2008 GEM troubleshooting

My wife is now proficient in placing pins in wires but the results are not encouraging.

On Pin K and Pin D I get a reading bouncing around 1v. On the wiper wire I get 0v regardless of throttle position. These were measured at the 23 pin connector with 9 as WH/vt and then 7 and 8 as the other two points. High confidence in the connections with the pins jabbed into the respective wires. Triple checked the connections where I got 0v. Throttle position had no effect on either reading.

Wouldn’t this indicate a motor controller problem?

Thanks for taking the time to help.

Larry

Between 8 and 9 you should have ~5v.
Try unplugging that 23p connector and cleaning it with contact cleaner.
Clean both the wire end and the controller socket.
Push/pull it on and off a couple times and follow it up with a blast of air.

Then try to run the car again.

EUREKA!

That fixed it. The hardest part was finding how to unlatch the connector, then sprayed and an air burst, and it works.

Thanks to all of you.

1 Like

Nice!
When you have a sec go back and put little dabs of glue on all the little pokes your wife did on the wires. I’d hate for water to get in there and start corroding the wires from the inside-out.

@Larry since you also have a 2008, if you have a tunkback on yours can you take a picture of the upper center where it latches? I have a 2008 but the trunkback doesn’t look like it’s the right model. Mine leans over more than my 2002 and the rubber bumpers at the top left and right side are over 1" away from the back of the body of the vehicle while my 2002 has these bumpers compressed against the GEM body.

The rubber bumpers are flush.

Unlatched.

Thanks for the pic. It looks surprisingly like mine only mine still sits too far off the GEM body.

I wonder if the latch is mounted more forward or something as I was expecting a more stubby tab at the latch pin.