Hello all,
Just got a VX1from an auction. It is dead as a door nail. Going to plug it in and see if I can at least get my instrument panel to power up. Except I don't hear any fan noises, so I am assuming it's not charging.
Downloaded the Owners Manual just to see if I was operating the switch/key switch correctly. I do hear a faint click when i put the key to the ON position, but that's it. I think I have some voltage as I can open my seat storage (electric lock?)
Anyone got some newbie advice while I wait for it to charge or not charge, lol.
I'm in San Diego BTW. I read somewhere the battery cell or cells normally begin to go bad.
Mine only has 2,786 miles on it.
Thanks in advance,
Leo
This is very common for bikes that have not been regularly used and maintained. The battery will discharge below the minimum voltage for the charger to function, and your only recourse is a trickle charger.
Given the age of the bike and its unknown history, however, I'd suspect you've got some bad cells. Your best bet is to pull out the two battery packs and recharge/recondition each of the 12 modules with a 12V RC charger. It will take some time, but you'll be able to measure the voltage across each cell to determine which ones have gone bad. Those should be replaced or at least shunted.
Thanks for this reply. I have done the same thing for a Gem Golf Cart and was able to recover all the batteries. I have a very nice Battery Minder that also de-sulfides. So, each module is 12v? Are they clearly marked as + - before I dig into it? What volt is the minimum to get the onboard charger to kick on?
I seem to recall that the battery needs to be above ~90V before the charger will operate.
If you have the NiMH battery, it is made up of 12 modules connected in series, and each module contains either 8 or 9 cells in series.
Each cell has a nominal voltage of 1.2V and there are a total of 102 cells in the entire pack:
The voltage of a Vectrix Battery can be more than enough to cause severe injury or even result in death...
If you are not 100% sure of what you are doing, please don't try any of the following suggestions involving mains AC voltages or high DC battery voltages!
If you have the silver ESD charger with the battery connector plug in the position shown in the photo below:
then take a look at this thread to see how you can measure the battery voltage without having to completely dismantle the bike:
A cheap trickle charger can be constructed using a pair of suitable 25x1W LED lamp drivers (300mA 30~90V) with their output wires wired in series as shown here:
Check out this eBay listing for the 13-21xW version which might be more suitable due to the maximum 140V combined output instead of 180V.
Two of them should be ideal to revive a Vectrix NiMH Battery.
Alan
EDIT: URLs updated
Thanks for those links. I started to randomly measure some of the modules and they were all 0.0
Measured per your post and got .087 volts from the charger connector. At least I got something, lol. I'll purchase those led power supplies and run them in series as posted. I really do appreciate your post.
Just keep in mind that the trickle charger might not work if you have a bad cell. At that point, you just pull the modules and recondition them independently with the RC charger. You might get lucky, though.
got a question. what do I need the connector blocks for and why is this message there on disconnecting if plugged incorrectly? I feel like I am missing a step in making this.
Ok all, got my parts from China to make my Trickle Charger. You got to love Chinese QA. Notice anything wrong with the input wires? Yup, backwards in color.
Anyways, got her built and connected it to my Vectrix and she's now charging. After just 30 mins, I now got 15 Volts. Gotta love homemade/inexpensive tools. Thanks guys for pointing me the write up.
What voltage should I have before hooking up the onboard charger?
If I do the math using the above comment, my total voltage should be 122.4 Volts. How come the image below is showing 132.9 volts on the Multi-meter?
Success guys! She's alive again. About 1-1/2 days on the homemade trickle charger and she now is able to run the onboard charger. Does the onboard charger stop charging once it's fully charged?
Took the Vectrix for a run around the neighborhood and I love the regen feature and using it as light braking. Was super fun. No errors, just fun quiet riding.
Thanks to all who helped me get her back on the road again.
good job! Now find 9 modules from a nissan leaf 40 kwh....
Hi all,
Sorry to jump in but I'm not allowed to post as new on here
Hi all
I have recently got an old vx1 with dead NiMH batteries.
Now I'm going to insert Nissan modules as been reading non stop all over the place on here.
As far as I can gather im after an old
Scooter diagnostics 1.1 (best to program I read)
Scooter giagnistics 2.1 (best to check after program I read)
And latest laird's team softwares with instructions if possible. (Best working alongside xvectrix I think but alot seem to have the laird's)
I have an Esd Charger and know for sure all the temps readings are all over so will be doing a delete of them too.
I will be really greatful if anyone can send me these files so I can get started as excited to get stuck in.
I know you've had alot of posts on this 'R' so any helps appreciated mate.
Regards
SJ
P.s Also I've been trying to get added to the vectrix GB group in Facebook if anyone can let admin know as keep getting not accepted.
Email is sr8273 [at] gmail.com
Had to use the trickle charger again as the plug in charger wouldn't kick in. It's now charging again, but was wondering if there is a step by step current firmware update procedure? Like what hardware do i need to connect to my Scooter, etc. I was looking at this Lairds update but there were too many broken links and old threads to feel confident on doing this.
I don't keep my scooter plugged in and after a week, I was trying to move my scooter in the garage and saw a red battery symbol, scoot said ready and GO but no throttle response. I just manually moved my scoot but the next day, there was nothing on the display nor was I able to plug in charge.
I am wondering if by using this homemade trickle charger, it is not reflecting charge levels correctly on the scoot computer. Maybe an current firmware might resolve this?
Much Thanks,
Leo
Leo
It sounds like your battery pack self discharged which is a real problem with the nickle cells. I have no experience with the Lairds files as I am using Dugas files and have a lithium conversion. Your pack might just be past it's useful life and battery replacement is probably the next step. $$$. Have you had a chance to ride the bike to see what the range is ?
I think if you look long and hard enough that all the info you would need to use the Laird files is on the site somewhere. Good luck !