# Low Voltage at Controller? **URL:** \ **Category:** GEM Forum\ **Created:** [April 5, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164 "2014-04-05T14:58:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/1 "2014-04-05T14:58:48Z")
Hi All. Last night I was working with my 2001 825 GEM and everything was great. I hooked a radio up to the DC/DC panel as instructed in the GEM manual. I also hooked up the battsix pack meter. I turned the master switch off and went to bed. Now today the car acts as if it is dead. When you turn the master switch on the odometer flashes and then it goes blank. Turn the key on and nothing happens. Batteries are brand new Trojan scs225’s. I checked each battery and they are all over 12.0 volts. The pack reads 77.0 when checked. At the controller it only reads 64 Volts? The key switch is also 64 on one side and over twelve on the other. Fuses are good. Is it possible these batteries wore down over night? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![gtmo-gem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e56c9b/32.png) [@gtmo-gem](https://community.electricforum.com/u/gtmo-gem)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/2 "2014-04-06T05:53:57Z")
content removed… ---
**Author:** ![gtmo-gem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e56c9b/32.png) [@gtmo-gem](https://community.electricforum.com/u/gtmo-gem)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/3 "2014-04-06T06:34:16Z")
content removed… ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 8:19am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/4 "2014-04-07T08:19:40Z")
Thank you for your help! I am working on this currently. Here are the first readings. Battery Readings #1 @ 12.66 #2 @ 12.63 #3 @ 12.65 #4 @ 12.63 #5 @ 12.63 #6 @ 12.63 Multi Meter Negative lead on Neg of battery #1 and POS on the Frame with master switch off 12.52volts and with master switch on 63.4volts Im going to test the others you suggested now. Let me know if this is a obvious problem from those readings. Im thinking Im leaking power to the frame somehow? ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 9:03am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/5 "2014-04-07T09:03:05Z")
Unhooked Batt Six and the volts to the frame stayed the same. I then Unhooked the radio memory cable (yellow) and ground from battery number 6 and the Volts almost disappeared from the frame. 1.0222 and keeps dropping quickly the longer you hold it on there. How is the power getting from the radio to the frame I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 9:36am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/6 "2014-04-07T09:36:48Z")
Im charging each battery by itself currently. I think it is under the voltage amount for the charger to work. I am getting the flashing red light when I try and charge. Im still baffled that It could leak enough power over one night to drop so low. The radio was not even in the car, just the harness. Hmmm ---
**Author:** ![gtmo-gem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e56c9b/32.png) [@gtmo-gem](https://community.electricforum.com/u/gtmo-gem)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 10:13am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/7 "2014-04-07T10:13:31Z")
content removed… ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 10:39am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/8 "2014-04-07T10:39:45Z")
[quote=gtmo-gem;20469]Batteries are OK. BattSix is almost certainly not the problem. The radio wiring situation is obviously in need. Trace back its wires to sources. Be especially suspicious, and trace back to their sources, all junctions or splices you encounter, . You’ll quickly find where the errant volts are coming from. GemMechanic posted this link several years back to a free Gem Service Manual. It’s 2002 but that’s a close enough match to your 2001 model. It will help a LOT even with the modifications you’ve mentioned your Gem came with: [http://greentechfusion.smartlivingguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Gem-Car-Manual.pdf[/quote]](http://greentechfusion.smartlivingguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Gem-Car-Manual.pdf%5B/quote%5D) Thank you for the information. I appreciate all the help. Im confused if my batteries are good why I have no power to the car? Keep in mind everything worked great one night and now nothing the next day. When I turn on the master switch the dash flashes “79” and then “00000” and then goes dark. When I turn the key on at that point nothing happens. No power anywhere. I check the voltage for the positive cable at the main fuse and it reads next to nothing when grounded to the frame? I feel something rather simple has happened which I caused and its driving me crazy! :eek: Ill be reading my manual the rest of the afternoon and troubleshooting from there! Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/9 "2014-04-07T10:43:47Z")
In regards to the radio install. I hooked up the black wire to batt #6 neg and from there to J8 on the panel. I hooked the red wire up to J9 directly and ran the yellow wire to the positive on the batt #6 for memory from the radio. After initial hookup everything was working well. I would use the key switch to kill all power to the radio and pack monitor. Now I have nothing working! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 11:12am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/10 "2014-04-07T11:12:05Z")
[quote=Nebraska;20470]Thank you for the information. I appreciate all the help. Im confused if my batteries are good why I have no power to the car? Keep in mind everything worked great one night and now nothing the next day. When I turn on the master switch the dash flashes “79” and then “00000” and then goes dark. When I turn the key on at that point nothing happens. No power anywhere. I check the voltage for the positive cable at the main fuse and it reads next to nothing when grounded to the frame? I feel something rather simple has happened which I caused and its driving me crazy! :eek: Ill be reading my manual the rest of the afternoon and troubleshooting from there! Thanks again![/quote] Battery pack reads 77.1 VDC. When I check the positive cable at the main fuse it also reads 77.1VDC (when grounded to the neg on battery 1) So that is telling me there is power there…why does the car not turn on? haha ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/11 "2014-04-07T11:54:50Z")
Is it possible the main contactor is bad? I remember the first night hearing the loud clicking as it engaged. It does not make any noise now. I can have the master switch on and the parking brake off and no beeping as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ccdatvs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ccdatvs](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Ccdatvs)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2014, 9:45am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/12 "2014-04-08T09:45:10Z")
I’m having similar issues on a 99 e825 gem it’s more than likely a fusee or a bad dc converte ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/13 "2014-04-15T13:41:12Z")
I dropped the car off at a dealer today to get the Service letters completed. I hope that fixes it. ---
**Author:** ![Nebraska](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Nebraska](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Nebraska)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/low-voltage-at-controller/4164/14 "2014-04-17T12:28:09Z")
To close up this thread. I got the car back from the dealer today and it works like new!! The dc board was bad and they updated for free!!