Dilemma with replacing my SLA batteries
- Thread starter Footie
- Start date
It's typical - When ever I try something it's always a problem.
I am trying to wire the new battery in but instead of one fuse I have two - little bit confused.
I think I have worked it out but a second oppinion would be helpful.
I know I have to add another wire to the charging wires but I'm not sure where or what to conect it to - help.
WireUp on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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I am trying to wire the new battery in but instead of one fuse I have two - little bit confused.
I think I have worked it out but a second oppinion would be helpful.
I know I have to add another wire to the charging wires but I'm not sure where or what to conect it to - help.
WireUp on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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Footie, the photo looks father confusing, what is the object to the right?
The correct way is the two thick wires go to the controller with a fuse in the positive wire, and the thin wires go only to the charger, taking care in both cases to get negative and positive the correct way round.
With batteries such as this the charger wiring must be kept entirely separate from the "discharge" wiring, unlike the previous SLA arangement where some wiring may have been common. This may mean moving the charger socket or providing a new one as it is vital that the thin charger wires connect only to the supplied charger.
The correct way is the two thick wires go to the controller with a fuse in the positive wire, and the thin wires go only to the charger, taking care in both cases to get negative and positive the correct way round.
With batteries such as this the charger wiring must be kept entirely separate from the "discharge" wiring, unlike the previous SLA arangement where some wiring may have been common. This may mean moving the charger socket or providing a new one as it is vital that the thin charger wires connect only to the supplied charger.
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Hi Ian - you answered just in time and saved me screwing it up.
Yes there seems to be common wire for the discharge and charge, which is what's confusing me.
At the moment the charging system seems to go through the switch (don't see how that works).
Anyway, I have to keep the two separate - ok.
Do I do away with the second fuse or keep it in?
Where do I splice in the new positive for the charger?
Before or after the fuse?
The object on the right is the head cap of the battery box (containing the key switch and charger plug).
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Yes there seems to be common wire for the discharge and charge, which is what's confusing me.
At the moment the charging system seems to go through the switch (don't see how that works).
Anyway, I have to keep the two separate - ok.
Do I do away with the second fuse or keep it in?
Where do I splice in the new positive for the charger?
Before or after the fuse?
The object on the right is the head cap of the battery box (containing the key switch and charger plug).
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Give me 15 mins and I'll post a diagram Footie, I'm assuming there is only one positive wire from the new battery.
Yes - one positive.
I will go have a coffee
I have uploaded another photo showing the cap.
WireUp2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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I will go have a coffee
I have uploaded another photo showing the cap.
WireUp2 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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This should make it clear Footie.
You only need one fuse, the charger should have its own built in protection.
You only need one fuse, the charger should have its own built in protection.
Thanks Ian.
From the picture you say to splice the extra positive wire after the fuse - ok.
On final question before I go cut the rest of the wires.
At the moment the key switch is between the battery and the fuse, should I alter the wires so the fuse is between the battery and the switch?
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Edit:
Sorry just noticed the diagramme says the switch is after the fuse - next time I will put my glasses on.
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From the picture you say to splice the extra positive wire after the fuse - ok.
On final question before I go cut the rest of the wires.
At the moment the key switch is between the battery and the fuse, should I alter the wires so the fuse is between the battery and the switch?
.
Edit:
Sorry just noticed the diagramme says the switch is after the fuse - next time I will put my glasses on.
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The fuse could go after the switch if that means less work, and the + charger wire could connect on the battery side of the fuse if that's easier.
It is though generally regarded as good practice to put the fuse as as close as possible to the battery as that gives maximum protection against short circuits.
It is though generally regarded as good practice to put the fuse as as close as possible to the battery as that gives maximum protection against short circuits.
The battery is now all wired up and back together.
It's a lot lighter - nearly smacked myself in the face as I picked it up, was expecting the usual heavy weight
Just plugged the charger in.
The two red lights have come on and the charger fan started whizzing - I think that means it's charging.
