Gem Newbie here! Bought 2012 e2, batteries dead (2013), but otherwise clean and good condition.
Replaced dead gel batteries with brand new gel batteries, but got nothing when I turned everything on.
Plugged in to charge (which I thought was stupid with new batteries) overnight, and the display began to do its thing showing it was charging.
Next morning, display showed full charge…
Turned on, pushed accelerator, heard clicking under hood (almost like something was flapping against something as it rotated- like something stuck in a wheel that makes contact with something as it turns)
Got up to 4mph (don’t worry, seat belt was secure), and about 50 yds later, it simply goes silent and stops (display and other electrics seem to still work)
Got mad, said some really nasty things, probably scared and/or offended neighbors
Pushed back into garage
Said more nasty things
Decided to ask for help from those that know more than me
Too late now after charging, but double check battery connections. Plus to minus all the way through the string.
New batteries do need to be charged, but they should have let the car start.
Other issues can wait until you are sure each battery and connections are good.
I think what Inwo was hinting at above ^^ is one of your batteries may have been hooked up backwards (which is really bad since you plugged it in for an overnight charge session).
If you don’t already have one, go scrounge up a meter of reasonable quality. Voltage checks will be next.
Yikes! Can you explain what the “bad” may be? I am out of town and will need to look when I get home tomorrow. Is there an image of how the connections should configure? Pretty sure things run + to - between each battery (12V gel), but always better to check against a diagram, if available.
Is there any “good”? Flights are aways better with positive thoughts
OK- If it makes you feel better, If you did reverse a battery, I don’t know why it started working after you plugged it in to charge. My theory could be wrong as it just plain shouldn’t have.
The charger should have refused due to it being too low.
The car should not have started up being undervolted.
The DC/DC converter probably woudn’t have tried either.
In your shuffle of “out with the old and in with the new” perhaps you installed one of the dead ones back into the pack? If the batteries were clean this would be a likely scenario(especially if there was beer involved).
Ok, so as best I can tell, there is not an installation issue. All connections do run - to + between each battery & each battery is new. I did turn it on after being away for couple days, and it did speed up to take me about 60 yards out of my driveway. The “clicking” sound was still there at first, but then after the 60 yards, the engine no longer seemed to be getting juice and it power vanished (instruments still worked, so only power to engine disappeared). Looked for error code, but didn’t seem to find a clue…
If the beer doesn’t affect me, I can upload a photo, I’m happy to show how the battery connections run to verify with you experts that the connections are satisfactory. I’ll keep tinkering to see if there are any other tells to share. I’m sure the devil is in the details, so I’m not giving up! Appreciate the shared experiences from Gem veterans!
Ok- Do you have a meter and are you able to check a few points for proper Voltage?
(note to the rest of the gang) - Dare we just skip to the end of the book and point fingers to the throttle Assy? This is (almost) mirroring the same issue we just had with Gofastforamoment67.
Ugh… No meter… Just a Gem. They didn’t say anything about an accessory when I bought it (they did mention a beer, but no meter…). Are there any other “clues” I should be on the look out to provide, or diagnostic questions I might answer to zero in on possible solutions?
OK! Good News! Sorta…
I tried to get it going today. I pushed the accelerator pedal slowly and got it to move forward. At first, I got a message on the display: “11”, but it disappeared and began to accelerate in high mode. I stopped to see if it would re-start, and I got another message on the display: “82 or 86” (I think). It disappeared, and kept working, so I drove it around in high mode for about 20 minutes. There still seems to be a “hum” under the hood (a little more noise than I expected from an electric vehicle- this is my first time driving one).
It seemed to want to “jump” a little a couple of times- like it wanted to go faster- so it would lurch, but then that went away. I was in high mode entire time, but the speedometer never got above 10-12mph (I was definitely going faster than that).
Just got it back to garage and plugged it in. The tool icon light came on, and the “86” displayed. Also, there appears to be an “E” in front of the numbers where the odometer is (E2605.3).
Just took a photo, and the display now reads “88”, and the E2605.4 has changed… Did I purchase a possessed Gem, is it too much beer (although I rarely have one), is it not enough beer, or are there any suggestions on what the heck is going on with this thing?!?
