GEM top speed?

Check turf/street mode switch is set on street? Been there/done that!

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Thanks,

Switch makes no difference. It does work. I checked it.

Is there an indicator of switch position?
Iā€™m not familiar with display functions.

Some of the things Iā€™ve checked:
Switch continuity.
Voltage across switch is ok. Drops to zero when closing.
Visual check of controller pins.
Battery state. Each battery = 12.7v
Rear brakes. Wheel only freewheels 1/2 turn after spinning. (on jack)
Car rolls freely in garage.
Down hill speed ok. But it exceeds 15mph in turf mode also. Donā€™t know settings are in controller.
Wonā€™t maintain 15mph uphill in turf mode.

Some personal info:

Iā€™m electrical technician.
Do some industrial EV repair. Lifts etc.
Do board level repairs and some electric/electronic design build.
Also own Emerge E4 NEV.
Have programming sw and cable for the E4 GE control.

I do not know whats needed to check the Gem/GE T1 controller.

Iā€™m a Gem virgin.:slight_smile: Just got this.

ps.

Sorry if this is a hijack.:o
Canā€™t start my own thread yet.

Any possibility that street/turf switch is ā€œbadā€ and keeps it in turf mode only? It is a two pole switch I believe though havenā€™t looked at it closely or wiring schematic. Sounds an awful lot like ā€œturf modeā€ issue.

Also check that all battery connections are ā€œtight and brightā€ as Rodney like to say!?

Switch is spst only. Works perfectly.

Iā€™m yet hoping for a silly mistake, as I donā€™t know much about this car.

I can monitor battery voltage and current, but I need a base line. Wish I would have checked when it was working.:frowning:

Runs OK other than speed limited? You also mentioned ā€œpoor accelerationā€?

I spent several weeks trying to track down my speed issue with my 2008 GEM. Thought the brakes were dragging so I changed out rear shoes and wheel cylinders. They were dragging but still 15 mph max speed after changing brakes out. Thought high-low-reverse switch might be bad. Installed new switch. No changeā€¦15mph max. Checked the magnet on end of motor because I was told if it was cracked or broken speed would be affected. All was well with magnet. On later Gems there is a heat sensor that plugs into the motor that will slow or shut down the motor to prevent overheating the motor. I jumped that circuit with a jumper wire. Still only 15 mph. Okay. I give up. I cannot fix this car myself. I was ready to take it to local Gem dealer and pay up thru the nose when I found an independent Gem/Think service guy online near (50 miles) my home. No online references or reviews. Scary but I called L.T 's G.E.A.R. shop in pinnellas park florida. He came to my home last Wednesday afternoon, ran diagnostic tests on my Gem and determined there was a problem with my motor. Great. Here goes another $1000. I am also a boat guy so I know all too well what BOAT stands forā€¦bring on another thousand bucks. Luckily this guy is honest and good at what he does. He removed my motor and took it apart. There was some rust on the outside of the motor case and when he got inside there was more rust and corrosion inside the motor. He spent about an hour with sandpaper and a hacksaw blade cleaning up my motor. Said there was no guarantee but it could work. It did. Put it all back together and took off down the street. 25 mph ! Hallelujah! I seems that whomever owned this vehicle before me (auction/craigslist purchase) left it out in the elements for quite a long time. Hence the rust and corrosion.

I would say yes, although itā€™s subjective.

When I floor it, seems to jump to 10mph pretty good, but the normal ramp up in power ,after that, is missing.

Also I would expect it to maintain 15mph on hills, even if stuck in ā€œturfā€. Yet it drops a couple mph.

Previous it ran 21mph on hill. Even from dead stop on hill.

Wonder if throttle box can slip?
It has a big dead band on bottom.

Thanks for your input.
Iā€™ll hope for something similar after exhausting the simple fixes.
My plans were to upgrade the motor in any case.
I just donā€™t want to add to my problems.

Possible I guess. Throttle box has two hinge pins that push in and then it can be taken apart for inspection or cleaning. If you have an ohmmeter, you could verify that the resistance is ā€œsmoothā€ through the entire arc. Also possible there is something mechanical interfering with your ability to push the pedal through the full arc - floormat, dirt, debris?? On my 2001 GEM, the throttle is simply a 5K ohm welder pedal.