...as recommended by the firmware update, got back to my area from the gym this evening with 5 miles left, so thought I would ride around a bit then "circle the drain"
My observations -
The bike started to lose some acceleration and a bit of top end when it got down to around 4-5 bars and around 7 miles remaining, losing a little more and a little more until it got down to 3 miles, then the red battery light came on.
Acceleration was still ok but "juddery" and it would still do 40-45 mph
When it got down to 0 miles and red battery light still on, I managed to ride round the block several times, I reset the odo when it got to 0 on the range and I got another 3 miles out of it before I finally got the BUSVULT message and it was running at limp mode speed.
Its now doing its charge, which judging by last time I did this when I first got the firmware will probably take about 6-7 hours - so have just switched it on charge without leaving it on the timer this time.
So it looks like I have a bit more of a safety margin, before the update it would go from around 3-4 miles to 0 and give me limp mode with no warning, also I would have pretty much full power before it died.
I know this subject is good debate fodder, but Vectrix says a "Deep Discharge" has occured when the est. mile indicator drops to zero and the battery light comes on. From all that I have read, pushing the bike unecessarily past that point doe not help anything and may not good for the battery. Of course, it may take ten years to know for sure, but I plan to follow a "gentler" path and not push her past zero when that can be avoided.
I tend to agree, but to quote the firmware upgrade sheet from Vectrix
"At least once a month, the battery should be discharged until the bike cannot maintain 15mph (24 km/h)."
That was the point I took it to tonight - this condition happens at BUSVULT
How was the actual total range affected?
Did it drop to 0km / zero bars at a reduced range?
Does it go down to 5/17 (and reduce the power) earlier than before, and at what total trip distance?
This information may be used entirely at your own risk.
There is always a way if there is no other way!
How far did you get on the deep discharge cycle, and what was the air temp and battery temp. Might help us with the cold weather performance issues.
Regards,
Peter
-----------------------------------------------------------
Central Scotland
I am going to reset the odo over the next week and see what my average trips are now the battery and firmware are fully conditioned between this and the next deep discharge.
The battery temp when I got it into the gararge and waited until it got past the "21c setting" thing was 24c, that was after a full speed ride down the motorway for about 10 minutes or so followed by about half an hour of constant riding about to get it to 0.
Mik -
At 0km/miles it was not in full limp mode yet, that did not happen for about 4km afterwards, not sure whether its a sync issue or a small safety margin for those that push it to the limit.
While I am pretty new to this, just bought my Vectrix, I may add my experience with the latest software.
I managed to get 38 miles out of my last charge after the software update. Importantly, the bars kept peeling off proportional to the remaining charge. The battery warning light came on with plenty charge to go, i.e. still 3 bars left. The bike did not go into 25mph limp mode until I reached an estimated range of 1 mile.
Based on the old postings I read this looks like a real improvement. Throughout, I thought that the range estimator was doing quite well.
Hi Folks,
Just been reading some of the stuff on 'Monthly Deep Discharge' and would like to add my Two Pennyworth to the debate. This same info is already posted elsewhere but incase you don't see it, here it is again.
First things first. Ni-MH cells are a totally different animal compared to Lead Acid cells. Whilst you should never leave Lead Acid batteries/cells in a discharged condition for more than a matter of hours, Ni-MH cells can be left in a state of discharge for long periods weeks even, without damage/deterioration.
Sandy
Edited due to duplicate posting: Please see the remainder of the comments here.