Totally Clueless on my GEM, possible electrical issues?

GEM Forum
1

We have a 2002 GEM E825-4. It was in storage and during that time the batteries completely depleted. We found out that the batteries we no longer salvageable because the liquid had run down and the plates were destroyed.

The batteries that were removed were Trojan 30XHS Flooded 12V 130AH. We tried looking for these everywhere with no luck. After stopping into Batteries, Bulbs, Plus, they looked up our GEM and found that these would be the best batteries for it.

SLI31MDC Duracell Ultra BCI Group 31M 12V 105AH 650CCA Flooded Deep Cycle Marine & RV Battery

So we bought 6 of these batteries. The GEM started up and we charged it overnight. When plugging in the GEM we heard some small beeps and then the fans ramp up which is how it always worked.

The next few days we took a few short rides and immediately afterwards plugged the GEM in and experienced the same charging noises and in the morning the battery was at 100%.

Recently we took the GEM to camp and the roads are dirt covered gravel which is not as smooth as the asphalt roads we currently had the GEM on.

What we have noticed is that while riding around we heard some clicking from under the dash on the passenger side of the car, but the car seemed to be operating fine.

We plugged that car back in to charge it and noticed there are no more beeps and we don’t hear the fan ramp up any longer. We checked the outlets and the cord and even tried new outlets and cords.

The batteries aren’t charging :frowning:

I tried calling around different stores that sell and service golf carts, ev’s etc. Because our GEM is so old, they refuse to even diagnose them.

I watched a video on how to take the dash off and so I did so. WOW! Lots of wires and boxes. I found that Zivan charger, but mine doesn’t seem to have a sticker or an LED light on the top. I tried pushing down on the wires to make sure something hadn’t come loose. Still no luck.

So I’m turning to the forum for answers to my questions.

  1. What are the differences between the Trojan batteries and the batteries I replaced them with. Would they be compatible or would the Zivan need to be updated?

  2. If I can’t get the onboard charger to work, could I just use this to charge the batteries? NOCO GENIUS10, 10A Fully-Automatic Smart Charger, 6V and 12V

  3. If I can use the NOCO to charge the batteries, what battery would I place it on so that it could charge all the batteries in the car like the Zivan used to do.

Any other tips or diagnosis that I might be about to perform. Would really appreciate any assistance or education.

2

Can you condense that a bit?
You have a 2002 Gem with Zivan charger, car runs fine but is not charging?

3

That sounds great. Yes. That’s what is happening.

4

It was in storage and during that time the batteries completely depleted.

You might want to come up with a better storage plan.

The batteries aren’t charging

The connection on the car where you plug in your cord to charge is actually a short extension cord wired into the car. Make sure that all the pins are in the socket mounted on the car and that the wires coming out of the back of it are not pulled out. It has another connector up by the charger. Make sure that has not unplugged.

Because our GEM is so old, they refuse to even diagnose them.

This is just a cheap excuse, It’s still just a golf cart. Keep calling around. There will be someone that’ll know about them.
Where are you located?

  1. The batteries you installed are fairly close to what you replaced but they are a bit lower in capacity and not as robust for cart use. They should work ok for campground use.

  2. The NOCO charger you have is a good charger but since it is only 12v it can only do one battery at a time. You need to hop it around and make sure you do every battery until it is fully charged. This will take a while.
    Warning: Do not skip one or two and think it’ll make it over to get some ice and back. Running the car in a partial charged and unbalanced state will harm your batteries.

  3. No, You have a 72v system. You either need 5 more chargers -or- look for a charger that will handle 72v.

Do you have a handheld multi-meter and know how to use it?

5

Tell him about the heat sensor deal like you did on mine. (that fixed my charger) The rough roads may have smashed the sensor ? lol - 10 days ago I didn’t even know how to spell GEM , not I’m giving advise.

6

igeek seems to have a different issue. His charger doesn’t seem to be powering up at all.

Silence at startup tells me it might have bigger issues. These things take quite a beating and some of the components in the early chargers were not secured enough for 22 years of vibration and eventually shake loose. Sometimes they cause a bit of havoc when they do.

7

It was in storage and during that time the batteries completely depleted.

You might want to come up with a better storage plan.

**This year the batteries will be removed from the GEM and trickle charged to 100% inside a heated garage.

The batteries aren’t charging

The connection on the car where you plug in your cord to charge is actually a short extension cord wired into the car. Make sure that all the pins are in the socket mounted on the car and that the wires coming out of the back of it are not pulled out. It has another connector up by the charger. Make sure that has not unplugged.

**Where does the power cord plug into the charger, is it under the charger to which we would need to remove the bottom dash?

Because our GEM is so old, they refuse to even diagnose them.

This is just a cheap excuse, It’s still just a golf cart. Keep calling around. There will be someone that’ll know about them.
Where are you located?

