Just got a 500w front wheel kit & a 36v 20Ah LifePo4 battery. Fitted the wheel no problems. When the battery arrived (I got it from Ping) it was fully charged.
The 8 miles to work was great fun. I put the battery on to charge during work, even though the charger seemed to indicate that the battery was fully charged.
On the way home the bike cut out half way. It cut in & out intermittently all the way home. It cut out when the load was 'too' high. It hadn't done that on the way to work.
When home I tried to charge the battery again but the charger still indicates that the battery in fully charged.
Can anyone help with some problem solving techniques I could use? I'm keen to start 'riding' again.
Sounds like the battery is NOT "full charged"---Voltage should be over 43 volts, perhaps near 45 volts or so, if the battery is really "Full Charged"--- get a digital voltmeter and check it, also be sure that all power/battery cables are well soldered to hefty, large size connectors, to avoid resistance related problems. (A good "Rule of thumb"--Touch the wires/connectors carefully, after a ride of about a mile or so, and if the wire or connector gets noticeably WARM or HOT, while riding, it is not suitable for the job!)-Bob Curry
PS:Did you get the correct, matching battery CHARGER from Ping?-- If not, your charger may not properly charge te battery.
Robert M. Curry
Thanks for your help. Just checked the voltage - it's at 31.8 When I connect the charger it is still suggesting that the battery is fully charged. Connections all look fine. I got both chargers from ping so that shouldn't be a problem.
31.8 volts is nearly DEAD! Charge it for 10 hours and test, voltage should be MUCH higher!-(What are the specifications on your chargers?)-Bob
Robert M. Curry
The battery is Brand New - only been used for 45 minutes. I'm not near the chargers at the moment. I'll post the specifications when I get home. I'm a bit apprehensive about charging the battery in case I do some damage. What do you suggest?
As soon as possible, send me the charger details, (Voltage, amperage, watts, etc.) then I will have a much better idea of how to proceed.-Bob
Robert M. Curry
I have 2 chargers a 2.5A one which has a model number JLP-120A01-45. Input 110V - 240V, 50/60Hz 1.5A. Output 45V 2.5A.
The 5A charge has a model number KP4505JL. Input 100 - 240V AC. Output 45.5V 5A.
These are all the details I can find.
Connect the 5 amp charger to the battery, allow it to charge for 6 hours, then test the battery voltage!----If you use the smaller, 2.5 amp charger, it will take TWICE as long, or about 12 hours, to charge your now dead battery. Which charger were you using, and how long did you charge? -Be sure to connect everything properly.--Bob
Robert M. Curry
Used the 5A charger overnight. Voltage is now at 32.3. As far as I could determine all the leads were connected properly.
Your battery did not receive the charge, if the voltage is that low. Does your battery have two sets of power leads?--Sometimes batteries are designed to be charged through on set, and discharged through a different connection, and if the wrong leads are used, problems occur. Does your charger provide 45 volts? (Test it with a voltmeter) It seems that you have a good battery that is not getting recharged.-Bob
Robert M. Curry
The battery does have 2 sets of power leads. One of them has a connector on it which matches the charger perfectly so I am assuming that is the charging lead. The other set had no connector, so I've connected it to the motor. The charger is giving out 45.4V. The BMS has 12 lights that do not seem to light up. Could that be a problem.
Thanks for all the help. Your comments are very helpful & reassuring.
Looks like the charger is ok, so either you have a bad connection from the charger to the BMS/Battery, or the wrong leads are connected. Check the leads, connectors, and other wires VERY carefully, sometimes crimped connectins are not properly done, or connector pins are improperly aligned/not fully seated. Soldered leads are generally good, if proper technique was used to avoid "cold solder joints" where a too small iron was used in an attempt to solder heavy wires, and the solder did not properly flow and penetrate/saturate the joint.-Bob
Robert M. Curry
I've been getting some help from the battery supplier, Ping. Here is their lasted email with my reply.
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> When the charger is connected to the battery pack, does the green light on the charger turn red?
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> Yes. The 5A charger has 2 lights, LED1 does light up red.
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> Then open the shrink wrap of the BMS. Try to find out “B-“ on the BMS. You can also see a white connector with 12 small balance wires. Measure voltages between each pair of neighborhood wires. Red is the first. We just number red wire as #1. There’re 12 small wires. So, you will get 11 voltages. Then measure the voltage between #12 and “B-“. Now you get 12 voltages. The voltages should be as follows,
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> #1 - #2 2.85
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> #2 - #3 2.87
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> #3 - #4 2.95
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> #4 - #5 2.64
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> #5 - #6 2.37
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> #6 - #7 2.72
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> #7 - #8 2.85
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> #8 - #9 2.70
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> #9 - #10 2.93
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> #10 - #11 2.54
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> #11 - #12 2.74
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> #12 – “B-“ 2.92
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> Please send me all the 12 voltages.
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> Best regards,
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> Ping
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> Hope all this is useful.
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> When I opened the shrink wrap of the BMS I noticed some 'burnt' bits at one end of the BMS. It looks like it could have been caused by too much heat from some of the cables. I noticed a "P-" on the BMS, next to that are 5 pairs of connections, the one furthest away from the "P-" looks like it has been 'burnt'. I recorded the voltages between the pairs of connections just in case they may be useful to you.
> Pair 1 closest to the "P-" gives a voltage of 10.60
Pair 2 10.60
Pair 3 10.60
Pair 4 10.68
Pair 5 4.46 (this is the one stat looks damaged.)
Regards,
Andy.
Does this make any sense to you?
Andy.
It would help if you would take the BMS circuit board outdoors, in good light, and take some PHOTOGRAPHS (Show the entire board, and the burned area/wiring) with a good digital camera. Use a quality camera, so as to get good "Close Up" focus and exposure-sharp photos are important, and take them from at least three different viewing angles.-Bob (Send cphotos to PING, also!)
Robert M. Curry
Ping have decided that the BMS is the problem & are sending me a new one. I'll let you know if that solves the problem.
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I have just arrived home & soldered on the new BMS. The battery charged successfully & I have just returned from a long cycle - great fun!