions this occurs. Are you firewalling it or just gently accelerating from a stop. Assuming the former wIth a 7.5 hp motor and 43mph top speed I assume the controller was reprogrammed and wonder if that isn’t part of the problem? Maybe hitting a limit like max amps and that momentarily shuts down power? Or possibly overheating the controller? More details might suggest something else.
Also might want to put ohm meter on accelerator looking for dead spots when depressed.
Al[/quote]
From dead stop to Max speed not an issue. It seems to surge / pulsate when at a steady speed. The worst seems to be 15-20 mhp (estimate speed).
I pulled the accelerator pedal cable loose from the controller and found a little corrosion in the connector. I cleaned it out with a little WD40 and a small brush. All is nice and clean now. I tried to ohm out the pedal at the end of the cable/connector. That didn’t work. I’ve searched the forum to try to find out how to open the accelerator pedal assembly. Not much help. We need Pictures! LOL
How do you get it open? I do see 2 small pins on the right side of the pedal next to the cable where it exits but that’s all I see.
Any advise?
The hinge pins on the accelerator are spring loaded. Push em in.
Rodney
Check the magnet to make sure it’s not loose.
Jack up the car and check for bad wheel bearings and rough CV joints.
Rodney
If you don’t find anything wrong mechanically I’d start To wonder if the controller isn’t programmed too aggressively. There are a bunch of interrelated parms, any one of which could cause problems especially if programmed by someone who didn’t understand what they were doing. I’d consider sending controller off to Ride4Fun to have it reprogrammed.
Note: there may be others who know how to program controllers as well. I only recommend R4F because they helped me out when I purchased a tweaked GEM that had a programming problem. In my case I had the R4F motor but the programming wasn’t done correctly by the seller and it was giving me fits. Because I had their motor, R4F reprogrammed my controller at no charge. They do know what they’re doing; a bit crusty perhaps but very knowledgable.
Al
[quote=OLD HOUSEBOATER;24870]The hinge pins on the accelerator are spring loaded. Push em in.
Rodney[/quote]
I got home late tonight and found my Air Conditioner at home wasn’t working, oh fun… I’ll jump back on this tomorrow evening after work.
I got to say you guys are great! I like my little car but I don’t know anyone that has a Gem Car. Having you guys to bounce things around is a life saver. LOL :playball:
We have all been there. Welcome to the GEM community.
I finally got back on my test and I definitely found an issue with the foot pedal. When I measured the resistance of the potentiometer I found big issues such as dead spots, iritic measurements in many areas.
Now I need to find and order some parts. Has anyone found a good source for the potentiometers?
[quote=OLD HOUSEBOATER;24917]Check out Daniels list.
http://www.electricforum.com/cars/neighborhood-vehicles/2626-lists-alternative-superseded-parts.html[/quote]
Rodney it’s guys like you and others on this site that go above and beyond to help guys like me. It’s Very Much Appreciated! Thank You to all of you for helping me… :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:
Daniels list is a GO TO for most of us. He spent a lot of time and effort compiling it. it’s 10,000 words long and worth a monthly read by all GEM owners.
Rodney