Hi all.
Just purchased a 2000 GEM 835 with a third row seat. Looking to browse the forum and get some ideas from all of you.
[quote=Fuzzylogic;33907]Hi all.
Just purchased a 2000 GEM 835 with a third row seat. Looking to browse the forum and get some ideas from all of you.[/quote]
Welcome. Just joined last month. Have lots of issues with my 2002 e285. Most are turning out to be battery related. Not a lot of participation here but guess that to be expected with the limited ownership of GEMs. Oldhouseboater seems to be well versed in GEM. Still, many responders reply as if you already knew a LOT about electric vehicles and the vagaries of batteries. The most important thing I have learned is: Focus on the batteries FIRST. And donāt use Odyssey. Their response has been very good, but their warranty is useless, especially considering their cost. Two of us, at least, have been scammed by new date stamps on very old batteries. Mine were date stamped 4/16 with and Odyssey stamp. They were actually all of mixed dates and all over six years old and were starting batteries, not deep cycle cart batteries. Live and learn.
Thanks for the insight. So far so good with my GEM. The guy we bought it from just put in all new batteries a couple of months ago so thatās probably helping. We finished our neighborhood xmas cart parade and I ran an inverter for about 90 minutes and still had 70% left.
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Iāve got to replace my batteries. What kind do you have. Please be as specific as you can with model numbers, etc. Oldhouseboater has recommended some from OāReilly for $625 a set with the caveat that they last only 2-3 years. Others have recommended batteries with model numbers that turned out to be STARTING batteries.
Also, there is a thread advising that the proper setting on some Zivan chargers are necessary to avoid damaging batteries. Some chargers have setting for AGM, flooded lead acid, gel, etc. FYI.
hi guys welcomeā¦ after your purchase price of the carā¦ batteries are probably your next most expensive item to butā¦ my friends at Innovation Motorsports in Mesa AZ are one of the largest re-conditioners of GEM cars in the countryā¦ they have gone to replacing all year cars with the DEKA batteriesā¦ bthey are expensive but should last longer than most other batteriesā¦
Bob
[quote=eS GEM Colo;33952]hi guys welcomeā¦ after your purchase price of the carā¦ batteries are probably your next most expensive item to butā¦ my friends at Innovation Motorsports in Mesa AZ are one of the largest re-conditioners of GEM cars in the countryā¦ they have gone to replacing all year cars with the DEKA batteriesā¦ bthey are expensive but should last longer than most other batteriesā¦
Bob[/quote]
I may have to check out those guys at innovation. Iām in Gilbert so not too far away.
[quote=tomgunn;33937]Iāve got to replace my batteries. What kind do you have. Please be as specific as you can with model numbers, etc. Oldhouseboater has recommended some from OāReilly for $625 a set with the caveat that they last only 2-3 years. Others have recommended batteries with model numbers that turned out to be STARTING batteries.
Also, there is a thread advising that the proper setting on some Zivan chargers are necessary to avoid damaging batteries. Some chargers have setting for AGM, flooded lead acid, gel, etc. FYI.[/quote]
So I just looked and I have the Trojan 30XHS 12V 130 AH Battery. Good info on the charging unit. Iāll have to take the dash out and have a closer look.
the leader of the parade at IMS is Dustin MacIntoshā¦ they have my car at this timeā¦ as the call it āpimping the rideāā¦ the build is under wrapsā¦
Bob
[quote=eS GEM Colo;33956]the leader of the parade at IMS is Dustin MacIntoshā¦ they have my car at this timeā¦ as the call it āpimping the rideāā¦ the build is under wrapsā¦
Bob[/quote]
Thanks. Iām on the east coast so will likely have to batteries close by. Can you give us SPECIFIC model number for those DEKA batteries? Also, how much do they cost.
What part of NC are you in? I am near Asheville and could help some if you need a hand.
James
[quote=Belay13;33974]What part of NC are you in? I am near Asheville and could help some if you need a hand.
James[/quote]
Thanks for the offer! Iām in Blowing Rock. With the current old but āokā Odyssey STARTING batteries (had one bad and replaced temporarily with another starting battery from my car for testing purposes), my GEM is practically useless. It dies quickly on hills. How does your GEM handle the hills in Ashville? Iām just wondering how well it will do on the hills with a new set of proper deep cycle batteries. I had a golf cart that would go all over town and then back up my very steep drive with no problems. This was a 36v EZGO. It would be nice to know the thing is going to work before dumping the big price of batteries into it. Again, thanks for the offer to help.
