Ping Battery

[Psycosis]

I can probably answer that question easily.
I let the BMS do its stuff for about 24 hours after its first charge until all the lights stopped flashing.

I think the BMS broke friday morning as i forgot to turn the charger on thursday night and had to ride into work with what juice was left on the battery. The charger knocked out the BMS and maybe the cells ended up being incorrectly balanced on my ride to work.

I will test it out when i get the new BMS and check the individual cells and post up the results.

 

[Fordulike]

So for my information
Is it a normal thing for cells to become unbalanced doing use, requiring the BMS to rebalance them?
I would have thought that they would discharge at the same rate after the initial charge/balance.
I am still wet behind the ears regarding battery technology.

 

[NRG]

Over time yes they will become unbalanced. Cells are not alll perfect and identical, each will discharge and charge slightly different hence they become unbalanced.

 

[Psycosis]

I have received my new BMS, as you can see from my work i am not a master electronics expert.
The blue wire goes off to one of the charging leads, one black lead goes off to the battery and the final one is the negative discharge lead.


I plugged the white connector back in and as of yet there are no lights on the battery and the voltage from the discharge leads are 46.5V. I am waiting back from Mr Ping to see if there is anything else i should do.

Still charging after this post and the BMS hasn't started flashing yet, hoping to see something shortly since with a 5amp charger running for nearly 4 hours it should be full.
Here is a test after another charger was used and another 5 hours. Seems the figures are creeping up.
#1-#2 3.03v
#2-#3 3.01v
#3-#4 2.58v
#4-#5 2.82v
#5-#6 3.02v
#6-#7 2.73v
#7-#8 2.99v
#8-#9 2.92v
#9-#10 3.0v
#10-#11 2.60v
#11-#12 3.02v
#12-#13 2.97v
#13-#14 2.97v
#14-#15 2.96v
#15-#16 2.97v
#16-“B-“ 2.85v

 

[Psycosis]

After doing some more tests on the two red wires (they terminate at the same place on the battery) there was resistance.
I opened up the battery and the connections were solid so i pulled the XLR connector off.
A casual look and tug on the wires revealed nothing, but i tested both sides on the positive wire and there was a problem, it seems like one of the connectors internally had burnt out and was causing me charging issues.

I decided these connectors aren't up to much so i bought some C14 and C13 connectors and screwed these on. These are the same ones you use on your computer £2.50ish from maplins.
So far so good and my charger has two red lights on and the fan is spinning.
The voltage from the discharge wires is creeping up and it was 52v (up from 46v before)

I tested C- & Red, B- & Red and Black & Red and they all returned the same voltage so thats good news.
This hopefully is the end of the problems, i hope this helps anyone else that has issues with their battery. i will put the battery back on charge tomorrow when i am back in the office so i can monitor it.

I will post up the cell voltages once the bms kicks in.

 

[wurly]

Well good luck. I've been following your battery problem with interest, I couldn't offer any advice, it seemed to me like it was totally fubarred. Hopefully you have found the problem. I did notice that you mentioned peak current hit 50A. Is this good for the battery do you think?

 

[Fordulike]

Maybe you should drop Ping an email and tell him what you found, then he could modify batteries for the future. He seems like a nice understanding chap, willing to keep his customers happy

 

[Psycosis]

I will suggest he changes the connectors because they are particularly weak, and i can't imagine it will cost much to replace them with a more sturdy item.

All my BMS lights are on this morning after 3 hours and 14 minutes on charge and the battery now has a green light showing the battery is fully topped up.
I notice the BMS lights come on and off and the charger still kicks in as the power is being drawn away, so i will leave it all plugged in for the rest of the day to make sure its all Ok.

The discharge wires show 59v which is now in the right region so i think i should be good to go.
I will connect it all back up and see what happens tonight on my ride home.
I was feeling confident so i only bought a single train ticket this morning.

I had a chat to Mr Ping about the peak current and he said the BMS will stop too much power being pulled from the battery and it will shut it down, until the BMS is disconnected and reset the battery won't deliver and power. I think the limit is not too much over 50amps, but obviously just enough to stop me tripping it.

 

[Psycosis]

I received an email from Mr Ping and he said thanks for feedback but he is keeping the XLR connectors as thats the standard for electric bike batteries.

I got home ok last night and back into work, so it looks like everything is good. My B- cable fell off when i was pulling it about, i soldered it back on a bit better when i had an extra pair of hands to hold it in place.

So it looks like the saga is over. Now i need a more suitable controller....

 

[NRG]

That's no 'standard' I've ever heard of must be a Ping standard....

 

[Psycosis]

Thats what i thought as well. But thats his choice.
I am just happy its all working.

I was wondering on the way into work whether this battery will have enough grunt to take me at 30mph all the way into work and back.
Toying with the idea of registering it and making it go faster, but i definately don't want to add more weight since it weighs a ton already.

 

[Psycosis]

I had a little problem on the w2ay into work on Tuesday, the BMS overheated and the plastic surround caught fire. My turnigy meter still shows charge in the battery so all good on that front, just the BMS thats a little bit charred.

Here is a picture, just trying to figure out what i can do about it.

 

[Fordulike]

Sorry to hear about all the troubles you've been having.
On a positive note, it does mean that future buyers of Ping batteries know potential pitfalls.
It won't stop me buying one, but i might mod the battery and BMS container to incorporate a fan. Probably a computer type fan to draw cool air over the BMS.
They have a fairly low current consumption, so can be run from the Ping.
Hope you get it sorted

 

[Psycosis]

That was my plan with this thread, to put as much info up as possible, it may help others to come to a comclusion about where they get their battery from, and some basic troubleshooting steps.

I will order a new BMS as mine is fried, i looked a little closer and some of the legs are missing from the components on the board, so i need a new BMS at $47 (a 5amp charger is $56 if you need a spare) shipping for the pair is $36.

I think i have been unlucky with this, but i have no complaints about the battery.