Looking for any suggestions. The speedo and odometer don’t work. The display is fine but no speed reading. In fact everything thing works great.
I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the wires coming from the end of the motor but no luck.
I think maybe removing the back cap on the end of the motor might reveal something?
Thanks,
reo
Hi Reo
We have a lot of members with an interest in GEMs so hopefully it wont be too long before one of them appears with some advice.
Regards,
Mark
The speedometer/odometer is fed from the motor-controller. You don’t say what year you have but the pre-2005 models use the GE T1 or T2 controller and a GE round green-LED display which receives its information from the GE controller. If no speed output is being produced (no display at all) your display could be improperly connected or defective. If it displays “000” then you are getting power but probably no serial data from the controller. This could be due to lack of motor tachometer input from the magnet pickup on the end of the motor and will usually be accompanied by slower than normal speed and acceleration.
Connecting the GE controller hand-held monitor or a laptop running GE Sentry saftware will tell the tale. Simply swapping parts may work but can get expensive. I suggest you rule out the loose connection possibility first and then get a GEM technician at your dealership to diagnose the trouble.
The display modules for the older GEMs are readily available as are the pickups. You don’t want it to be a bad controller though as those run into some serious bucks.
[QUOTE=bob.peloquin;15398]The speedometer/odometer is fed from the motor-controller. You don’t say what year you have but the pre-2005 models use the GE T1 or T2 controller and a GE round green-LED display which receives its information from the GE controller. If no speed output is being produced (no display at all) your display could be improperly connected or defective. If it displays “000” then you are getting power but probably no serial data from the controller. This could be due to lack of motor tachometer input from the magnet pickup on the end of the motor and will usually be accompanied by slower than normal speed and acceleration.
Connecting the GE controller hand-held monitor or a laptop running GE Sentry saftware will tell the tale. Simply swapping parts may work but can get expensive. I suggest you rule out the loose connection possibility first and then get a GEM technician at your dealership to diagnose the trouble.
The display modules for the older GEMs are readily available as are the pickups. You don’t want it to be a bad controller though as those run into some serious bucks.[/QUOTE]
Thanks Bob - I have a 2002 and I get “000”.
If it is the controller I think I can live with the zero’s.
I think this weekend I may take a look a the magnetic pickups.
I’d try unplugging and re-plugging the 12-pin cable from the top of the GE speed controller. It’s right next to the left power cable on the top of the unit. It’s a good idea to put some conductive grease on the pins to keep them from corroding and clean them off a bit. Maybe you just have a loose contact.
Have you tried resetting the controller? Just turn off the master switch under the seat for 10-20 seconds and then turn it back on to reload the software and reset things.
[QUOTE=bob.peloquin;15410]I’d try unplugging and re-plugging the 12-pin cable from the top of the GE speed controller. It’s right next to the left power cable on the top of the unit. It’s a good idea to put some conductive grease on the pins to keep them from corroding and clean them off a bit. Maybe you just have a loose contact.
Have you tried resetting the controller? Just turn off the master switch under the seat for 10-20 seconds and then turn it back on to reload the software and reset things.[/QUOTE]
I reset the controller. But now I need to carefully go over the connections and wiring.
Hello - it’s been a while but here are some pictures of the motor speed sensor removed. To those of you who have 2002 with a 5 hp - does this look OK? I have nothing to compare it with.
I have also included a picture of a frog that was resting on one of the batteries, which has nothing to do with this subject.
My speed sensor stopped working recently too. I got in touch with a company who rebuilds these sensors and he told me how to test it. Back-probe the 3-pin connector at the back of the connector on the short red/green/black cable coming from the sensor. Stick the meter probes into the space between the wire insulation and the gasket in the connector till it touches the terminals inside the 3-pin connector from the rear.
With the GEM on jack-stands and the right-front wheel removed, measure voltage from the red to black wire. Should be about 15 volts DC when the car is turned on.
Next, probe the black to green wires. Slowly rotate the wheels to turn the axle and watch the voltage on the meter. It should go from 5 volts to zero several times per motor rotation.
Mine “appears” to be putting out the changing voltage but may not be consistent, leading to the controller not being able to read the motor speed. If the magnet it cracked from rust between the magnet and motor shaft it will destroy the 4 or 8 poles that are supposed to be there and render the magnet unusable.
Mine looks similar to yours but has even more rust on it than yours. In fact, my magnet seems to be much further on the motor shaft than yours (thanks for the pictures). Maybe water has gotten by the deteriorated O-ring and caused the rust.
I may be ordering a new magnet to fix mine. Gotta trace the wires to the controller first and do the same test at the controller end to rule out a loose or corroded wire.
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Thanks again Bob.
Just curious how this works. If I unplug the cable to the controller in order to plug in the laptop w/ software, how do I run the vehicle in order to see the fault? Is there a “two headed” cable with one tap for the serial port and another to plug in the cable that would normally go to the controller?
Al
Any faults can be displayed by the software or hand-held programmer. Not the same as seeing the fault on the dash but better in that you can monitor all the switches and voltages through the programming interface.
So you can’t actually drive the car with the monitoring plugged in? You’d have to be working on something you could duplicate in the garage rather than on the street. Just trying to understand the limitations involved.
Al
Where did you ever get that idea? I never said that anywhere. The older T1 through T3 controllers have a separate 8 or 12 pin connector for programming and dashboard display that is separate from the main signal input/output connector. It’s got a digital serial interface which talks to the programmer which can monitor the status of all the signals.
The newer controllers (big white box) have a special adapter cable which goes between the car and controller. Works pretty much the same though.
If you have a laptop or tablet connected, you can certainly drive while recording data but I’d have a helper play with it while you’re driving for safety.
You’re right you didn’t say that! I asked because I wasn’t sure. On my 02 GEM, there is a multi-wire connector coming from the wiring harness plugged into the controller in that port. In order to plug in the programming cable I’d have to unplug that connector. Since I haven’t tried it I wasn’t sure if I could drive with that “dangling”. Apparently you can so it must be “non-essential” wiring rather than any safety interlock connections.
Al
On the 02, you have a GE T3 controller with a 12 pin connector and the big 3-row multi-pin c onnector going to the car’s wiring harness. There’s currently a small cable in the 12-pin port going to the speedometer/BDI on the dash. You can unplug that and drive with it disconnected - no problem. You just have no speedometer or BDI display.
Connect the handheld programmer or a laptop with GE Sentry software to this port and you can reprogram the controller, monitor its functions and record a graphic picture of what’s going on while driving (Sentry only).
No, there’s no interlock on this plug - just data in and data out.
Thanks! Good to know.
I don’t currently have the GE Sentry software/cable and right now don’t need it since it’s been re-programmed by R4F and all is going well. I’ve [B]thought[/B] about getting all that but I’m a bit afraid I’d make a mess of it by fiddling around!!!
Al
Did you guys resolve your speedometer issue my 2002 is having a similar problem
It’s winter here in New England and I’ve been unable to work on the GEM recently. I suspect a bad motor speed sensor but haven’t been able to get to the wires at the speed controller yet to verify whether the signal is getting to the controller or not.
As I clean out the mess in the garage, I’ll be able to get the GEM indoors to work on it - but that’s not an easy task. Too many projects!!!
The magnet and sensor are both Club Car golf car parts. The sensor is 1022656-01 and the magnet is 1022657-01. Less expensive than buying from GEM.
Daniel
I have a 2007 GEM E4 with an Error code 81 indicating the speed sensor is bad. I have replace the sensor and it did not correct the problem. The magnet is good and the batteries are fully charged. Any ideas?
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