I have a 2020 Gem eL XD. When i connect the unit to the charger, the display starts flashing and i can see the “C” to the left of the battery percentage but i have left the charger on all day and the display is showing no improvement in the state of charge for the battery. I would assume the “C” means it’s charging. Even leaving charger on all night i come back and it has no bars to indicate that the batteries are charging. Can someone please help me? I have checked all the fuses, relays, connections to the controller and still can’t figure this out. I remove the plug from the charger and drive the vehicle and it appears that the batteries are fully charge because it has plenty of power but the display is showing “Low Batt”.
When this happens you need to get a look at the CHARGER display itself.
The C in the dash display indicates that it recognizes that it is plugged in and the interlock is active so you can’t drive away with it plugged in.
Locate the charger in the front of the car. It has it’s own status panel on it and observe what the lights are showing. If there is a red blinking light, count the number of blinks between the pause.
Then, unplug the car, wait 60 seconds, and plug it in again to see if this will either reset the charger or go back to the error flash pattern.
This unit just has a special handle type plug coming from a 120 volt outlet and looks Kinda like a handle you would see in a gas station when filling up your gas tank but smaller. I believe there’s 4 holes in the nozzle but the other end is just a normal 120volt a/c plug like you would see on an extension cord. I was able to retrieve a fault code from the unit. Here is the code i found on the web and the suggestions based on this code. A GEM fault code “520499:1” typically indicates a problem with the “Generic Electronic Module (GEM)” related to a “loss of communication” with another vehicle control module, meaning the GEM is unable to properly communicate with another system within the car, potentially causing various electrical malfunctions depending on the affected module. The display on the dash has the wrench light on and the triangle light is active. This charger setup has been like this since i started working here at the airport last november and has had no issues whatsoever. This problem just occurred last week. I pulled the rear bed covers off to access the batteries which are 8 (6 volt lead acid batteries). I’ve inspected all the batteries for water level, all the battery cables are clean and water levels have been well maintained by me. I work at the San Diego airport and service and maintain a small fleet of Gem polaris golf carts. I’ve inspected all the fuses, relays, wiring to the controller. All appear to be in good condition. I measured voltage at the battery pack and I’m getting 48 volts which i believe is what i should have for 8 6 volt batteries. What is unusual is when the charge cable is connected to the unit, i’m seeing a flashing battery display but it’s not showing any bars for battery state of charge, just a display of a battery but no bars for state of charge. I’ve tried driving the unit after being on a charge for a day and it seems to have plenty of power like a full charge but the display is showing the message “ Low Batt” so obviously something isn’t right.
When was the last time this car was running OK?
Do you know if this car has the small 12v start battery under the dash?
If that is under volt/tired then it tends to cause all sorts of odd issues.
To my knowledge the last time this unit was running was the first week of December. I came back to work on December 3 from 2 days off and thats when my supervisor told me this unit was not charging. I read some post in here about those batteries but i’ll need to look under the dash and also pull the front grille/cover off where the controller is and see if i can find a small battery somewhere. This problem definitely sounds like a communication issue based on the code that is stored in the display. Today is my friday so i won’t be back to work till Tuesday. I’ll let you know if i make some progress on this issue. Thanks
Just FYI- 48v on a 48v lead acid pack is considered depleted and in need of a charge. You should be seeing more than 51v.
Again, locate your charger and see if it is active.