E825 wont come to life

GEM Forum
1

First time posting here. I read a ton of various similar articles on my issue from this blog, but seem to be stuck still.

Background:
I have a 2002 E825 extended utility model that I purchased recently that “was running” when put into storage 5ish years ago. But now doesn’t run.

What I’ve done so far:
I replaced all the batteries and tested that all the wiring is done correctly. All the voltages show that they are reading correctly. Since this unit was stored outside the ignition key was seized up, (i have a new one on order) In the meantime, I just temporarily wired the ignition key wires together. When I touch these wires together, i can hear a small relay “click” together. The BDI is not coming to life yet. I did see it read out something when I first powered it up, but haven’t seen any life from it since. Next, started following the troubleshooting guide in the service manual I found (see reference 1 below) on pages 5-8 and 5-9. I was able to get to step 7, then it directed me to go to step 11, since I did not have power on the white/red wire under the main contactor. Step 11 asks " Measure the volatage on pin 11 of MH5 (16 pin connector on the PWB). Is the voltage approximately 71VDC?" However, I dont know what the MH5 or PWB is.

What is working so far:

  1. The 12v accessories seem to be working (wipers, horn etc).
  2. A buzzer to the right of the main contactor goes off when I have it in gear and switch from “turf” mode to “road” mode.
  3. The 72V battery charger seems to be working as well, all lights and indicators worked as expected and it topped off the new batteries from 78.8V to ~83V.

Despite these best efforts so far, I havent been able to get the main contactor to connect or for drive at all. I am hesitant to order more parts or pieces without knowing more about what might be wrong. Any help anyone can provide would be incredible!

Reference 1: http://notepad.org/GEMcar/Gem%20Car%20Repair%20and%20Maintenance-Service%20Manual.pdf

2

This might seem obvious but make sure you unplug your AC power from the charger before you start troubleshooting unless you’re literally checking the charger. This is because there is a safety relay inside the charger(usually) which disables the ignition switch circuit(or other parts depending on year) so that people don’t drive off dragging their charge cord and anything else attached down the street.

3

My 2001 is doing the same thing. There is a brief power up by the lcd screen but then it goes dark, Gem does not move, no relay click. Charger is working, batteries are all charged, 12.7-13.1.

Did you ever figure out what was wrong?

4

Yours kind of sounds like the DC-DC converter or a bad switch. If it were the charger interlock you wouldn’t get the lcd flash.

Best to start a new thread as your problem sounds like it might be different

5

Yes- Start your own thread.

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6

New to the forum, thank you for the quick answer and yes I will start a new thread.
Best
Charles

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