Controller Power issue

[Raged]

I'd suggest a 14S extension cable and modify it to split the packs into - 5S, 5S, 4S. OR 7S, 7S so you can use cheaper parts to revive the low batteries. A 14S balancer is expensive. A 6S balancer is cheap. A 6S battery medic is even cheaper.

Either way, once you have the balance wire splitter, you can use a battery medic to drain the high cells or a balancer to raise the low cells ( 6S battery medic is under $10). A cheap 8S Balancer like a Turingy 8150 is $50 + power supply (any old ATX PSU that will supply 12v will work).

Battery medic doesn't require external power. It uses the battery power to drain / balance the cells. A Balancer is the same as a BMS but with more smarts.

Alternatively... Just contact Cell Man and tell him of the issues and this thread. He should either sort you out or fix the issues as he sold a defective product.

 

[dnmun]

I'd suggest a 14S extension cable and modify it to split the packs into - 5S, 5S, 4S. OR 7S, 7S so you can use cheaper parts to revive the low batteries. A 14S balancer is expensive. A 6S balancer is cheap. A 6S battery medic is even cheaper.

Either way, once you have the balance wire splitter, you can use a battery medic to drain the high cells or a balancer to raise the low cells ( 6S battery medic is under $10). A cheap 8S Balancer like a Turingy 8150 is $50 + power supply (any old ATX PSU that will supply 12v will work).

Battery medic doesn't require external power. It uses the battery power to drain / balance the cells. A Balancer is the same as a BMS but with more smarts.

Alternatively... Just contact Cell Man and tell him of the issues and this thread. He should either sort you out or fix the issues as he sold a defective product.

nonsense. he has a battery charger so there is no need to take his battery apart and use a balancing charger on it.

there is nothing wrong with the battery from the numbers he gave us. it is just grossly outa balance and needs to be forced back into balance. i gave him perfectly understandable instructions to get started and if he wants to make his battery work he can get started on it whenever he wants to.

 

[johnjapan]

the BMS is shutting off the charge during the balancing because the higher cells are forced up to the HVC which shuts off the BMS charging mosfet.

it is hard to tell what you have since it looks like the BMS is for 16 cells but only 14 channel measurements.

to force the BMS to allow the uncharged cells down at 3.5V you will have to put a power resistor across the battery on all of those high voltage channels in order to drain them all down to the same level as the uncharged group.

this will take a long time and require some care.

i recommend you find some of the big ceramic power resistors and solder them into a series capable of handling the discharge or if you have a radiant space heater or oil filled electric radiator type heater you can use to discharge the higher cells. it is best to discharge them all together so you have the maximum voltage to force more charge out of the high cells.

if you decide to do this then we can show you how to connect the heater or resistors, (the type and size to use), to the cells in the battery.

The way I see it I have 2 options,

1) I can either discharge the FULLY charged cells OR
2) Fully Charge the 4 cells that are low

Option 2 seems like it would take less time although how I would charge them is a mystery.

I would prefer to choose the option where I don't need to completely rip apart the pack

So which option would you suggest guys.

 

[johnjapan]

I'd suggest a 14S extension cable and modify it to split the packs into - 5S, 5S, 4S. OR 7S, 7S so you can use cheaper parts to revive the low batteries. A 14S balancer is expensive. A 6S balancer is cheap. A 6S battery medic is even cheaper.

Either way, once you have the balance wire splitter, you can use a battery medic to drain the high cells or a balancer to raise the low cells ( 6S battery medic is under $10). A cheap 8S Balancer like a Turingy 8150 is $50 + power supply (any old ATX PSU that will supply 12v will work).

Battery medic doesn't require external power. It uses the battery power to drain / balance the cells. A Balancer is the same as a BMS but with more smarts.

Alternatively... Just contact Cell Man and tell him of the issues and this thread. He should either sort you out or fix the issues as he sold a defective product.

I have had the battery for a year now so maybe it is expected that these problems would arrive after a year.
Not sure it would fall under the defective category.

I am going to be honest with you but I had an instance where I stuck the probes in the positive and negative discharge ports and I mistakenly had the multimeter set to measure continuity there was some smoke and the Anderson connecters melted, I quickly replaced the connectors charged the pack up and worked fine for another 3 or 4 months until now.

There may have been damage to the BMS but if there were, problems should've showed up almost immediately, not 3 or 4 months later.

The information you provided is useful,
I am going to be honest again.... I am newbie at attempting this kind of trouble shooting, if it requires me to completely open up the pack I must admit, I am afraid to cause harm to myself further damage equipment, or worse burn my house down. I have browsed through some other disastrous threads, not fun or funny at all.

Let me hear what you guys have to say and if it sounds doable I will let you know,
If you guys are guiding me every step of the way I believe it is possible because I can post pictures of what I am doing. If one or all of you guys cant help me every step of the way until the problem is solved I would rather not begin in the first place.

 

[dnmun]

shorting the battery doesn't hurt it since you have a BMS that shut it off immediately.

it is easier to drain charge off of the high cells. you will need some jumper wires with alligator clips on each end. you can make some or buy them at harbor freight or buy the alligator clips at harbor freight and solder you own wire into them.

then you need a space heater or some big resistance element to discharge the battery into. so look for one of the radiant heaters or an oil bath type. i get them for free on CL or from the dumpster so look there. you cannot use ones with a fan on them.

there is nothing wrong with exposing the battery, you can tape it back up later. you will need to attach the alligator clips directly to the ends of the cells though so it helps to know which are low and which are high. you gave numbers for 14 channels so 2 are missing.

 

[johnjapan]

shorting the battery doesn't hurt it since you have a BMS that shut it off immediately.

it is easier to drain charge off of the high cells. you will need some jumper wires with alligator clips on each end. you can make some or buy them at harbor freight or buy the alligator clips at harbor freight and solder you own wire into them.

then you need a space heater or some big resistance element to discharge the battery into. so look for one of the radiant heaters or an oil bath type. i get them for free on CL or from the dumpster so look there. you cannot use ones with a fan on them.

there is nothing wrong with exposing the battery, you can tape it back up later. you will need to attach the alligator clips directly to the ends of the cells though so it helps to know which are low and which are high. you gave numbers for 14 channels so 2 are missing.

2 channels are not missing,

The BMS picture is a 16 channel
My BMS is a 14 channel
Same brand different channel amount

 

[johnjapan]

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__5548__IMAX_B6_50W_5A_Charger_Discharger_1_6_Cells_GENUINE_.html


Found the b6
Link above

Is this good enough for balancing charging or discharging my 14s pack?

 

[dnmun]

so you have a 14S pack? is it A123 or lipo? i thought that picture was yours. it is so hard to figure stuff when people use fake pictures.

 

[johnjapan]

so you have a 14S pack? is it A123 or lipo? i thought that picture was yours. it is so hard to figure stuff when people use fake pictures.

Because I fear I may harm myself or property I have decided to step down and not attempt to repair the battery, instead I would like to read any books that would help one trouble shoot ebikes.
I dont feel confident enough to do it.

Thanks guys if you can recommend any books that would be great!

 

[amberwolf]

The best reading material I've seen anywhere on the subject is this forum, with all the threads about fixing just about any possible ebike type of problem.


(unfortunately many threads have no resolution either because the OP chose not to fix it or simply stopped replying, or because it wasn't cost-effective to fix and the OP went on to something else).


The very best reading material for a specific problem is to post as many details about the problem as you have, and then respond with any answers, measurements, or pictures requested (which we can help you learn how to make or take, if you don't already know) so that others with the experience can help you determine exactly what the problem is, or help you learn how to determine the problem(s) on your own.