We purchased our first Gem with completely dead stock gel batteries. We did some preliminary reading on this site and tried to go the lithium route by purchasing batteries from the closest (in proximity) battery dealer we could find. We ended up purchasing two lithium batteries from Allan Bullock and a charger.
Brought them home, tried installing them to the best of our capabilities and got nothing from the GEM. Had a couple neighbors come by who had golf cars themselves or said they had some knowledge with them.
Had golf cart company come by to pick the cart up, only to be told the next day that they don’t feel comfortable working on the vehicle with these batteries. Found a second company who picked up the gem brought it there and in short, said the same thing.
At this point, we asked them to install 6 gel batteries to see if this cart even runs before trying anything more.
They said with the gel batteries (at 1800.00) it runs.
We haven’t purchased the gel batteries, just wanted to make sure it runs.
Now we’re in a bit of a situation. We can’t afford to buy these gel batteries having just spent what we spent on the two lithium batteries and charger… and Allan will not take these batteries back as he says they are “used” now.
He says I should just sell them and try to make my money back, but I know very little about them.
Would you all suggest trying to get the cart back and trying to get them to work in our gem ? Or saving the lithium conversion for someone who is a little more capable?
Give us more details and maybe some pics of the batteries and chargers. Where are you located? Maybe one of us is close enough to come take a look. Lithium done correctly is going to bring much more satisfaction than gel so if it can be made to work you will want to make the effort.
I installed these with allan’s directions and couldn’t get anything running. The lights would work but wouldn’t not turn on and drive. When I released the parking brake there was a constant ringing. Some of the lights on the display worked but nothing indicating that the cart was actually on or ready to drive. We’re located in El Dorado Hills, CA. Thanks!
That looks like a Volt battery to me. I can’t make sense of the note he wrote. Min is higher than max and both are well below the 72V. I’m wondering if he sent you a 12 cell 48V(44.4V nominal) setup instead of 72V(66.6 nominal). Try to take another pic of the whole setup. I don’t live too far from you. I’m in Lake Wildwood which is just below Grass Valley. If we can’t figure this out online I might be able to look at it in person at some point. We need to see everything you have and how it is hooked up before we can solve this.
Yes, that’s only an 18s battery. 66volt nominal.
Even if you get it to run, it won’t be satisfactory.
These sellers know better. When I asked them about selling with an honest description, they say, “who will buy a 44v or 66v battery”.
If you get it working, you will require at least one more 6s module, but it will be a nightmare to series/parallel properly.
None of my Volt harnesses will work with it, unless customized.
@Mr.Vern
If you tackle it, I can help you through it. Or at least give you my opinion.
He is not the first on here to get stuck with the wrong batteries.
The last member, as I recall, split a 6s into a 2p3s module. Which adds 11 volts at 100 ah.
21s - 77 volts is perfect.
The add-on module needs to be hand wired to bms harness.
I’ll draw a picture.
My first recommendation would be to demand a refund. If you bought on ebay or with a credit card you have protection from dishonest marketing. If he sold that as a 72V solution for a golf cart or GEM car, he was being dishonest. That battery will charge to a little above 72V, but it is not an industry standard to rate batteries at or near peak voltage. The industry rates them at nominal voltage and that would be 66.6V for that battery.
If you can’t get a refund, I am willing to help you make it work as Dave mentions, but you will need more cells. I am booked pretty solid for the next couple months but depending on what the rest of what you have looks like, I can probably fit it in. I also have a 1 year old set of Interstate AGM batteries that were in my car that I could probably loan you until we get it running. I haven’t found a use for them yet.
Please take more pics as soon as you get a chance
I tried. He practically laughed in my face. He had me pay on PayPal, through “friends & family”
Working on getting the pic of the whole battery. What he told me is that most people would purchase a third battery taking but replacing my 6 AGMs would this set up would be a good start. From there, adding another one would just get me longer ranges.
If I were you, I would contact PayPal and explain his whole scheme. They are very good at protecting consumers and him telling you to use friends and family will not help him in their eyes. Personally, I would make this scam artist famous on this site but I will leave it there and let you handle it your own way.
That aside, if you decide to go with adding to yours we will need to see what you have to be sure but we’re pretty sure that Dave has helped solve this before and knows exactly which pack we need to get to supplement yours. My wife and I like to come to ElDorado Hills for the Live on the Boulevard music on Thursday nights. I think they start again in 2 weeks. If nothing else we could come early and help you get your car going.
The seller you bought from has a reputation for either not backing up his product or not knowing what he is selling. He sold another member here some battery’s that were labeled as having a amp hr rating that was False. When the member got the battery’s and tested them the advertised amp hrs of the battery’s were much lower then. The selller told the buyer. He would not take the battery’s back or offer a refund. I would not deal with Alan if your a newbie. Based on the transaction you describe He seems to have enough info to be dangerous. 2 volt battery’s for your gem is a joke. Even if you were some how to get it to work it would be way under powered.
Good batteries but not enough cells/voltage. Gems need 72 volts.
Charger may not work either.
First thing is to get your Gem running with them. Only need one to test. Connect the charger to a battery and charge over 72 volts. Connect a set of heavy duty jumper cables from battery to B+ and B- wires of the Gem.
Batteries can just sit on the floorboard for a test run.
The green wire from charger must have been disconnected then. The car will not turn on or run without B+ connected to charger (red) and green (charger) wire feeding 72v to Gem circuits.
this is the only power we could get to the cart.
