I’m sure OSHA, EPA, DOT or whomever meant well putting the HV protective wrap over the charger and controller - must have been MIT engineer. Do they teach thermo dynamics up North. Does a great job STOPPING ALL THE AIR FLOW around the two most heat sensitive boxes on the vehicle.
Waking the ole girl up - 3 of 6 Batteries coming back a little. Soon as I get enough juice in the tanks - we will see what else might work.
Batteries up, charger on line, DC/DC putting up 12 vdc, controller talking to LCD display, some intermittence in key start switch - but no traction.
Quick check of motor shows field ok but armature open … not unexpected given 2500 hilly miles of service. Will pull motor this week to see if problem is obvious.
Stuck brushes?
Well certainly possible. Rough ride on trailer from sale site to home. Should have checked it first but really wanted to get to know the whole machine. Probably should go thru it anyway. Looks untouched, Doubt if there has ever been any preventive maintenance.
Hopefully it’s something simple like pig tails, brushes or springs!
Stay tuned!
dlw
Update #2 -
Opened motor - pieces of brushes and springs fell out in my hand - brushes, springs and holder all showed signs of being very hot - all the must be replaced.
Need a good source for Brushes and Brush holders and springs. Motor is GE 5BC49JB6011A.
Also need installation instructions for Ride4Fun/Quick Charge SO7210 charger. This GEM has one installed but no records or manuals. Need to update Operators Manual and schematics.
Thanks all,
Larry
It looks like mine (a 2006) minus the windshield fluid and horn placement.
Look under the roof on the inside. The vin sticker is in there and it will tell you the year.
Thanks Matt,
Yeah, the sticker says late 2008 (12/31) but it doesn’t match the Service Manual in many ways. I think GEM was in transition to Polaris and many things got lost in that. I’ve about got it figured out working thru a number modifications and options I found under the dash - most appear to be factory installed. Charger updated to Quick Charge/Ride4Fun 10 amp,
Configuration control does not appear to have been GEM’s strong suit.
On the truck, the brush holder exploded somewhere along the way - vaporized most of one pole - other brushes crumbled in my hand when I pulled them out. Motor is headed out for rebuild later this week. Everything else has checked out pretty good so far. Trying to confirm controller is OK — before I invest in this motor.
Waiting on DAVE for software and cable to access the controller.
My first GEM and I bought it off an auction site - sight unseen - so far I’m not underwater on it, Over all it was complete - and pretty much pristine … but it had seen quite a bit of service. Brush failure looks to be poor maintenance - motor was filled with carbon dust - no sign the cover had ever been off. My experience with DC motors, you don’t blow the dust out from time to time, they will die in very spectacular fashion in time.
Thanks for the response. What do you use yours for?
Grocery store and kid-related errands. I also use it on Sundays to haul around my mowing gear to a few places I take care of.
Hah. You will be eventually. There is always something I want to buy, change, tweak or upgrade that’s for sure.
I love these things though. Lot’s of fun.
