Ezee battery connection

[BillieH]

Hi ,

I have a 2006 Ezee Quando. In April this year I took he plunge and replaced the NiCd battery with the new type Li ion battery. It has been great, but I have had increasing problems over the last 2 months, and am now off the road.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the battery itself, but there is a problem with the connection. Sometimes (now pretty much all the time) the battery does not seem to register - the light by the key switch goes off as does the light on the display on the handlebars. Initially this was an occasional and intermittent thing and I found that if I just 're-sited' the battery or just wiggled it a bit the lights and power came back. When this became worse, it seemed that the battery was not quite siting in the right place, and I just put a small piece of plastic inside the mount so it held the battery a bit tighter and higher. This little bit of play does seem to right the problem, sort of, but it is now worse so I can rarely get contact.

I have had to store the bike outside sometimes, and it has got quite wet. However the timing of the deterioration is with a drier spell of weather - and the day I finally gave up it had not rained for the previous few days. I have kept the bike in for the last few weeks by a radiator in an attempt to dry it out. I have opened the display box on the handlebars, and checked connections. I have also had a peak in the box by the motor, and looked at connections around the key switch and all seems in order. I have tried to clean the contacts, and there was some black stuff on the contacts. The battery is charged and consistently reads 36 V. I notice the rear connection port on the battery does seem slightly pushed out of shape,

Any thoughts appreciated

 

[flecc]

Cleaning as you've done will help, but it's likely the connections are not gripping enough. In the base of the battery insert a thin knife or screwdriver and try pushing the blades of the connectors towards each other to ensure a tighter grip on the pins of the base. This photo of the eZee battery base shows a wedge doing just that on one side of one connector:

 

[OldBob1]

Hi BillieH and welcome, sorry to hear of your problems.
It seems to be a common problem with E-bikes, the last 2 I have aquired where electrically not working and both suffer the same problem, battery connection between bike and battery.
I have corrected this on both bike by sticking a piece of rubber to the bottom of the battery and cutting out for the connecting probes( the rubber was from an old inner tube donated from a tyre fitting shop, I used 2 layers on one bike to get a good tight fit)
The rubber helps to stop water getting to the connectors and stops the battery moving in its frame.
With the contact give them a coating of petrolium gel (Vasaline) and if the 2 flat bladed type you might need to close together the female contacts in the bottom of the battery.
I hope this can help you.

 

[themutiny]

+1 on Flecc's advice. I have had similar problems and fixed them this way. Just don't overdo it.

 

[BillieH]

Thanks for the suggestions. I followed flecc's advice and had another go cleaning and prising the contacts out a bit. I noticed one was harder than the other to move. Anyway this didn't work, the light came on for a fraction of a second and that was it. I was preparing to try the vaseline thing, but then decided to put a bit of aluminium foil into the contacts on the battery and this worked. I then figured out that it was only the rear connector causing a problem - i.e. it will work with no foil in the front connector.

Note I said the rear connector looks a bit out of shape. On closer inspection I can see some of the surrounding plastic has actually melted a bit - I attach 2 photos. The metal contact was actually stuck to the plastic on one side. I am concerned to know how this has happened, the battery was bought in April. So, I guess I can use the bike with a scrap of aluminium foil, but how reliable would that be and might this happen again? Also the battery is under warranty, could this have been caused by water, should I send it back?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Old_Dave]

I am concerned to know how this has happened,

Misalignment of the prong that fits into the connector..

This in turn caused a 'poor' contact, and due to the poor contact gave a higher resistance than a normal connection..

Pass current through a connection with resistance = heat

Heat + Plastic = Melt

QED

For a long term cure, cleaning and realigning the contacts / prongs may be a better option than foil

 

[BillieH]

Hello again,

I have been persevering with aluminium foil, but this problem is getting worse. It is now obvious that overheating of one contact is deforming the plastic surround on the battery, and damage now extends to the the area around the battery socket on the bike.

Sorry, I have pictures, but I have failed to upload them today. Also I took the battery off yesterday and again it was stuck, on removal it was apparent that the aluminium foil had melted. I did try to lever in the contacts as flecc suggested by putting something behind the metal contacts on the battery, but this failed to make a good contact - hence the Al foil.

I am reluctant to use the bike in this state, but don't see how this can be easily resolved, any further thoughts??

 

[hech]

Hi Billie, you probably just as well getting a new container. The battery itself is probably just fine and is the expensive bit. A new container should only cost a tenner if you buy it in China, or get your shop to swap them. Is the frame connection melted also?

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi BillieH,

Are the battery mounting plate connection pins in good condition?

Have you checked the wiring under the plate for damage?

If you have concerns about the battery and you bought it from Cyclezee, please return it for testing, even if you didn't get the battery from us we will check it for you and only charge for carriage, best of all and depending on where you are located send or bring the whole bike.

Regards,

 

[BillieH]

Hi,

Here are the images. Yes John, I did buy it from you, I'll give you a call tomorrow. I don't think there is anything wrong with the battery as such. Maybe it doesn't fit as well in the older frame? The plastic underneath the connectors on the bike seems damaged, and the meeting parts on the battery,

Thanks