NAPA has the Deka batteryā¦ you really should find a Deka dealer for the 05 and newer cars you need Deka 8G31DTM Gel Batteriesā¦
Deka 12 volt GEL battery: 8272 NAPA Auto Parts (OEM battery, but with NAPA label, over $200)
http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/wp-content/uploads/Deka-Dominator-Gel-Marine_RV-Flyer-0909.pdf
My car goes well up hill. I have a quarter mile Hill that I can keep my cart at 15 mph. It beats all the other gas cards up the hill to. I have flooded little acid batteries. They are deka made. If you want to only buy batteries one time you should buy lithium. They are the bees knees, so Iām told. Donāt waste the money on the gel batteries. They do not give you the extra performance for the cost. The lead acid will last around five years if you get the golf cart batteries. And letās say a gel pack will last you seven.
Great on the hill info. I feel a little better about buying the GEM. Exactly what brand/model batteries are in your car? Iām considering the Trojan brand as I had 4 year old Trojans in my 36v cart and they were still performing great and the cart had no problems with hills. The issue is cost.
Question: Iāve seen some of the battery types/models recommended that apparently have a wide variation in their specs. What are the most critical specs for use in GEMs? Is it amp hours( Ah )? Iāve seen recommended batteries with Ah specs from 105 to 150. I assume this is a key factor in battery performance. I donāt want to spend any more than I have to, but I donāt want to spend well over a thousand on Trojans or gel batteries if the $625 on OHās recommended OāReilly batteries will get the job done. Also, there are varying opinions on gel vs AGM vs regular old flooded lead acid. Iām not including lithium as my car is a 2002 and my budget a 1949 :ā( My charger has the dial setting for various types so Iām okay there. What are the advantages of the various types with respect to performance on GEM cars?
IMHO Trojan T1275 Flooded batteries are the Gold standard for GEM Cars. They are a 150AH unit and give the best range of any battery you can install. A couple of cars back I bought a set of 31XSH Floodedās for about $1100, The were a 130AH and had excellent range.
Thanks for the info on the 31xsh Trojans. Given my budget, it looks like Iāll be going with the ones you recommended from OāReilly. I was able to nurse the old Odyssey PC1700 cranking batteries up to holding a stable charge enough to run diagnostic. I was concerned I had controller or charger issues until I discoverd by batteries date stamped 4/16 were actually manufactured in 2010-2011. One was at āreplaceā on my tester, another was just over āweakā and the remaining four were okay.
Replacing the bad one with another cranking battery of similar specs from my car allowed all to work wellā¦ but gave up on hills very quickly. Placing a full charge on each battery with my garage charger, I found the Zivan would keep them fully charged but would not bring the pack back after a run. The pack would hold 76.4 v for at least a day after charging but quickly dropped to 72v with any load.
Thanks for all your help! I was at the point of just parting the thing out after learning Iād been scammed on the batteries. People think a LOT of GEM car parts on eBay . 
if you are buying, 
if selling :ohwell:
tomgunnā¦ glad you got the car movingā¦ remember the foremost rule on the batteries is that they work as a pack and should be changed out as a packā¦ changing one or two can lead to problemsā¦ I have a GEM car picker friend in AZ who sells quality parts both on Craigslist and on eBayā¦ I can find his seller name if you need somethingā¦ come to my FB group as well
Bob
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[quote=eS GEM Colo;33977]NAPA has the Deka batteryā¦ you really should find a Deka dealer for the 05 and newer cars you need Deka 8G31DTM Gel Batteriesā¦
Deka 12 volt GEL battery: 8272 NAPA Auto Parts (OEM battery, but with NAPA label, over $200)
Mine is a 2002. Cannot afford the gel batteriesā¦ and am unsure they are better for my 2002 or if the gel have advantages that justify their price. OHās recommendations for my car have not been gel.
OH knows way more than I doā¦ I only drive my carā¦ have been thru the battery pitfall trying to mage the change from GEL batteries to the AGM battery in my 05 GEM carā¦ after the frustration of my charger nor recharging the AGM to a full charge and the countless hours of recharging each battery and trying to change the DeltaQā¦ I went back to the GELā¦ that is me and the '05 GEM carā¦ know that lots of people have been happy with the non-GEL and AGM batteriesā¦ purchased at places like Walmartā¦ Samās Clubā¦ Costcoā¦ and car repair shopsā¦ the Zivan charger is a better charger in many waysā¦ my philosophy is āif it worksā¦ keep doing itā
Bob