As he has owned the kit for few years Marc must know how to charge the battery.

The battery should be switched off when charging, but to test the voltage on the output side it needs to be switched on. To test at the input side it can either be on or off.

32.6v is not good, based on the age and provided that it has been looked after it should be between 41 and 42v.

The output from the charger should be 42v.

There are two blade type fuses inside the battery which might be worth checking, but I advise against this, if you don't know what you are doing it can be dangerous.

Lithium Ion batteries need to have a top up charge every three months if not being used for an extended period of time.

I would be happy to check both the battery and charger free of charge.

According to what you've written above, you charged it with the battery switched off, because you said you turned it on after charging. Switch on the battery first, and then charge it.

If it still doesn't charge when the battery is switched on, the next step is to measure the voltage between the two pins on the battery's charge socket that are furthest apart from each other. 0v means that the charging fuse in the battery is blown.

 

If you get the same voltage as the output terminals (32v), you then need to check the voltage between the outer two pins on the charger (with it switched on). It should show 42v. Be careful to only touch the pins your probes. Don't short them both to the outer shroud. You need a steady hand. It's spmetimes easier to unscrew the connector and measure inside at the ends of the wires.

Thanks guys.

 

Firstly, yes i have always charged the battery while switched off which i presumed was correct, including while doing these checks.

 

Secondly, even after last night's 4 hours charge, just now there was only 1 LED lit and after riding for 5 seconds it completely died so last night's charge actually didn't do anything.

 

Third, see picture for proof of me testing the battery while on. Again it shows 32.7. I then used the probes to check the charging socket with the battery on and it shows 0v. For completeness i then checked the charger while switched on and it read 41.5v.

 

Just to clarify something as well, there has been a couple of times over the last couple of years that it may have been more than a few months without use but i always charged it before putting it away. Also I'm not sure if it was as long as 3 months in between uses. It was always stored in a dry shed on a shelf so wasn't at risk of damp or heat.

I told you that if you get 0v on the charge socket, the charging fuse in the battery is blown. That's why it won't charge.

 

You shouldn't try and run your bike with only 32v. You can damage the battery like that. Fix the fuse, charge the battery and then ride it.

I told you that if you get 0v on the charge socket, the charging fuse in the battery is blown. That's why it won't charge.

 

You shouldn't try and run your bike with only 32v. You can damage the battery like that. Fix the fuse, charge the battery and then ride it.

Cheers d8veh.

 

Any instructions i can read how to do this and is it a certain type of fuse?

Ask Cyclezee. He should be able to give precise instructions, since it's one of his batteries. I can only give general instructions, which would be to look round the outside of the battery for anything with a cross shape in it, otherwise, unscrew the case and follow the wires from the charge socket.

 

The problem could also be a wire off somewhere between the charge socket and the battery/BMS, so it's probably worth opening the case anyway.

Hi Marc,

 

OK, so we have now established that the charger is working and the output voltage is correct.

The voltage of the battery has not risen so we can assume that a fuse has blown and/or for whatever reason the charging circuit is faulty.

As I said previously the eZee FP battery has two internal spade type fuses and the case needs to opened up to access them.

If you feel confident to do so open up the case by removing the four Philips head screws on the underside of the case and one of the screws on the input socket, you can then separate the two halves of the case and locate the fuses. I would suggest taking a photo at this stage and posting it on the forum or emailing to me.

If you are not happy about doing this yourself, I can do it for you if you send it to me.

Hi Marc,

 

OK, so we have now established that the charger is working and the output voltage is correct.

The voltage of the battery has not risen so we can assume that a fuse has blown and/or for whatever reason the charging circuit is faulty.

As I said previously the eZee FP battery has two internal spade type fuses and the case needs to opened up to access them.

If you feel confident to do so open up the case by removing the four Philips head screws on the underside of the case and one of the screws on the input socket, you can then separate the two halves of the case and locate the fuses. I would suggest taking a photo at this stage and posting it on the forum or emailing to me.

If you are not happy about doing this yourself, I can do it for you if you send it to me.

 

thanks guys, i will take a look tomorrow. i think i'll be okay opening it up. what are the fuses like then, a car type fuse? i think you mentioned there are 2, how will i know which one to replace?

 

thanks again.

It'll be the one that's blown, and the one that's on the charger wire.

thanks guys, i will take a look tomorrow. i think i'll be okay opening it up. what are the fuses like then, a car type fuse? i think you mentioned there are 2, how will i know which one to replace?

