# New to Gem: Bought 2002 E825 for hilly area **URL:** \ **Category:** GEM Forum\ **Created:** [August 3, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061 "2021-08-03T21:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AssyRequired](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/assyrequired/32/7621_2.png) [@AssyRequired](https://community.electricforum.com/u/AssyRequired)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/41 "2021-10-16T17:20:42Z")
> someone said my transmission is 12.44 Hmmm. My notes say 12.44 doesn’t show until maybe 2005. I could be wrong. Sorry, I just joined up with the thread. I only had a few minutes to throw in my opinions and feel important. I’ll go back and review. : Edit: OK, NOW I remember this thread. Yes, I agree with JrJ, it looks like a 12.44 trans. I don’t have that code in my files, but the 2011 date hints that someone did a gearbox swap. You probably don’t need to do this, but since I took the time to rattle it out, I’ll just leave this here for future readers. Alternate method. Pick a spot somewhere flat where you can roll the car back or forward a few feet. 1. Pop the black thing off the end of your motor with 3 wires going to it. That is your speed sensor. Depending on what motor you have, it may have screws holding it on, or it is held in with a couple of tabs. 2. Put a line/dot/arrow on the motor shaft with a sharpie. Maybe a piece of tape over half of it and draw on that. You will be observing this mark and count how many times it goes around. Point it up/down and call that home. (maybe put a mark on the motor also?) 3. Place a piece of tape on your tire closest to the ground. (see where I’m going with this?) 4. Count how many times the mark on the motor shaft goes round-round past home as you roll the car one full revolution ref the tire mark. Note those results. 10 and almost 1/2? 12 and 3/4? ---
**Author:** ![dougl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b19c9b/32.png) [@dougl](https://community.electricforum.com/u/dougl)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/42 "2021-10-16T17:20:47Z")
If it were my 2002 first thing I would do is pull over at the top of the hill and feel the temperature on each battery terminal post. NONE of them should be hot. Next, I would take the dash off and connect a volt meter to the battery terminals at the controller and watch what happens. You will likely see a big drop in voltage as you start climbing the hill. Next I would clean all of the battery cable ends on the batteries with a wire brush and clean the battery terminals also. I would put the battery cables on and leave off all those lighting wiring connectors and do another test. BTW, connecting anything to just one battery is going to give your problems since it will discharge one battery and unbalance the pack and effect charging and overall capacity. If it still dips in overall voltage and speed after these things then I would try to monitor the battery voltage of each battery under load. If even one battery is weak, has high internal resistance under load and drops lots of voltage it effects the whole system. ---
**Author:** ![AssyRequired](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/assyrequired/32/7621_2.png) [@AssyRequired](https://community.electricforum.com/u/AssyRequired)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/43 "2021-10-16T18:03:07Z")
It’s a shame we cant use the big empty box under the front seats. I’ll see if I can find a local one here and crawl under it with a tape measure for a look. ---
**Author:** ![JarJarJava](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/jarjarjava/32/15158_2.png) [@JarJarJava](https://community.electricforum.com/u/JarJarJava)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/44 "2021-10-16T19:56:44Z")
> [@dougl](#): > > If it were my 2002 first thing I would do is pull over at the top of the hill and… … get out, put in neutral, release the parking brake, give it a nudge to get it rolling down the hill on it’s own, scrape up your elbows on the pavement and make a total loss insurance claim. FITY. ---
**Author:** ![dougl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b19c9b/32.png) [@dougl](https://community.electricforum.com/u/dougl)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/45 "2021-10-16T20:27:34Z")
LOL, please DON’T rub it in. My 2002 rides like a tank, can hardly do a U-turn on an empty street. If I had a crystal ball in 2017 I would not have paid $3,000 for it, not installed $700 disc brakes, not put new Pb batteries in it, not upgraded the headlights, not put Leaf Gen4 lithium batteries in it, etc etc and I would have purchased a used 2013 Nissan Leaf with worn batteries and only 50 mile range for $5,000. But I didn’t and now there’s no way I’ll get my $$ out of the GEM and can’t get an old Leaf for $5,000 as easily as we used to either. But I learned a heck of a lot, some even useful and I met lots of you jokers. So there’s some good which came with the ‘bad’. I still have the pair of Honda Goldwing airshocks I’ve not installed on the 2002 GEM. I might still give it a go to try and help with the rear end bounce/rattle/banging when there’s a 1/2" or more shifted seam in the concrete streets around here. ---