**Located in Southern Maine.

  1. The batteries you installed are fairly close to what you replaced but they are a bit lower in capacity and not as robust for cart use. They should work ok for campground use.

**What would you have recommended for a battery?

  1. The NOCO charger you have is a good charger but since it is only 12v it can only do one battery at a time. You need to hop it around and make sure you do every battery until it is fully charged. This will take a while.
    Warning: Do not skip one or two and think it’ll make it over to get some ice and back. Running the car in a partial charged and unbalanced state will harm your batteries.

**Whoa boy. Didn’t realize this would be so much work. LOL. Thanks for the warning on the unbalanced battery charging.

  1. No, You have a 72v system. You either need 5 more chargers -or- look for a charger that will handle 72v.

** Tried finding a 72v charger on Amazon and can’t seem to find one that would use alligator clips to charge the whole system. Is that even how it would work? Is the Zivan a 72v charger?

Do you have a handheld multi-meter and know how to use it?

**I have a handheld multimeter, but not really sure how to use it.

Thank you again for all the assistance.

8

hmmm, https://www.amazon.com/s?k=72V+lead+acid+battery+charger&ref=nav_bb_sb

9

Even though my original 72 charger works, it has too many shortcomings to keep on line while I am gone for extended times. I purchased a 4 bank 12V smart charger and a 2 bank charger. The 4 bank unit hard wires to each rear battery while the 2 bank sits up front and charges those batteries. Now I never worry about imbalance nor extended
maintenance or de-sulphation modes. They also adapt to all of the different battery types.

10

What exact products did you use? Now that you are using those does that eliminate the Zivan? How did you hard wire the new charger to the batteries in the back and in the front?

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I used this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FYS6CL8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F37P7H3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I wired the individual outputs directly to each battery and the 2 110V inputs to a new socket that I installed in the hood. The old charger is still there and I can use it for a quick recharge. The new chargers are only 2 amps per battery so I use those for overnight or longer recharging. Just don’t use both methods at the same time. I have noticed a distinct improvement in performance of my 1+ year old wet cell batteries.

12

As previously stated, the SLI31MDC batteries are fine for what you’re using it for. For the price they are hard to beat. They are built by East Penn Deka. Same group 31 marine deep cycle flooded battery that NAPA auto sells and some O’Reilly autos (it’s regional for them - on the west coast we get Johnson Controls / Interstate built in Mexico group 31 marine batteries, east coast still gets Deka).

The problem with a better battery is that by the time you pony up $300+ per battery for better, bigger, or gel, you might as well just go to a lithium pack from one of the guys here. It’ll take 400lbs off the weight and deliver way more voltage and less headaches.

13

Well. Had a chance to check the GEM again. The Zivan still doesn’t beep and come on when plugged in :frowning:

I checked where the plug goes into the car and all pins are there and look fine.

Found the plug under the charger, the one that looks like a computer plug, unplugged the plug and looked at pins, everything good.

So…… what would be my next step in troubleshooting.

Oh that’s right, the clicking noise that I was hearing coming from under the dash on the passengers side is the same noise it makes if you pull and release the emergency break.

14

You could check to make sure 120vac is getting to your charger with a meter(at that computer connector),
or locate another power cord from your computer/monitor cord collection and hooking it right up to your charger.

Otherwise- I’d say your old charger is dead. Pull it out of your car and give it the sniff test. Start looking around for a replacement. Sometimes you can find a local parting a car out, or watch for a deal for a Delta Q 72v.

15

I’m fairly new as well but in another reply I wrote that I took a power strip of 6 that was surge protected, bought 6 trickle chargers off eBay and power my batteries that way until I decide what charger to go with as mine does not charge. Having said that, I only paid $60 for the setup, it works great, as long as you plug it in and unlike the Zivan in it, when the battery gets fully charged it tends it as well. I used this over the winter to see how it would work first and they went great. Hope this works…temporarily anyways

16

That’s a good idea. I generally frown on discrete chargers due to the cost and complexity.
For $60, everyone could have that set-up as a fall back to charge dead batteries, balance, and seasonal storage.

17

If it’s a Zivan there is a fuse under the cover over by the corner where the AC power come into the charger.

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@igeek207 zivan NG1 chargers are hit and miss, mostly miss, on repairability. If it’s a gonner, don’t toss it, there might be someone here who could use it for parts.

19

Isn’t that the special dual element micro fuse with a weird rating that no one stocks anyone? Or am I thinking of a different one in there? Been a while since I looked under the cover of a zivan

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You might be right but I think I got something close off of Digikey or the like. One of mine melted the fuse holder and the fuse broke on extraction so I ordered a new fuse holder and fuse and had it working for a few months. Then the fan stopped one time while charging and blew out other parts and I never got it working again and had to replace it.