Wondering what this is about.
2 times running, red batt light has come on and stayed on at less than 1/2 discharge.
Tonight, I put it on charge as soon as I got home. Batt voltage 130 at start of charge. Batt temp 44! I turned the charger off, but the fans aren't running.
ambient temp is pretty moderate, under 20 at the moment. I charged it just before this run and the batt temp finished at 26.
I've just started the charger back up again so the fans run. Pulling 11A but the temp is dropping.
no bathot, no temp high light... ?
oh, still have full power and "fuel gauge" doesn't go to zero
10 minutes into charge temp down to 37, 138V 14 bars
Sounds like a temp sensor reading difference higher than the bike tolerates (I think it's 10degC).
A single cell might be on it's way out and is located close to a temp sensor. It may not heat up much during charging, but during riding it heats up due to it's high internal resistance.
If this is correct, then you may find that the displayed battery temperature (+highest temp reading) will drop much faster than the entire battery would cool down. The heat of the single hot cell will quickly dissipate into the big heatsink of cool cells around it!
The cell may also be far from a temp sensor and get so hot that it starts to melt the plastic spacers before the neighboring cells get to the 44degC that were displayed....any bad smell?
And, it could be a temp sensor board malfunction - have you taped over the holes in the front of the battery box? Was it cold and damp or raining when it happened?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
no bad smells
not taped over, but this bike has never been ridden in the wet
Cool but very dry at the moment.
When I get the lithium cells, I think I might douse the temp sensor boards in conformal coating.
Just like mine, previous, failing battery pack.
2000km...
Speaking in terms of functionality, I suspect your battery is almost terminated. It's a pity we can't buy NIMH BMS to save our batteries.
Here a pair of tips to make the battery last a little longer (hope they help):
1- always precool the battery before charging, at least, 2 hours. Never charge it directly if it's over 30 C
2- charge it in cool enviroment, if possible at night
3- In hot season never park in the sun. always look for shadowed spots.
4- Check at what bar level in the display gauge does the temperature rise quickly. mark it, and avoid riding below this mark
5- Always avoid hard accelerations
6- Avoid hi speeds during uphillling, let the V slow down as if you were a cyclist and you couldn't maintain the same speed uphill.
More tips?
There's a round trip I do every week. 40km in total. Never had a problem. Today, at the 1/2 way mark after a 4 hour rest i had 131v and 19 deg and it didn't make it home by 6km! astounding. it's also my first ride on it with an air temp of less than 20 deg. does a lower temp reduce the range? I had no troubles previously, even on 35 deg days!
the red light came on 6 or 7 km from home with the 'fuel' gauge showing about 1/2. but on turning off then on again, it showed no bars and no range. I just dumped it on the side of the road and caught a taxi home.
I haven't decided if i'll bother picking it up or not.
Any comments?
yep, colder temperatures mean less range. From less than 20c you will recognise issues with reduced milage. On my bike range is reduced by ~5-10miles when temperatures dropped from 20c down to 10c.
Norman
Leaving it there is a real option!
Sometimes I wish I had done that....
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
Aircon:
are you doing a full discharge every couple of weeks? I had the same happen to me last year after I went for 3 months charging before the battery telltale came on. The system forgets what empty and full levels are. It needs to be depleted to the battery light every so often. After that, my range came back.
Aircon, just leave it there
(but pm me where it is)
yeah...I do that every couple of weeks really. not always by design!
Obviously a sucker for punishment!! :)
I never do sync process by running to the red battery telltale. I sync it by leaving the EQ charge (every 1000-1500km) finish. EQ charge charges the battery to the real full, not only to 'the gauge full'. When it does that, the battery, which is really full is in sync with the gauge, which is already at full.
It has worked so far and I haven't noticed any voltage depression.
When it's out of sync, when CP charging is at it's end, the battery voltage only reads 144-145V. After the EQ charging, I do the driving, and the next CP charge completes at aprox 149V, which is the right voltage for my taste.
So far it's been charging for an hour ($110 for the tow truck...grrrrr) and it's less than 1/2 bars and showing 141v
That seems ok, but 110$?
Didn't you have a chance to push it to the nearest house and ask for a 10-20 minute plug?
I was in a concrete jungle at the time....nowhere to do that really.
charge stopped at 2 hours, 149v, 25deg but, strangely, 4 bars from the top.
It seems it hadn't finished...it was just resting. resumed charging to 152v then had a bit of a cool down and turned off.
interesting that it would stop....i haven't encountered that before.
was the temperature high?
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
normal.....less than 30