So I bought a 2002 GEM 2 seater a few weeks ago. I installed new Interstate batteries and I thought the old batteries were bad. Well, guess what it was some sensor hooked to the charger which I unplugged and charger running. This is a Zivan charger with an update. So I take it that this charger does not auto shut off when batteries are charged. So my question is has anyone used 2, 3 bank chargers that auto shut off.
Where also can I get one on of those magnets everyone is talking about to remove the govern.
I’m guessing you are talking about the temperature sensor which is usually up near the front 2 batteries.
I’ve had mine get wet and fail and the result was it wouldn’t charge but by unplugging the “keyboard” connector from the Zivan charger it would charge but without the sensor and without the charge indicator LED.
If you know anything about electronics and soldering you can probably fix it. I posted about how I repaired mine. link to info I posted: Just purchased 2002 e825-4 where to start rejuvenation?
And the Zivan does automatically shut off only it will not provide a float charge unless sent in and modified to do so. You’re might if it was already reworked.
One more thing, you need to learn how to use a volt meter to test what your batteries and battery charger are doing. Otherwise you will be replacing your batteries every 6 months because you killed them by over discharging them or letting them go with fluid level too low etc. Lead acid batteries are not maintenance free, not even close.
Will do. I will check the batteries regularly. I know how in Florida the heat will kill them. So is there something special i need to read on the side of the charger to tell me if it has the most current upgrade? This is why I was also thinking about hooking up 2, 3 bank chargers and charging that way.
Another question. When hooking up a volt gauge should I be connecting to the main positive and the negative in the chain or is there another place I should be connecting these wires. This EV is new to me so if im asking stupid questions i apologize.
Others might know how to tell if the Zivan has been upgraded to provide a float charge by looking at it.
Me, I would measure the battery voltages…
Read up and watch videos on how to use a DVM( Digitial Volt Meter ) and get one from Amazon or other location. Then you can measure the individual battery voltages and it’ll tell you a lot about what’s going on. You will also want to read up on how Lead acid battery charging works. ie yes they are 12V batteries but if you ever see 12.0V on a battery then unless it under heavy load it is probably been damaged by being discharged too low. A fully charged lead acid battery will usually have a resting voltage of ~12.7-13.0 volts. And a float charge is usually around 13.8 volts. so if your charger says it is done charging and 2 hours or more later you still read 13.8 volts on all your batteries then the charger is holding a float charge.
This will all make sense the more you read up on how lead acid battery charging works.
When the unit is charging the little digital volt meter says it’s at 89.2 volts. When I unplug it drops down to around 73.2 volts.
So I need to read an individual battery to see if I have 13.8 volts to check if there is a float. I will check that tonight
Did you put the same style of batteries in that you took out? IE: Flooded , AGM, Gel?
If your charge profile is set wrong, it could wreck the batteries over time.
They are RV/Marine Deep Cycle G31 I do not know the model number. I took out acid batteries. I think the charger is set to F if my mind is correct.
Some zivans have two flooded settings, a higher amperage for the big Trojan batteries and a lower amperage for mortal batteries. Whatever the charger can do along with the dial setting for it is listed on the sticker on the front. Don’t trust the dot that shows where it was supposed to be set, pull the tape disk off on top of the charger and check for yourself.
I don’t recall if the Zivans had a float upgrade or not. I know there were some that were upgraded to have a 7 day automatic reset where they would start the charge cycle automagically once every 7 days if left plugged in the whole time (for leaving a GEM at a vacation house or something)
Dave ( @Inwo ) is person to contact about getting a magic magnet to lift the speed restriction. Unless you have larger tires on there or more voltage, you’re only going to get about 28mph on a stock 2002. Maybe a bit more on the 2 seater because it’s lighter.
To me that seems right on charging but it shows 100% on my little gauage and doesn’t seem like the charger stops.
15.7V seems pretty high but we still don’t know what kind of batteries you have…
G31 is the group/size and has nothing to do with the battery chemistry or design.
You need to figure out what your batteries are( make/model/chemestry ) and post those along with looking up how those should be charged.
Example: lead acid batteries only see ~15V when they are going through a special de-sulfation/balance charge and you do that only once a year or less because it’s hard on the batteries. And that voltage in an RV or trailer can destroy electronics so you disconnect the battery from the system when doing that kind of charging. So you can see, 15.7V charging is very high if they are lead acid batteries.
The battery manufacture will say what bulk, float charges should be. I have batteryMinders on my carts for long term storage. I trust them more then charger and they claim to make the batteries last longer.As far as a magnet for speed, you can change the software of the motor controller for any speed you want. But current goes up faster then mph. 20 mph is about 35 amps, 30 mph is about 100+ amps.
BTW, nobody here regularly uses anything but a single charger beit the stock Zivan or the DeltaQ some people can sell you here. And I wouldn’t even start to think about any other modifications until you can charge your batteries properly.
Following on what @dougl said about posting the actual battery model and the charge specs, a picture of the front of the Zivan with the sticker that lists the modes would help as not all zivan’s have the same number of modes or rates, there are a LOT of different versions and firmwares out there, and also verify the dial setting on the top of the charger under the round cap.
Sorry for the delay. Since I was a new user I could not post any more yesterday.
There also is a BLS-72A installed on the cart. It is not connected and this is some sort of battery saver. I do not know if I should have this always connected or only use it once or twice a year.
