Was working made a u-turn and now it doesn't

[JustAroundTown]

Ok, I just bought this bike and it ran great the first time (38 miles). I bought it from a person and when I went to the company that supposedly built the bike they appear to be closed for business. I'm comfortable with mechanical and electrical devices. Now first a disclosure! Just before I rode the bike the second time I tried to charge the bike with my solar inverter. So I plugged the charger that came with the bike into the battery/inverter to see if it would charge so that I could take that with me for a back up! Now it appeared to charge and since the battery was very close to fully charged I only left it connected to the inverter for about 5 minutes. So directly after this I took the bike out for a ride. I was about 6 miles out and everything was working fine! I made a u-turn to go back and change where I was heading and just as I'm turning around the bike went dead! Originally I believed that something just disconnected between the controls on the handle bars and the main controller. When I checked the connections, I found nothing wrong. I wasn't getting power to anything. So I pedaled it home. Now when I check the battery it has a display that lights up to show the amount of charge. It shows fully charged, however, when I pull the battery out, switch it on and test the output I'm getting nothing?

So do I have a dead battery or is there something more that I can test to move forward. If it's a bad battery, can I away with putting a bigger battery on it? Currently it's a 48v @ 25a. I was thinking of bumping that up?

Thanks for taking the time to read through all of this. Please don't hesitate to tell me I shouldn't have used the inverter if you believe it contributed to the down fall! I originally believed that the fact that I was isolated due to using the charger that came with the bike that I would not damage the battery.

Again thanks in advance!!

JustAroundTown

 

[E-HP]

If only the charger was plugged into the battery (inverter was only powering the charger), then I doubt that caused the issue. How did you ride those 6 miles? Full throttle? Any other unusual symptoms? Sounds like the BMS needs to be reset, but usually cycling the battery on and off would do that.

Did you try putting it on the charger again to see if that resets it?

 

[fechter]

Yes, it sounds like the BMS in the battery tripped and didn't reset. Charging might reset it as mentioned above. You might also try disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it. In fact, try disconnecting everything and reconnecting. It may just be a bad connection somewhere. If you have a voltmeter, try measuring the battery input to the controller while attempting to turn it on.

 

[JustAroundTown]

Ok so I went back and tried to recharge the battery. The charger ran for about 1.5 hrs and appeared to be finished. As I was checking the voltage out of the battery I found a fuse. Sorry!!! It was recessed and same color. I wasn't until I pulled everything apart that I noticed it. I tested the fuse with my meter and so I've ordered a fast burn fuse from Amazon. I'll know more tomorrow. Thanks to those that stepped up to provide advice. I still don't know if this is my problem but likely!
More to come!
Thanks again!
JustAroundTown

 

[E-HP]

Ok so I went back and tried to recharge the battery. The charger ran for about 1.5 hrs and appeared to be finished. As I was checking the voltage out of the battery I found a fuse. Sorry!!! It was recessed and same color. I wasn't until I pulled everything apart that I noticed it. I tested the fuse with my meter and so I've ordered a fast burn fuse from Amazon. I'll know more tomorrow. Thanks to those that stepped up to provide advice. I still don't know if this is my problem but likely!
More to come!
Thanks again!
JustAroundTown

If there's voltage on the upstream side of the fuse, then you probably have the initial issue solved. It's unusual for a fuse to pop under normal conditions, so it's probably a good idea to investigate further into why the system is drawing enough current to pop the fuse.

 

[amberwolf]

I was about 6 miles out and everything was working fine! I made a u-turn to go back and change where I was heading and just as I'm turning around the bike went dead! Originally I believed that something just disconnected between the controls on the handle bars and the main controller. When I checked the connections, I found nothing wrong. I wasn't getting power to anything. So I pedaled it home. Now when I check the battery it has a display that lights up to show the amount of charge. It shows fully charged, however, when I pull the battery out, switch it on and test the output I'm getting nothing?

If the display shows the cells have voltage, but the output has no voltage, the BMS has shutdown the output port most likely, usually to protect the pack against a cell (group) that is too low so it doesn't overdischarge. (even if the rest of the pack appears to be nearly full, there can be problems where one or more cells (groups) is much lower than others).

Or a fuse has blown, or the fuseholder has failed (poor connections can cause overheating and the fuseholder can actually melt).

Do you read voltage at the charge port?

Does it start to charge when plugged in?

So do I have a dead battery or is there something more that I can test to move forward. If it's a bad battery, can I away with putting a bigger battery on it? Currently it's a 48v @ 25a. I was thinking of bumping that up?

25A, or 25Ah? They are very different things--25A would be the limit of current the battery can support, and 25Ah would be the capacity.

It doesn't hurt to have larger values in either case, but if you need more range then you need more Ah, and if you need more power you need more A capability.

Just don't change the battery voltage, as your controller or other parts may not support anything else. Note that 48v usually means 13s or 13 cells in series, and for 14s it's usually called 52v. (for the rounded-off average voltages of each version).

Please don't hesitate to tell me I shouldn't have used the inverter if you believe it contributed to the down fall! I originally believed that the fact that I was isolated due to using the charger that came with the bike that I would not damage the battery.

It's unlikely the source of power for the charger would have made a difference--the charger's input side might be damaged by a faulty AC source, but if it's working and able to charge normally then that's unlikely.

 

[eee291]

It may be that a balance wire has come off If the BMS doesn't want to reset.

 

[RTLSHIP]

I've had battery packs cut out and all I did is unplug power and reboot. This could be a sign of a low amp bms or riding it too hard for too long. Some of those Chinese packs (and USA packs) work OK but don't live up to their rated AH claims.

 

[e-beach]

+1 On investagating why the fuse popped.

 

[JustAroundTown]

Back. Sorry to waste everyone's time but it was only a fuse. I didn't even know there was one until I started to take the battery enclosure apart to check voltages. Thanks bike is up and running again! Really kind of everyone to give me their time and comments!