2005 e4 buzzer issue

GEM Forum
1

Hi everyone,

I ran into an issue today that I’m hoping you all can help me with.

I have a 2005 GEM e4. I’m in the process of doing a light refurbishment to it.

One of the big things I did was repair the display since the glass was all cloudy. To do this, I had to disassemble the entire steering column assembly that houses the display and the buttons.

Once I removed the front cover, I took pictures of all of the connectors before I disconnected everything.

I was able to successfully repair the cloudy glass. However, before I put it all back together, I decided to give the cart a quick wash.

I made sure to cover up the entire dash area with plastic and I was extra careful not to spray water in that direction. I was successful as when I removed the plastic, everything was bone dry.

I put everything back together as per my pictures. But when I flipped the master breaker on, the buzzer was going off, but in a low volume. When I release the parking brake with the ignition off, it gets super loud as it’s supposed to. If I turn the ignition on, it gets super low, but it’s still audible.

The only part that got wet is the parking brake handle area. Any chance that the parking break switch got wet and could be causing this? Any other ideas?

It’s important to note that everything else works as it should. Lights, turn signals, display, horn, trip button, forward low and high, as well as reverse. The only issue is the constant buzzer.

Here is a link to a quick video I made showing the problem:

Also, before and after pictures of my display repair just for kicks :slight_smile:

Thanks in advance!

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Nice job on the display repair!! That thing looks fantastic!

Sure- I guess you might have a little water in your e-brake switch. That thing is not water protected. For further diagnostics try pulling one of the wires going to that switch on the ebrake switch and see if it silences the faint beeep. If so- try shooting a couple hits of compressed air in and around the switch. Focus on the small gaps in the micro switch and see if it makes any difference.

Where else did you spray water? Down by the master power switch is the fuse block and the PSDM. I don’t think it would like having water in it very much either.

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@AssyRequired Thanks for the reply and the suggestions.

Here’s what I did:

I flipped on the master breaker. Ignition is off. Faint beep started. I disconnected one of the wires going to the e-brake switch. Faint beep got even fainter. I’d say sound was reduced by 50%, but it was still audible. I then disconnected the second wire. The beeping stopped. Note that the first wire is still disconnected, so the e-brake switch is completely removed at this point.

I touch one of the wires back to the terminal, the faint beep at 50% volume immediately starts up. I then hold the second wire to the other terminal (both are touching at this point), and the faint beep fully returns. I remove both wires, beeping is gone.

To further test this, I quickly wired up a switch I have laying around. Connected it and no faint beeping. I then activated it a couple of times, and the beeping was loud as it should be.

So at this point I’m guessing that the switch is bad. It looks totally dry, but maybe some water got in there somehow. I’m going to leave it out in the sun all day in hopes that whatever is in there will dry up.

In case that doesn’t work, any idea on where I can purchase a new one?

Thanks again, I really appreciate the help!

Oh, and thanks for the compliment on the display! While trying to remove it, I accidentally cracked the original glass. Of course as soon as I had it out, I realized my mistake. Luckily I was able to tape the pieces back together and use it as a template. I then went to a local glass shop and they recreated it for $5. After I went to a local sign shop and had a vinyl sticker made to simulate the black surround. Cost me $3. That didn’t work out too great as there are small air bubbles that are visible, but it’s good enough. I then used acrylic caulk with silicone from Loctite to seal it all back up. Came out great!

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Posting an update in case anyone else runs into this issue.

Turns out that water had somehow made it into the micro switch mounted at the base of the parking brake lever. I removed it, let it sit in the sun for a full day, and reinstalled it. It worked perfectly again.

However, one of the connectors on the switch had become brittle and broke off shortly after reinstalling, so I ordered a new one from here:

They shipped super fast and the new switch bolted right in and worked perfectly.

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Great job on the dash lens!