I tapped the Zephyr plugs into the original leads, Zephyr closer to cells, one other thing I done was removed the main Anderson pack plugs off the bms and ran jumpers from cell 1 and 16 so the bms recognizes total pack voltage, it may be drawing considerably, as I could hear a hiss that was not there before, also made me think something else vent wrong I had it all dialed in perfect and I tried to top it off just for a test with both bms, sure enough the shunts got real bright and hot, and even after disconnecting charger the shunts were still on where they shouldn't.
Anyway, honestly I don't miss it, it was a nice toy for me to look at and see how it is doing, it is confirmed the zephyr lvc rig up worked, just went through the first cycle, I am pretty sure the lvc tripped it as I mentioned cell 15 and 16 appeared significantly weaker previously, last charge I got 3.5kw at the plug, it is supposed to be a 4kw pack, granted I am working it with a significant margin too, but those 2 blocks rob me quite a bit range I think, last I monitored it most pack was still above 3 v some at 3.15v, I'll check it when she gets home I'm sure those 2 are significantly lower, could be that end cell effect too but still the old bms was not that accurate under load, I'll see how much it takes this time and keep an eye on it .
all in all first test I got 42 miles mixed range this last one 31 but wife ran some chores in electric only, range is good enough for our routine , if I feel ambitious I have the old 4kw pack still, couple blocks are bad for sure but I could rig up a 7kw pack, not sure I need it thou, this is pretty good for our routine, of anything I'll see about replacing those 2 blocks, at the limits I run should get quite a few cycles, rumor has it 3000 to 5000 cycles ( I recon about 70% DOD ) that's about 10 years? car is an 07, lifetime pretty much.
same with the converter, it is set at 9 amp, supposedly it is capable of 14 and you can push the economy versus range, however I was watching the display and it only drew when on load, coasting barely an amp so not sure I should bother with that either, most that done it were running it in EV only which we do also and it doesn't keep up, but it is only good to 35 mph not much use with our routine, those ones that maxed up the converter also have stories of it frying, it does get hot sometimes.
so enough of this I am very happy with the outcome, even as is it took a while to balance the first time , much faster the second, I think the pacific EV bms was good for 350ma balancing , I could not imagine the first cycle , it may have taken the whole week by itself with these large cells, and that was the largest one I came across, most others were 70-130ma?
and to think you guys developed this for a bike maybe a half kw pack, total overkill, if I were to rig up the 7kw pack, I wouldn't hesitate to use it, I believe early on the thread one asked if to trust the Zephyr with $7k worth batteries, I wouldn't trust anything else honestly, you know what they say if you want it done right DIY, and if you are electronically impaired ask Richard, I am a lot more confident in this than anything on the shelf, and there isn't much to go wrong either, the instructions mentioned some special care, I'm a grease monkey, just today I changed dogbones on a semi and welded a bumper, not sure what the electrostatic warning was about but as mentioned I used plumbing flux and solder, than I scrubbed it with oven cleaner and a toothbrush (
sacrilege ) followed by electronic cleaner of course, actually I tried that first but it wasn't doing anything. I dropped it a few times from about 4 feet high, unintentionally of course, and I was using some temporary jumpers for test charging and such twice I accidentally short circuit them , part of the clips are welded onto the andersons.
the dam thing is rugged, probably because it is simple, the fancy logging one it replaced, the one with real time display and sim card, did everything but manage the pack, so yeah I don't miss it at all, not to mention the experience, I am still illiterate in this field just not as bad,
PS Richard I'm still good for a couple fiths of your favorite poison, thou you never took me up on it, I am calling you out PM me your paypal, I insist, for tuition if nothing else, don't make me google you, I will find out where you live if I have to mail it to you.