2nd time writing this (after the forum decided I wrote too much the first time… lol).. So a little less enthusiastic.. Got the newest addition from surplus today! It had a dead 12v battery. Changed that out. Got the dash back lit up. It’s a 200 ah 8.8kw lithium pack. The dash says it’s at 79%. I’m running into some faults, but my gut is pointing to a broken wire harness… can anyone tell me if this is the main disconnect, or something else that is important? If so, where the heck it goes to…
Also, is the turtle/bunny switch in the middle or selected one? Of course none of my keys fit it.
Where the heck are the lights for this charger? Nothing lights up when hooked up to the wall. (Maybe that wire that broke?).
When hooked up it says charging but I don’t hear the normal charger sound. Also, after an hour nothing changed.
last also- I can switch through forward, neutral, and reverse and it shows accurately on the dash.
As always, I truly appreciate the amazing knowledge base this group has. Any info to help me keep the project rolling is much appreciated!
It is always an ambitious to dive into a gov surplus auction, also a tough call to pass on a deal. But grabbing a 2019 without knowing much about these cars is a heck of crapshoot especially for a new guy.
The NewGen cars are a very different machine compared to your 2010~2015 cars.
Fault codes
I’m running into some faults, but my gut is pointing to a broken wire harness…
I’m curious as to how your gut decided this? Usually harnesses don’t “go bad” unless there is visible abuse. Possibly your gut thinks you need to look for chafed wires, rodent damage, former repairs? Missing components and wire harnesses cut off are a major red flag.
Instead you might take a look at what the car is telling you with the fault codes? Clearing them might work… but this is usually not the way to go about things.
=== Charger
Where the heck are the lights for this charger? Nothing lights up when hooked up to the wall. (Maybe that wire that broke?).
It is a box with 6 sides. I can see 4 sides in that one pic you provided. I’d throw out a wild guess that it is not on the side bolted to the frame. That leaves one left.
Hint - The display on the charger is on the opposite end of the cord exits. Yes- it is stupid that the engineers chose not to make it easy to view that display, but that guy didn’t think it was important.
I appreciate the insight! My gut was pointing toward the wire harness that is completely disconnected due to corrosion. Seen in photo. I also noticed it looks to be in the location of the main disconnect (I liked the switch style on the older ones better..).
My back has been having issues so it’s been hard to get completely under the cart yet. So, I wanted to confirm it did indeed have lights somewhere before I was searching for something that did not exist anymore.
I don’t like to limit my options due to my current understanding of something (only one way not to be new at something anymore, right?). I like to learn as I go. I would eventually figure this out on my own… but they make it difficult by not having readily available wiring diagrams open to the public.. So, I do appreciate the brain power from this group.
the wire harness that is completely disconnected due to corrosion.
Do you know any history of this cart?
Look around this cart for more signs of this corrosion and/or signs that this car may have been dipped past it’s ankles in water.
This the former Fire Dept utility vehicle that you mentioned the other day, correct?
So I just checked, I don’t have any manuals on the newer models other than the eM1400. Which has almost zero in common with the rest of the 48v gem lineup.
I don’t know anything about the two speed key switch. To me it appears that may be a 3-position switch, set the key for one of the position markers (turf or track) and middle being the removal position. If that’s the case, it won’t move until you get it to one of the two run positions. My guess is that the key is captive in either of the run positions. You can try GemCarPartsDirect .com in florida see if they can get a key, it may be a generic key. Or, because the jscrews aren’t safety screws or tamper proof and the jam nut is right there on top, it’s about as secure as a wet paper bag so just remove it and get an ON-OFF-ON key switch and rewire it to the new key switch or jumper the wires for track and cap the turtle.
If it’s not hurting anyone here, would it be okay to backtrack slightly? Does anyone know what the wire is, or should go to? Lol… I would like to try that before going off the “it’s flooded and trash” rails. Anything is possible as I know..
Is that a thumbscrew on the left? With the knurling? What is to the right of the 240V connector?
I wonder if you could just remove the thumb screws, flip the plate over and clip a jumper wire across the back of the terminals on the switch.
I don’t think he’s saying this cart is hashed, I read it as more like a warning to check it out a bit more closely. We’ve seen a lot of flood victims here and unlike regular automobiles, GEMs don’t have carpet or sound deadening material to stain, differentials are well sealed and the electric motors drain out, so once the water level drops, they dry out very quickly, hardly a trace of evidence is left. Some of those carts are so clean that after they dry until you start tearing stuff open, you can’t tell that they served as a U-Boat.
(ok, so the U-Boat joke was a lot funnier with the older ones that said “Daimler-Chrysler” on the hood)
Those are hood screws. Just temp installed while the hood is off. My spider senses are tingling on the rabbit key or the wire bundle… I wish more people had these newer carts to get a photo of where that wires goes.
I understand about the flooding aspect. However, around these parts they call it the rust belt for a reason. This type of corrosion is super common on smaller connectors around here. Especially if they used this on salt covered roads/tarmacs in the winter.
The sky can flood? A flood, in the air? What is this witchcraft of which you speak?
CAIG Deoxit D-5 is about the best electrical contact corrosion cleaner I’ve found of what hasn’t been banned by the EPA yet. I’ve used D5 in marine environments and it does pretty damn good even with salt based corrosion.
For a protective grease to pack connectors with, the L260NP (No Particles of metal in the mix) has done well for me on machines where constant water or high humidity was an issue, but I haven’t used it in marine (high salt environments.
Neither of these are quite as good as the stuff we used to get back on ships, but that stuff is long gone since guys started getting dick cancer from it…
Maybe @AssyRequired has some additional suggestions, he’s been around water a few times.
So it’s reading a low, or not able to read the battery correctly. But, it shows 79% on the dash
That just means the car systems see the battery, but the charger does not.
Up front near the charger should be a small weather box with a couple of relays and fuses. One of them ties the charger to the battery when it is plugged in. Sometimes that relay melts down.
@AssyRequired I would never put words on your keyboard for you lol. However, I guess I got a little defensive when it sounded like you were thinking I was too new to be trying to work on one of these gems. I know all too well before I purchased that it could be flooded. But, I like to work from the cheapest fixes first.. I require this equipment for the nonprofit… unlike some people I am unable to afford it new, or on the working-used market. I do my best with what I got.
@AssyRequired Do you have a 2016+ gem car? If so, would you, or anyone else that has a 2016+ gem car be able to take a photo of where those wires are supposed to Be connected to? Or, maybe disconnect that wire harness and tell me if it sets the same codes off? I have no problem replacing all those fuses, but this wire harness is bothering me.
The photos below are of the same wire harness at different angles.
they are pretty nasty tho.
