Vectrix "servicing"

Strange, I was told annually.

The important thing must be oil in the drive I'd imagine.

I was told annually too. Mine will be a year old this weekend.

Hi there, my servicebooklet tells: 1st service after one month, then every 6 months. They check the errormessages of the scooter and i think som of the screwed conections. The Vectrix was designed not to change the gearoil (it is changed when the planetary gear has a malufunktion)

greetings Mike

although this probably isn't in any official vectrix documentation,

i recommend any EV have the traction pack balanced periodically.

for the vectrix, put ~0.25A through it for a couple of days should do it.

then capacity test. For a single user, just doing a run down to red light is probably sufficient.

for a service shop, they should have a capacity to measure the remaining Ah capacity of a pack, to track its degredation.
This is also necessary for verifying pack failure due to capacity loss. (no pretending 30km range is "normal")

Matt

although this probably isn't in any official vectrix documentation,

i recommend any EV have the traction pack balanced periodically.

for the vectrix, put ~0.25A through it for a couple of days should do it.

then capacity test. For a single user, just doing a run down to red light is probably sufficient.

for a service shop, they should have a capacity to measure the remaining Ah capacity of a pack, to track its degredation.
This is also necessary for verifying pack failure due to capacity loss. (no pretending 30km range is "normal")

Matt

How about a bridge rectifier and a light globe for current limiting for that purpose? It's dangerous, both battery poles will "live" towards ground.

a light globe may not work so well for current limiting, as its resistance changes with the temperature of its element.
so, paradoxically, with a much lower voltage applied, lots more current can flow.

however, putting a cap in parrallel, and a current limited DC supply in series might work ok.
ill have more of a think of this idea.
an isolation transformer may also be necessary.

Matt

The safer option would be an isolating transformer, Variac, bridge rectifier and ammeter in series. That has no current limiting, but one could put a 1A fuse (or weaker) in there to guard against runaway currents. It's funny what these NiMH batteries do when they get warm.

I wonder if our CBA II units could do the current limiting.
they would also keep a running count of Ah put into the pack.

I will have to test this out.

Matt

even better,

looking through the honda insight forums,
i found this posted:
http://www.peaktopeakpower.com/specs/LPC-20.pdf
http://www.peaktopeakpower.com/lpc-20-350.html

basically, its a constant current 0.35A source, goes up to 48v.

put 3 in series, and you have a balancing charger for ~US$60.

Matt

even better,

looking through the honda insight forums,
i found this posted:
http://www.peaktopeakpower.com/specs/LPC-20.pdf
http://www.peaktopeakpower.com/lpc-20-350.html

basically, its a constant current 0.35A source, goes up to 48v.

put 3 in series, and you have a balancing charger for ~US$60.

Matt

Interesting idea!

But I am not sure if they can be put in series. Since my recent encounter with a "ground fault" frying my laptop, and some testing of various switchers, I still don't understand it well enough.

There are a number of different switchers, you might know how they work.

They all seem to behave differently in regards to causing continuity to earth.

See: http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=200991#p200991 for details of my very basic measurements.

If these current limited switchers can be put in series, then the version with higher current and lower voltage might be better. The 0.35A source makes only a C/85 charge, it will take too long.
C/20 to C/30 would be more appropriate, i.e. 1A to 1.5A.
That is 1/3 to 1/2 of what the stock EQ charge uses.
The 700mA version would need 5 in series, resulting in a C/43 charge.

theres at least one guy using those power supplies successfully in series for charging Ni-mh cells:
http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/modifications-technical-issues/14496-grid-charger-balancer-11.html

These switchers are completely isolated (ie, theres a transformer between the input and the output).

the low current is important, so that when a cell gets full, its heating is limited.
at 0.35A, the max voltage is ~150v. thats ~50w being turned to heat continuously.
however, for a first charge, this is necessary, to ensure beyond doubt that every cell is full.
you would do this with a pack that has been sitting around for quite some time.

for periodic balancing, more current would probably be more helpful, however, the new firmware does this for you.
also, for periodic balancing, you would be starting out with a pack that is already supposed to be full.

Matt