Hi All
I have an EVT 4000e...I installed new batteries 3 months ago and was getting roughly 45km per full charge.Then EVT was on empty for a few days as a fuse had gone and I hadn't realised. I was half pushing it half riding it (beeping and cutting all the way) around Paris from one electric point to the other in a bid to isolate the problem. I finally realised that it was a blown fuse causing the charging process not to work. Amateur! Now I get around 25-30 KM maximum per charge!! Is it possible that I've damaged the batteries already?? I have some battery equalisers but they aren't installed as I'm waiting for a friend to install them...maybe I can put the equalisers in there to get more distance? Here's a link to the equalisers.
http://www.powercharge.dk/default.asp?lang=en
Click on 'products' then 'battery optimizer'
How do I use a volt meter to establish if there is a problem of imbalance ? And what kind of volt meter do I need to buy.
I'm sorry, I'm a novice when it come to electronics and EVs. Trying to learn as quickly as possible.
Thanks in advance for any help.
You certainly did a deep deep deep discharge on the batteries. That's known to cause damage. Maybe the batteries you have are resilient enough to not cause a major problem.
Let me get this straight ... Paris has public charging points? What kind of vehicle can use them? How long have they been there?
The two measurements are:- total pack voltage, per-battery voltage
I think what's in order is a new handbook page(s) going over multimeters.. so I'll put one together and post a link here.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Look here: EV Electrical Circuits Basics under Tools and Techniques I've added a page of videos about multimeters. And added a couple other pages explaining battery pack electronics.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Thanks very much. So is there anything I can do to improve the longevity of the batteries? Will the 'equalisers' actually do anything? If not I know that I can send them back to the guy who sold them to me.
And yes, there are around 100 free places to recharge EVs around Paris. You have a card and simply place it on the screen etc...
http://www.paris.fr/portail/deplacements/Portal.lut?page_id=5775 look further down.
Cheers
A series string of batteries depends on the additive voltage of all units in the string. To check for a low battery on discharge, run the pack until the voltage starts to REALLY sag under heavy use, then measure individual battery voltage WHILE UNDER MODERATE LOAD.
To make sure a possible imbalanced pack is as fully charged as possible, use a series/parallel plug and charge all pack batteries in parallel at a common voltage. With a good 12V three-stage charger, you can then leave it on "float" for a night or two safely and perhaps regain some of the lost capacity. The lower capacity batteries will take as much charge as they can absorb without blocking the better ones.
Hello, I have a similar problem. I can charge the batteries one-by-one with a 12v charger, but I get nothing when charging with the original 48v charger. The charging process starts fine, but ends rather soon, and with no result. WHAT FUSE did you find that was blown? In the charger or on the EVT4000? Where in that case? Or if anyone else know where to start looking (I am a happy rider with no knowledge of electrical things really). Thanks in advance for any advice!
Also - another question re bank charging (if I cannot use the original charger anymore). I have read the various articles on that subject but have a very basic question from someone with limited knowledge. Can I simply connect the chargers as described with all connections to the EVT still in place? Or do I actually need to disconnect the batteries from the EVT/each other for every charge?