 

thanks again.

You should be able to see which one is blown. If in doubt, use your meter to test.

 

Select 200 ohm range (on yours, about 7-o-clock). First, observe display with test leads not connected (infinity). Then observe reading when test leads touched together. You should get close to 0 ohm.

 

Take the suspect fuse out, then repeat test across it. You will get close to 0 ohms if it's good, infinity if blown.

Right, here is the picture, i have took the fuses out.

Pick 1 is open case with fuses out roughly located where they are meant to be slotted.

Pick 2 is the tester with what i believe it's the correct setting but not connected to anything.

With that setting on the metre it shows as 1.

Connected to the green 30 fuse which isn't by the charging socket it shows 00.3 and made a noise.

Connected to the red 10 fuse that is by the charging socket it reads the 1. as if not attached at all and makes no noise

The red 10A fuse is the charge fuse. You should be able to see if it's blown without the meter. There's a little "S" of wire that you can see inside. The 30A fuse will still have its one, so you can see what it's supposed to look like. There should be a spare fuse in your car fusebox. There's usually a couple of them away from the rest that you can see are not actually connected to anything. Borrow one for now. You can replace it later, otherwise you get one from anywhere that sells car parts.Get a couple in case it goes again.

The red 10A fuse is the charge fuse. You should be able to see if it's blown without the meter. There's a little "S" of wire that you can see inside. The 30A fuse will still have its one, so you can see what it's supposed to look like. There should be a spare fuse in your car fusebox. There's usually a couple of them away from the rest that you can see are not actually connected to anything. Borrow one for now. You can replace it later, otherwise you get one from anywhere that sells car parts.Get a couple in case it goes again.

 

Cheers mate. I've ordered a pack off ebay. Is it worth swapping out the 30 as well while I'm in there? Does it get very much wear?

Edited June 28, 201510 yr by marc.knuckle

Fuses don't wear they just blow when there is to much current.

Fuses don't wear they just blow when there is to much current.

Is there a reason this one may have blown? I didn't do anything different while charging.

You won't know until you put the new one in. Test that the battery charges before you screw it alll back together. Do you or did you plug the charger into the battery before you switch it on? That can't be good for the fuse, so do it the other way round, i.e. switch on the charger before you plug it into the battery.

Finding a reason or fault finding could be anything. Damp, shorting, shock or just over current in which case the fuse is doing its job and protecting the pcb and cells, not much different to fuses in cars when they occassionallly blow.

You won't know until you put the new one in. Test that the battery charges before you screw it alll back together. Do you or did you plug the charger into the battery before you switch it on? That can't be good for the fuse, so do it the other way round, i.e. switch on the charger before you plug it into the battery.

i invariably get muddled about this - not least because plugging it in first and switching it on can go with a spark as one plugs it into the battery, for being clear: is it plug into wall, plug into charger, switch on at wall?

i invariably get muddled about this - not least because plugging it in first and switching it on can go with a spark as one plugs it into the battery, for being clear: is it plug into wall, plug into charger, switch on at wall?

That's the way to blow the fuse and burn all the contacts.

 

It's especially bad for any battery with a jack plug like the bottle batteries because they have a spring contact that gets worn, then, when you pull out the jack, the contact is pulled out with it until it touches the middle one, whereupon you get that lovely plasma flash and a very difficult repair because the special sockets are not generally available.

 

My advice: Always plug in and switch on the charger before plugging it into the battery.

This is charging advice from eZee.

 

Always plug your battery into the charger BEFORE turning the charger on /

plugging it in - If your charger shows a green light within a couple of minutes

of being switched on, it could be that your battery is fully charged or that the

charger has "misread" the battery. If you think the charger is at fault, switch off

the charger, unplug the battery, leave it one minute, then re-connect the battery and switch on the charger.

 

Please note all eZee batteries have a female XLR socket.

 

This link gives further information about eZee FP batteries and was created by Grin Technologies http://www.ebikes.ca/documents/B3615_eZee_Manual_Rev1.3.pdf

What do you advise then, John?

I'd also like an answer as it seems I've been charging it correctly in ezee's opinion but not in d8veh's.

'd also like an answer as it seems I've been charging it correctly in ezee's opinion but not in d8veh's.

Me too, two opposing opinions from much respected members.

Fight?