Ok, feeling kind of… well, stupid after realizing the “88” is the %charge on the battery… Still not sure what the “E” number is when battery is charging…
What kind of electrical background do you have? Reason being is that if you are going to continue to work on your car yourself having a meter on hand is a must. You are working around some fairly high voltage that you should learn to respect.
If you want any sort of help from here you will need us to provide us with some numbers on occasion otherwise we are all just guessing. That will drive you nuts for sure.
Can you describe what motor you have in there? Is it blue, gray or black? Even better would be to post a picture of the ID plate/sticker.
Can you give us a bit more history on the car? You stated that it was not running when you got it. Do you know how long it has been sitting? Inside or outside? Under cover? Has it been raining?
Guess #1 - With that many odd error codes I’d have a good look at the controller first. pull the plug and have a good look in the socket. Look for water or other contaminants. If you have access to compressed air, give it and the harness plug a quick blast. A quick hit of contact cleaner wouldn’t hurt. Work it in and out several times to knock off any oxidization that may make a bad contact.
Guess #2 - You might be having a accel pedal sensor issue. Not sure if this will work with newer assemblies because they are sealed up fairly well but worth a try: With key off rapidly cycle pedal like a rabbit on caffeine. This may clean off any crap from sitting.
Guess #3 - Your odd speed reading may be a speed sensor failing. Normally this throws an error code (81 or 82) but it usually works or not. Down on the end of your motor you will see a black cap That is your RPM/Speed sensor. Check it’s plug for crap/water/corrosion too. Depending on which motor you have it will be one of two designs but both involve a magnet rotating within a coil. It could mean your magnet is broken and coming apart. The low speed reading could be a 1/2 speed magnet was installed.
Guess #4 - Flip Flipping sound. This could have been arcs on the comm inside your motor. If a car sits for a long bit of time the brushes may have stuck in their cages and the Comm acquired a bit of corrosion. As the motor rotates around a bit it may self clean and get better. It could also mean your motor needs a service. It may also account for the jumpiness as it rolls between a clean and dirty spot. Since the noise is going away and you seem to be going farther it might be a good sign. If it continues to arc it may be the source of more odd appearing and disappearing codes. It could also damage your controller if ignored.
Try jacking up the front wheels and running it in place. Arcing can be seen as blue flashes coming from the brush area of the motor when throttle is mashed to the floor and may sound like frying bacon. If the inspection band is solid(no vent holes) you may not see this.
The E on the odometer line is just telling you it is in e-meter mode and displaying an accumulation of kwh consumed(something like that). Try a long press of about 2 sec on the trip meter button and it should go back to tot miles or trip mode.
AR, I would say I know and understand the nature of polarity, and perhaps have a working knowledge of electric fundamentals, but only b/c I took physics courses through college AND I have been struck by lightning… beyond that, i wouldn’t say I have an extensive background (I don’t own any tools of the trade, or gadgets that even make propping the front wheels of the ground to run the tests you mentioned. I am just a simple golfer who splits time between walking & riding the course. I mostly ‘get’ the feedback provided here, and I cannot express enough how grateful I am to you (and others) for caring enough to assist others so they may enjoy the vehicles a little more.
The good news is the vehicle stays in motion when I press the pedal now. Occasionally, I do get the “11” on the dash, so there may be a looming short/issue in the accelerator. I will cross that bridge when it gets worse.
Beyond that, there may be another issue with the display, as it doesn’t want to show speeds above 12 mph, no matter how fast it goes. I simply multiply the mph x2 to estimate how fast it’s going. Although, when it does get up to max speed the motor sounds like it may be ready to jump through the hood, so I try to avoid flooring it to tempt fate.
I bought the vehicle from a gent who had it sitting outside unused for a time after the batteries quit charging. He kept it under the carport- covered, but still exposed to temp & humidity fluctuations, so perhaps the delay with waking the vehicle up after I replaced the batteries was due to inactivity.
Can’t thank you enough for the the contributions to helping me get things moving! I hope this little thing adds years of fun around here!
