Are my batteries dead? ATE 501 won't charge after winter...

[TobiasRipper]

ATE 501.

After taking the scooter out from winter slumber, I noticed that the batteries are not charging. The Charger does not go into charging mode as indicated by it's charge light.

I tested the charger with a voltmeter, shows 56 volts. It has a power light and a charging light, Power light is always red and charging light is red while charging and turns green when charged or not plugged in to the scooter. I charged the scooter before storing it in the garage for winter. Are my batteries dead? I don't know what's the proper procedure for winter proofing your scooter so it looks like this lesson is going to be an expensive one.

If I plug the charger and turn the ignition, the dashboard lights up, horn works and the motor runs (tested carefully off the charger for the sake of seeing if electronics are in tact).

I am fairly certain there's something wrong with the batteries as literally nothing has been altered with the electronics components since I put it away last year.

 

[TobiasRipper]

I'm currently testing a theory. I've turned off the breaker switch and plugged a 12v battery charger to the batteries. See if I can give them some charge to get the native charger to finish the job. It seems like I have a tiny bit of movement, the native charger toggles between charging and not charging a few times now before refusing to charge so perhaps if I charge the batteries overnight It would revive at least a part of them.

 

[fechter]

Are these lithium batteries?

If so, there may be a BMS that sensed a low cell and tripped. With some, this will also cause it to not charge anymore also.

 

[TobiasRipper]

Are these lithium batteries?

If so, there may be a BMS that sensed a low cell and tripped. With some, this will also cause it to not charge anymore also.

Damn that sucks...


http://www.EisenstadtStudio.com/image_hosting/20170531_230247.jpg

not sure if you can take anything from these photos:

http://www.EisenstadtStudio.com/image_hosting/20170531_230319.jpg

Could be the same type from the Tao Tao parts re-seller?

https://electricscooterparts.com/taotaoate501scooterparts.html

 

[fechter]

OK, looks like lead-acid. Probably no BMS.

With lead-acid batteries, if they are left in a discharged state for a long time, the plates will get sulfated and behave like you are describing. Once sulfated, there isn't a good likelyhood of recovering them, but sometimes they can be revived.

The recovery process is to charge them for a really long time in hopes of breaking down the sulfate layer. Hook up the charger and let it go for a week and see if anything happens. Also good to measure the individual batteries to see if maybe just one is bad.

You might also try charging the batteries individually with a 12v charger. If all this fails, your only option is to replace the batteries. Personally, I would upgrade to lithium batteries, but that would be more expensive initially.

 

[TobiasRipper]

OK, looks like lead-acid. Probably no BMS.

With lead-acid batteries, if they are left in a discharged state for a long time, the plates will get sulfated and behave like you are describing. Once sulfated, there isn't a good likelyhood of recovering them, but sometimes they can be revived.

The recovery process is to charge them for a really long time in hopes of breaking down the sulfate layer. Hook up the charger and let it go for a week and see if anything happens. Also good to measure the individual batteries to see if maybe just one is bad.

You might also try charging the batteries individually with a 12v charger. If all this fails, your only option is to replace the batteries. Personally, I would upgrade to lithium batteries, but that would be more expensive initially.

Yeah I'm gonna have to buy new batteries by the looks of it. I looked into Lithium batteries actually. One 12v 20Ah battery goes for 140 on average... that's like 3 lead acid batteries tho.

 

[fechter]

They might last 3 times longer. For sure it will weigh a lot less and if you get good ones, you'll have much more range.