trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

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masonsteele
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trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

Hey all,

It's been a long time... 4 years maybe?

I picked up a broken down voloci with now charger a while back for a song. Went in and replaced all the fuses, wired a cheap, slow 36 volt charger to the battery (it's leads had been cut off). Got the battery to cycle up, put it in the bike, and amazingly it started right up. I believe the only real problem was that it had a 5amp fuse blown in the battery. The old owner never opened it up and just stashed it in the garage for 6 years or so.

I drained the battery in the bike and tried to wire the battery up again to the charger and i accidentally crossed a lead somewhere while i was fiddling. Something sparked and now I can't get the battery to take a charge. The two fuses in the battery pack are fine, anyone know where else the problem might lie? I'm going to be picking up a 36v Lithium Polymer pack shortly, but would like to keep the Nimh as a backup since it is a valuable piece of equipment.

Advice?

Thanks,
M

Voloci articles from NYCEwheels

Mik
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

As you say you can reach the fuses to check them, that gives you two access points in the battery (at least).

Measure voltage between all tabs and fuses and battery string ends that you can reach, that should show you where the broken link is.

What exactly do you mean by "cannot get the battery to take a charge"?

Is it putting out a voltage at all?

This information may be used entirely at your own risk.

There is always a way if there is no other way!

masonsteele
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

I'll go get a voltmeter tomorrow and measure voltage; thanks. I haven't had my hands on any of this stuff in a long time.
By "cannot get the battery to take a charge" I mean that when I hook up the charger to the battery it is no longer charging the battery. When I hook them together there is a lot that turns red to signal that a battery is being charged; now it never goes red, and the battery never starts charging. The charger works (i checked it on another batter), so the problem must be in the battery.

masonsteele
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

So I picked up a used lithium polymer 36 volt pack for an ebike, and wired it up - works fine.
I got my hands on a friends multimeter and couldn't work the thing - it was too fancy for my simple mind. I'm going to go buy a cheaper one and see if I can learn to use the thing.
Thanks for the help!

marylandbob
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

With the lithium battery, be SURE to use the proper Lithium-Polymer charger! Do NOT charge it with your ni-mh charger, or battery life may be very short, and you may even have FIREWORKS!--Be careful, do not "cut corners" with the lithium battery!-Bob

Robert M. Curry

masonsteele
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

Thanks Bob,

I'm also from Maryland... more or less.

The lithium battery came with the appropriate charger so i think there's no worries there. Thanks for the heads up though.

Still trying to figure out what is wrong with the two NIMH packs I've got. Any suggestions are appreciated. Is it possible to fry the cells themselves? or is it more likely that there is a short somewhere?

Thanks all!

Mik
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

Thanks Bob,

I'm also from Maryland... more or less.

The lithium battery came with the appropriate charger so i think there's no worries there. Thanks for the heads up though.

Still trying to figure out what is wrong with the two NIMH packs I've got. Any suggestions are appreciated. Is it possible to fry the cells themselves? or is it more likely that there is a short somewhere?

Thanks all!

Both are possibilities.

Any DMM would do to test them, but auto-ranging DC voltage measurement could make it easier when you don't know where exactly in the pack you are poking around!

This information may be used entirely at your own risk.

There is always a way if there is no other way!

marylandbob
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Re: trouble shooting 36 volt NIMH battery for Voloci moped

As far as the Ni-Mh pack goes, it is most likely that you have burned a wire, or destroyed a protective device in the pack wiring, such as a thermal cutout.(Often mounted in between the cells) A short circuit will cause a very high current flow, which can easily exceed the capabilities of these devices.-Bob

Robert M. Curry

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