Just to start off, this is not my vehicle, I’m just helping someone out a little with their GEM The vehicle is over at someone else’s house, and the dash isn’t apart yet, so I can’t even really look in there to see the connectors.
2000 GEM 4-seater. The Schott charger is not functioning anymore.
Since they just want to get it running so they can sell it, because they moved and none of the streets there are really GEM friendly, my recommendation to them was just get a Zivian NG1 off ebay and make sure it was updated and then set it for the AGM batteries that they were sold back in August not sure if the charger was actually working back then - sounds like it was already dead before the batteries were purchased. Also, recommended they get a recovery charger like a Noco 7200 or better and run the recovery it on each battery. They are Dekka’s from 8/2018, so I’m hopeful for them that they will come back.
So, my question is for those that have upgraded, what is needed for them to switch the Schott for a Zivian? I haven’t even seen under the dash on their GEM and I’m not the one doing the work. Is a wiring adapter needed? Or a different mounting plate? The parts catalog I have, even though it’s 1999-2004, only shows a Zivian so I can’t even compare drawings.
first thing first is to get them to recharge each battery using a standard 12V battery charger. Since it sounds like they neglected to do that when they figured out the 72V charger was the problem and let the good batteries go dead, the best way is to set the current to a low value like 1 or 2 amps.
If the batteries doe not recover from this, they can try spending $$ on a battery recovery device but if it doesn’t work they probably in it for a loss. ie with dead batteries and a working Zivan, they will still be selling a GEM to someone who’ll need to put ~$1000 or more in batteries into it and hope that the charger works.
Might be worth $1500-$2000 with dead batteries and dead charger but the market for someone wanting that is much smaller than that of a fully functional GEM.
Agreed in the order there, despite the stuff in my post being written out of sequence, I explained the part about charging with a regular charger first to them already, .
I think they have their heart set on selling it as a working machine, but I’ll talk to them about the options. Thanks for the advice.
Despite the charger debacle, it’s actually in really nice shape too, so I can kind of understand their position.
Anyway, anyone know if the Zivian is a drop in to replace the shot Schott (snicker) or are mod’s required?
I also have a Schott charger , which I had never heard of before , I had a problem with mine and it was a wire that had come loose right by the wire that makes the back up sound work , can you tell I’m a woman … LOL But anyway this was a simple fix , it had just come loose , as far as the dash goes it is only hooked on by a couple of screws , so it’s not hard to get to to check , the charger should be on the passenger side . The problem I have with my charger is it doesn’t seem to last on a charge at all … with new gel batteries I have to plug it in like every 3 days after going possibly a mile a day . Hope this helps
Thanks for the info on the mounting. The problem with the charger on that vehicle is that it doesn’t seem to come on, not even the fan. That’s all the description I got from them.
Schott’s aren’t designed to work with AGM batteries. The charge profile is for flooded cells and as such it takes it to higher voltage. I can’t say at what point repeatedly using the shcott charger on gel cells would start to cause damage, but it is possible that is what has occurred in your vehicle.
When the batteries were tested they still held whatever it is that is acceptable , but thanks so much for the advise , I am possibly doing way more harm then because it seems like when the light quits blinking they really aren’t charged all the way so I unplug them and then hours later plug them in again … So I need to replace the charger ?? I understand there is no setting that can be changed on this charger, correct ??
There is a lot of good info from Old Houseboater in this thread:
The Delta Q has numerous different profiles, so it should definitely work, so long as the batteries aren’t damaged. The Zivan most likely would work with gel batteries on the AGM setting (86v) as gels are "charge to: at least 13.8 but less than 14.6 " (82.8v to 87.6v)
Gel batteries must be charged on Gel setting ONLY. Flooded or AGM settings are too strong for Gel batteries. many Zivan chargers dont have an AGM setting. If not use the Flooded setting for your AGM’s Some early Zivan chargers are Flooded only.