Greetings All,
IT finally happened, three years and 3500 miles later
the disappearing bars/zero range syndrome hit my Vectrix 2007 (original
firmware).
Not one, not two, but three bad cells have been identified, see pics.
Interestingly enough all of them are located in the bottom tier of the
rear pack. Have not checked the front pack yet, but I suspect this is
a moot point as too many are bad to allow me to jump them out and proceed.
Anybody have some cells for sale? I will need at least three and maybe
more depending upon the outcome of the front pack inspection.
Cheers.
Wow! 3?
what symptoms did you notice? What range did you got with 3 damaged cells?
I recommend just shunting those 3, then ride to red battery light.
On the first recharge, keep an eye on the voltage towards the end, once it goes above 141V stop the charge
if theres only a few bars from the top, don't worry about the voltage on the second charge (after riding it)
If there are more than 4, keep any eye on the voltage on the second charge
more than 7, you will need to check on the 3rd charge aswell
It will ride fine missing 3 cells, but the max voltage on the charger will be way too high
luckily the charger terminates charge on Ah count usually rather than voltage
Matt
Daily Ride:
2007 Vectrix, modified with 42 x Thundersky 60Ah in July 2010. Done 194'000km
The laird is capable of setting a firmware with max chargig voltage at request: in this case 143v instead of 147v...
Indications: riding along with about 1/2 battery level on the
gauge, started noticing soft response in the throttle. After about
1/4 to 1/3 mile (~ 1 km) the bike slowed with no reduction in throttle
from 40mph to about 25mph then down to about 18mph then *blip*
gone are the all the bar indications on the gauge. Luckily I was
only about 1/2 mile from residence and was able to let the bike
"crawl" home... not much faster than about 10-15mph but it made it.
This particular trip was the second trip after a full charge. The
first trip was 8 miles normal throttle response. The segment of the
second trip where I started to notice the soft throttle was somewhere
around 7 mile mark. So when they go - they go quick - at least mine did.
Thanks for the recommendations on jumping out the bad cells - I just
may try that in order to take advantage of the really nice weather
we are having at the moment.... but if 3 cells go out like that (all at once)
I am wary about putting it back on the road before I can update the
battery. Hopefully I can get the update completed before the summer
slips by....
I did see posts on new firmware being made available.... I will have
to check that out as I never did like that remaining range estimator...
Did that new firmware incorporate the emergency flashers upgrade? (or is
the flashers specifically a hardware mod)...
Thanks.
Very easy hardware mod. Just follow sensei mik's advices:
http://visforvoltage.org/forum/5821-vectux-now-has-hazard-lights
http://visforvoltage.org/forum/7583-vectux-hazard-light-kit-%E2%80%93-buy-or-diy
My vectrix:
http://visforvoltage.org/forum/11072-seats-cable-replacement
Cheers.
Finished jumping out the 3 bad cells. Charged the 99 cell battery to
142v (had 6-7 blank bars remaining at the top of the gauge). Took it
for a ride and...my goodness what a difference a resilient battery
makes - even with 3 missing cells. It seems the "range per cell"
has increased; but, this could be my imagination due to the fact
this bike is so much fun to ride with a good battery.
Started with 11 bars, rode 10 miles (and 1/10), finished the ride
with 6 bars remaining. Guess you could say: ...with a runt battery
I get 2 miles per bar..... :-))
I have Nimh batteries from Vectrix that I could sell you. I have done several conversions to Li-ion and have spare cells. They have been tested and I only sell those that are 90% or more of new capacity. I want $160 for complete rear pack or $150 for front pack. Both with metal strap around it or $25 per individual cell. I am in Melbourne Australia for pickup or postage.
I was reading my post and I haven't made it clear. I want $160 for 1 layer of the rear pack of 9 cells with the metal strap intact. $150 for 1 layer of the front pack of cells with the metal strap intact. To buy individual cells are $25 each. These cells are used and tested. Taken from Vectrix bike converted to Li-ion.
I could probably buy a complete bike (or near to it) for the cost to
get those batteries to my location: on the other side of the marble.
Thanks for the offer but I too am proceeding in the direction of a
lithium upgrade.... just waiting for things to come together.