I have a 2007 Vectrix with 2300 miles from new bought November 2008. It has always been in a temperate climate (central California Coast) and has not been subjected to extremes of heat or cold. It is a daily driver, being driven 16 miles per day and charged each evening (on weekdays) with some weekend driving. It performs faultlessly yet every tenth day (like clockwork) on the way home at 50% charge the low battery light comes on, speed is governed to about 45 MPH and miles remaining drops quickly. When I get home and cycle the ignition there are no bars left on the meter (prior to shutting down there are at least 4 -5 bars left) with voltage reported as 126 volts and battery temperature at around 25 degrees Celsius. After charging overnight (I always use a four hour delay to charge at "off peak" times) it's ready to go for another 10 days. One last thing, immediately after the event the guestimated miles (on the guessometer) is 27 miles, the guestimated miles increase for the next ten days until the estimated miles is 39-43 then the above happens and the cycle begins anew. I have not been back to the dealer (I hear there was a patch issued for the new software around February this year) due to a slight misunderstanding regarding servicing. Does the patch address this problem, do I need to "deep discharge" the batteries more than the every month or so as is my wont, I am I headed down the path of "awsome paperweight dude" ownership or should I just enjoy the ride, be happy and not worry? Any advice would be helpful. If this has been addressed previously please forgive me as the memory is not what it once was. I have enjoyed reading the comments of the members of this forum for quite some time, the obvious knowledge and enthusiasm of the subject is evident in many of the postings. I appreciate any feedback in this matter.
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I have had very similar situations with my commute to work being 14 miles one way. I would charge at work then again at home. Both with before charge cooling. I changed my charging to at home only. So I put 28 to 35 miles daily (sometimes the long way home)then charge at home after 5hr delay. My range increased and the battery gauge became more accurate.My batteries seem to like constantly being discharged by about 70 percent then fully recharged. If I interupt a charge then the range drops and the battery gauge becomes very inaccurate. Maybe you should charge enery other day. By the way, I run until the battery light comes on at least once a week 124 volts and once a month discharge to top speed of 15mph, on level road, 121 volts. I have obtained max range after an equilization charge. That was 55 miles driving on gentle rolling hills with speed between 35-45 mph.I did not crawl home so I think I could have squeezed out 3-4 more miles. My batteries were replaced in april 2009.
It's just fine I think! This problem has not been described before AFAIK, and most riders would not even notice the pattern. Well done!
I'm still running older software and this behavior does not occur with it.
Taking a wild guess I'd say it sounds like a software "feature" rather than an actual battery problem. If increased self-discharge rate of some cells was behind it, then temperature differences between weeks should make the pattern less regular than you describe.
Does you Vectrix do equalization charges, and do they fall onto the same spot in the "cycle" each time?
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There is always a way if there is no other way!
That is something I am not sure of as I have never monitored the charging cycle due to the lateness of the hour. As this is a regular pattern, as the equalization charging is also (to my knowledge) a regular event, I had a vague idea the two might be related although what devious mind would cripple the bike in regard to attainable mileage in the attempt to equalize the voltage/charge across the cells I cannot say. This pattern has only been noticed for the past two months or so although it might have been the case since the get go, I really can't say. I have always tried to keep the batteries from extreme cycling and service being willing to sacrifice crystalline formation with it's attendant memory to low voltage/high amperage demand with it's concomitant heat. As my commute is roughly half the reasonable range of the bike I figured that memory would not be as big a problem for myself as others who require a longer range from their batteries and by not deep cycling the batteries I might possibly extend the life and preserve the overall health of the individual cells by reducing the possibility of reversing the polarity of some of the weaker cells. It is possible that my reasoning is faulty and the subsequent behaviour of the bike is a result of said reasoning. Once again. thanks for any help on the matter.
One last observation: I was reminded this morning (1st charge after the described event) that the state of charge indicator has the top bar unfilled. All subsequent charges between "events" have all the bars filled which might point to Battery Management System/Charging Cycle Control software as the source of the described events?
I have seen a few 16/17th terminated charges - but so far I thought this was a random software error and had been fixed in one of the updates.
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There is always a way if there is no other way!
I think this is a "feature of the latest software. I had my V serviced in June (it was it's second birthday) and they very kindly gave it a clean bill of health, along with some new software. Ever since, the tenth journey has been considerably shorter than the previous nine, with all the battery warnings, reduced speed and general panic that causes. It seems to be, as others have described, some additional battery protection to extend their useful life. I'd say it was a complete pain in the **** - I had two years of trouble free riding up till then - Grrrr...
I'm going to put a countdown marker on the V, so that I know when the next "bad trip" is going to happen, and plan that journey accordingly!
Brian
Is you riding pattern very regular?
If it is, them maybe just turn your Vectrix off at a traffic light, therefore turning one commute into two, so that the troublesome trip Nr. 10 happens to be one of just the right length, terminating at home before trouble begins.
What exact software version is doing this?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
That's a good idea - I'll give it a try! As for the software version, I'm not sure how to get that information. For me, it was apparently brand new at the end of May 09, I couldn't tell you more than that.