My OEM batterries in my 2002 have a J2 label on them. Some people have said the letter designates the month and the number designates year. Would a J2 be October 2002 or October 2012?
Thanks for any input
A SWAG but if the batteries are still working, I’d have to believe its 2012. Hard to believe they would still function from 11 years ago which makes 2002 unlikely.
That was my thoughts too. I havent really paid attention to how many miles we are getting per charge. My wife is so freaked about geting stranded that she plugs it in every night and only drives it about 3 miles per day. The only thing I noticed the other night is from 80% to almost having to push the thing seemed really short in distance. I finally noted the beginning mileage on a 100% charge and i am at 10 miles right now and showing 80% charge left. BUT this is where the batteries seem to really drain fast.
Couple of thoughts:
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What size/type/brand/AH rating of batteries are they? I’m assuming you didn’t put these batteries in recently since you didn’t mention that. I’d be interested in knowing the type (GEL, AGM, Flooded lead acid), the size (Group 31) and manufacturer (Trojan, Dekka, etc) and amp-hour rating (130AH, etc). GEMs really need deep-cycle batteries. I personally don’t think marine batteries work very well in a GEM and car batteries are definitely a non-starter.
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Assuming they’re flooded lead acid (FLA) batteries, did you check the fluid levels? It should be high enough to cover the plates but not so high as to be up the filler neck. If they’re AGM or GEL you can’t maintain fluid levels. I check my FLA batteries monthly.
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The batteries might be “sulfated”. You might try plugging them in and letting them charge up. Unplug them, wait a few minutes and then plug them in again. The charger will then “overcharge” the batteries and this tends to help break up the sulfation although with the low usage your wife is giving them, they’re getting over-charged pretty regularly.
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You could also take the vehicle to a service tech (or battery dealer) and ask them to load test each battery to see if they’re up to snuff. I’ve put a voltmeter on all my batteries one at a time looking for one “low” reading and then followed up by testing the specific gravity with a hydrometer. This isn’t as definitive as load test but it usually allows me to find a weak battery or cell. If you do this before charging and again after running them down, you can usually find out which battery is bad.
Al
They are GEL batteries and I will check all above and get back with my findings. Luckily Marlon is local to me so he has also been helping me out and we are installing his 7.5 HP motor and new gears in the next few weeks.
I am a interstate battery dealer and when I called them to ask about replacement batteries he said their new 31AGM7 battery is the latest and greatest and comes with a 4 year replacement warranty. $230 per battery so I though that wasn’t bad with the warranty
[quote=ARandall;16963]Couple of thoughts:
-
What size/type/brand/AH rating of batteries are they? I’m assuming you didn’t put these batteries in recently since you didn’t mention that. I’d be interested in knowing the type (GEL, AGM, Flooded lead acid), the size (Group 31) and manufacturer (Trojan, Dekka, etc) and amp-hour rating (130AH, etc). GEMs really need deep-cycle batteries. I personally don’t think marine batteries work very well in a GEM and car batteries are definitely a non-starter.
-
Assuming they’re flooded lead acid (FLA) batteries, did you check the fluid levels? It should be high enough to cover the plates but not so high as to be up the filler neck. If they’re AGM or GEL you can’t maintain fluid levels. I check my FLA batteries monthly.
-
The batteries might be “sulfated”. You might try plugging them in and letting them charge up. Unplug them, wait a few minutes and then plug them in again. The charger will then “overcharge” the batteries and this tends to help break up the sulfation although with the low usage your wife is giving them, they’re getting over-charged pretty regularly.
-
You could also take the vehicle to a service tech (or battery dealer) and ask them to load test each battery to see if they’re up to snuff. I’ve put a voltmeter on all my batteries one at a time looking for one “low” reading and then followed up by testing the specific gravity with a hydrometer. This isn’t as definitive as load test but it usually allows me to find a weak battery or cell. If you do this before charging and again after running them down, you can usually find out which battery is bad.
Al[/quote]
Al,
GEM DEKA Sealed
108AH Gel batteries
Part number 8G31
I ran them down to 68% tonight from a full charge and went 16 miles. once it hit below 70%charge it was having a hard time getting up to speed and lost all take off power. I headed back home slowly just to make sure I got home. It’s on the charger now and in the morning I will unplug it and plug it back in after a few minutes to try that.
lvzfyr, you’ve seen Marlon?? please say hi from me and that he is missed from here
Robby
[quote=eS GEM Colo;16966]lvzfyr, you’ve seen Marlon?? please say hi from me and that he is missed from here
Robby[/quote]
Will do. He’s quite a guy. I’ve enjoyed listening and learning what I can from him. We are getting ready to install his 7.5 hp motor and new gears in my gem in a couple weeks. He lives about 20 minutes from me so he’s a great resource and hopefully he doesn’t get tired of me too soon!!
Your 108AH batteries seems a bit anemic to me depending on how hard you drive your GEM. If you install a 7.5hp motor and reprogram the controller (and why wouldn’t you), I think you’ll be disappointed with your existing batteries.
Don’t mean to knock Interstate batteries since apparently you’re a dealer BUT I didn’t have any luck with their marine batteries and finally replaced them all with Trojans. I used 30XSH (130AH) but I think I’d go with the larger T1275 (150AH) the next time I swap out. Of course the bigger batteries will last longer, cost more and require an upgraded charger - all of which cost money!!
I’m a big fan of honest-to-gosh deep cycle (think “forklift” or “industrial machinery”) batteries and now won’t use anything else in my GEM. I’m very satisfied w/ my Trojans and recommend them highly. I’ve heard that DEKA batteries or their NAPA labeled equivalents are pretty good but haven’t used them myself.
Al