First time owner of a GEM. I purchased a 2011 eL that did not run. It had original batteries still, so I knew those needed replaced. However, while picking up the car I’m told the charger had been stolen and there is no key. Bottom line is that after looking under the hood and removing the lower dash, there is obviously more than just the charger missing. Can anyone help explain what is missing in these pictures?
Thanks
1st photo, right of the controller, nothing is missing on your year. That was where the DC-DC converter was on 2009 and earlier. 2010 and up used the deltaQ charger, which hangs under the controller for 12VDC.
2nd photo, the heater went there. Meh.
Second picture. Actually- it looks like the PSDM is missing. Along with it might have been the main contactor. (looking closer there is a cable marked MC+)
The PSDM is probably considered the main wiring gathering point in the car. I hesitate calling it a computer for lack of a bootable CPU but there is a mux of logic, magic, and a bit of voodoo going on inside this black box. In this area you will find the ends of 6 different harnesses going to different parts of the car, as well as the main power of the car attaches here.
Man, some packrat really went wild on this car for some reason. Maybe they bought it just for spare parts for another car? What is the story on this car? Can you go back to the seller and have them look around for the extra parts? Or was this an as-is sale?
First pic, I have to disagree with JrJ on this. It kinda looks like there was an external DC/DC converter mounted there on top of the shelf. It’s hard to tell from one pic but I need to get a look at what wires/plugs that are there. Sure it COULD be rewired for a newer Delta Q internal DC support and it may be even necessary because I don’t even see that mounted there. It would be hanging UNDER this forward shelf. It’s tough to see but from this pic it looks like your Delta Q charger is missing also.
Still not a deal breaker but all are parts that need to be scrounged up. You might be into this car for another ~$1k if you are really thrifty.
Start laying out the harness and figuring out what plugs are on the ends. There will be a branch that goes over to your brake system area. It will have a plug that jacks into your reservoir and a couple of wires that plug onto your pressure switch(but that might be abused because it looks like a spade got pulled off). There will also be a couple or 3 wires that go up to you wiper motor. Dont be put off if there is no place to stick the black wire to.
There are a couple of ring terminals visible that most likely go to mounting bolts for 12v gnd.
You look like you will be needing a service manual and wiring diagrams.
My 2010 has the same shelf and bolts for the external converter as this one does in the first photo. The external DC-DC converter was last used on the 2009s.
And yeah, PSDM is missing doh For some reason I was thinking the OP moved out of the way for a photo.
Y- you might be right. I was more/less thrown off looking at this plug but It looks like it should go to the PSDM but it got pulled through to here. It doesn’t look like a DC converter plug.
Thanks for the quick responses. What I’m hearing is that I need a PSDM, charger and main contactor.
As for gathering missing pieces from the seller, that’s not an option. I’m in IN and picked this up from Tampa International Airport. It is a long wheelbase aluminum flatbed.
I had originally intended to replace the batteries with original type lead acid and use 2 golf cart 36v chargers with a shut off to isolate 36v banks, then upgrade to lithium later.
However, this may now need to be put on hold a while. I run an automotive restoration shop, plus a machine shop and have some customers getting anxious…
That being said, if anyone has a PSDM for sale I’d be happy to talk about it.
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Why spend $600+ on shitty lead batteries? Just get lithium now do it right from the start.
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You need a plan.
Russians don’t take a dump, son, without a plan.
Figure out what you want the car to be. If you have a bunch of parts laying around on the shelf, sure you can do that. If you need to go out and source a bunch of parts you will probably be better off if you work towards your plan and buying the correct parts. Otherwise you will find yourself going backwards quite a bit.
Example- buying 2) 36v golf cart chargers will probably cost more than a good used Delta Q charger.
I already have two 36v chargers and 4 deep cycle batteries from my boat I’m not using, so I was hoping to buy only two batteries and be able to test drive the car. Now it seems I need some components that I’m missing to be able to do that.
Long term plans for the car are to convert it into a mobile beer kegerator with two taps on each side. It would then be wrapped with the branding of a local craft brewery and used for advertising and festivals.
So, for now I just need to get it functional so I can consult with the brewery about designing the conversion.
I have a few psdm. will have to try and figure out if they are the correct one
@LithiumGods - Would you also happen to have the mounting plate it goes on too?
Also going to need a Main Contactor, (but aftermarket is easy enough to get).
One stop shopping!!! (Well almost)
I have one (used but functional) I could part with it for about $400.
Here is the polaris page that shows the correct model psdm that you need and all the pieces. I have one of these in stock. $700
https://gem.polaris.com/en-us/assembly/?modelId=L11GYGA4X&assemblyId=322642
