Anyone who has run their battery down too far or left the lights on knows that the electronically controlled chargers used in the GEM will not charge a badly discharged battery. If and when the on-board charger fails, the vehicle becomes useless. In either case comes the laborious job of using a 12 volt automotive charger to bring each battery up the level where the on-board charger can take over. This is both annoying and time consuming. What I have come up with is to install two separate 36 volt golf car power connectors inside the cab just under the driver’s seat. Since we have 36 volt EZ-GO and Yamaha vehicles and chargers in our shop, the cost is limited to wire and connectors. Using two chargers at once, a dead GEM can be revived quickly and returned to service after being badly run down. This also allows us to continue using the vehicle if the on-board charger is out for maintenance. To operate the GEM with the charger removed, the two small wires that attach to the charger must be jumped together. This circuit is the charger interlock, which prevents one from driving away with the charger cord still pluged in. Remember that the old Lester ferro resonant type chargers are not directly compatible with GEL or AGM batteries. Unless you GEM has flooded batteries, this should only be used in an emergency.
Parts needed:
(2) 50 amp universal power connectors, Mcmaster-Carr # 7043K21 (I specified #6AWG terminals) ~see picture below
10’ 6AWG battery cable Mcmaster-Carr # 6948K711 (sold by the foot)
(2) EZ-GO golf car power connector bezels # 18724-G01 (order from any golf car dealer)
Daniel