**Author:** ![JarJarJava](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/jarjarjava/32/15158_2.png) [@JarJarJava](https://community.electricforum.com/u/JarJarJava)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/46 "2021-10-16T22:29:19Z")
Yeah, sounds familiar. Paid $600? For mine. Then, new batteries, new motor, half the steering gear, disc brakes, shocks, a new charger, another new set of batteries, new tires twice, led light upgrades, a crazy booster pack idea from Dave… Still rode like crap, and one thing after another. The goddamn steering column fell out while I was driving. Apparently it was someone’s idea to have the entire thing supported by a single 1" weld on sheet metal. And then, snapped a drive shaft. Fucking done with the thing… At least $5k, maybe more wasted on that piece of crap. My 2010… I’ve put air in the tires. Oh. Yeah, and adjust BMS programming… And a new wiper blade ---
**Author:** ![Erniea15](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/erniea15/32/10887_2.png) [@Erniea15](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Erniea15)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/47 "2021-10-17T01:23:46Z")
Same story here. I bought a 2000 for probably 1500 with shot batteries. Want to see if I liked having a GEM. Probably 8k later with different motors, suspension, controllers, lithium, gearboxs, upholstery, etc. Finally threw in the towel and bought a 2016. I learned a lot and don’t regret it. As long as you’re going into it knowing you’re going to be wrenching on it every other weekend, go for it. If you’re trying to get a stable, reliable hill climbing platform… Sell it and get a 2005+ at the very least. 2012-2015 even better. 2016+ best. Everyone told me the same and I did it anyway like you. Best bang for the buck is lithium. That will get you up the hills. ---
**Author:** ![Erniea15](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/erniea15/32/10887_2.png) [@Erniea15](https://community.electricforum.com/u/Erniea15)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/48 "2021-10-17T01:49:23Z")
If you’re going to do it anyway - These would be good batteries > [@Lifepo4 Lithium Conversion w/BMS 28s-30s 100ah - New Cells](https://community.electricforum.com/t/lifepo4-lithium-conversion-w-bms-28s-30s-100ah-new-cells/22495): > > Ordered these to convert my 2002 GEM from lead to lithium. I have changed directions in a major way, ended up with a 2016 E6, got tired of waiting, and went with one of LG/INWO’s conversions which is an excellent way to go. This one is more for the DIY’er and slightly easier on the wallet - you will need to know how to hook these up and will need to wire them, setup the BMS etc. If you’re looking for turn-key/■■■■■ proof with support, you’ll get a little help from the community but this is prob… When you abandon the front batteries, you could move the controller up there which would get more airflow. I was going to do that to mine but said is enough… time to upgrade ---
**Author:** ![JarJarJava](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/jarjarjava/32/15158_2.png) [@JarJarJava](https://community.electricforum.com/u/JarJarJava)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 7:18pm UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/49 "2021-10-17T19:18:54Z")
> [@Erniea15](#): > > I learned a lot and don’t regret it. Ahh yes… Wisdom is what that is called. It’s the consolation prize for making a series of bad decisions. All 00-04 owners raise your hand with us … ---
**Author:** ![djgabriel2004](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.electricforum.com/djgabriel2004/32/12304_2.png) [@djgabriel2004](https://community.electricforum.com/u/djgabriel2004)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2022, 1:03am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/50 "2022-01-25T01:03:08Z")
Old thread. Same story Bought a 2002 e2…. I was so happy with my project and I didn’t care about what people was saying about it in the forum. Fortunately I was able to put some old batteries and test it…. Drove 2 blocks and sold it. The steering, suspension and brakes were horrible. 2008-2015 will change your life 2016+ will change your life & draw a smile in your face ---
**Author:** ![JMac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@JMac](https://community.electricforum.com/u/JMac)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061/51 "2022-03-24T03:25:56Z")
Mkmkmk, welcome to the rabbit hole of passionate electrified gearheads, I’m a knucklehead newbie, and these guys brought my Frankenstein’03 back to life. It’s ALIVE! [Previous page](https://community.electricforum.com/t/new-to-gem-bought-2002-e825-for-hilly-area/22061.md?page=2)