One red light just went green (fan stopped) light went red again and fan started again. I suppose this is the BMS in operation, probably how it will go until it's charged.
Here's a final picture of the wiring before I put the top back on.
WireUp_Final on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I must add a thankyou to Ian for his help in clearing up my confusion over the wiring.
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It's a lot lighter - nearly smacked myself in the face as I picked it up, was expecting the usual heavy weight
Just plugged the charger in.
The two red lights have come on and the charger fan started whizzing - I think that means it's charging.
One red light just went green (fan stopped) light went red again and fan started again. I suppose this is the BMS in operation, probably how it will go until it's charged.
Here's a final picture of the wiring before I put the top back on.
WireUp_Final on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I must add a thankyou to Ian for his help in clearing up my confusion over the wiring.
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Nice one Footie. Beeps posted earlier that that the battery requires a 10 hour first charge during which the charger will keep going off and on, sound like that's what's it's doing. 10 hours is going to take a bit of patience though!
This is my last intended entry on this thread, as this is the report on the test run with the new battery – an opportune point to bring this to a conclusion
I just took the electric bike out for it’s first test run with the new battery – and I am very impressed with the results. I exceeded the previous maximum distance point of 7.5 miles comfortably. The first light went out at around 10 miles and the second one was dimming when I stopped at around 13 miles. Unfortunately, the battery was performing better than my knees, which is what brought the test to an end.
Down hills = No power, 6th gear – (16-25mph)
Flat = No power, 5th & 6th gear – (14-16mph)
Flat with headwind = power, 4th & 5th gear – (14-15mph)
Up hill = Power, 3rd, 4th & 5th gear – (11-14mph)
The stats from my Cateye Vel08 were as follows:
Distance= 13.35 miles
Avr speed: 13.3 mph
Max speed: 25.0 mph
The bike is noticeably lighter and the drag is greatly reduced. I was able to maintain 14-15mph on the flat easily without the need for power. It’s more like a normal bike now. When I did apply power I kept it to the minimum. The top speed was up by 1-2 mph and I could still feel the motor slightly nudging me at 16.2 mph. The hill to Tesco’s was interesting, I was able to get about two-thirds of the way up it in second at around 8 mph. Normally first gear all the way. The last (steep) section was first gear at 6 mph. I didn’t get any cutouts under full load, which is good.
I found I was getting well ahead of the gears, especially down the steeper hills and was peddling air a lot of the time. I think maybe I should consider some changes to the back cog, to allow me to take advantage of the increased freewheel.
I think the desired minimum range of 15 miles on these challenging North Cornwall Hills is now possible, maybe perhaps a little bit more once the battery beds in
.
I just took the electric bike out for it’s first test run with the new battery – and I am very impressed with the results. I exceeded the previous maximum distance point of 7.5 miles comfortably. The first light went out at around 10 miles and the second one was dimming when I stopped at around 13 miles. Unfortunately, the battery was performing better than my knees, which is what brought the test to an end.
Down hills = No power, 6th gear – (16-25mph)
Flat = No power, 5th & 6th gear – (14-16mph)
Flat with headwind = power, 4th & 5th gear – (14-15mph)
Up hill = Power, 3rd, 4th & 5th gear – (11-14mph)
The stats from my Cateye Vel08 were as follows:
Distance= 13.35 miles
Avr speed: 13.3 mph
Max speed: 25.0 mph
The bike is noticeably lighter and the drag is greatly reduced. I was able to maintain 14-15mph on the flat easily without the need for power. It’s more like a normal bike now. When I did apply power I kept it to the minimum. The top speed was up by 1-2 mph and I could still feel the motor slightly nudging me at 16.2 mph. The hill to Tesco’s was interesting, I was able to get about two-thirds of the way up it in second at around 8 mph. Normally first gear all the way. The last (steep) section was first gear at 6 mph. I didn’t get any cutouts under full load, which is good.
I found I was getting well ahead of the gears, especially down the steeper hills and was peddling air a lot of the time. I think maybe I should consider some changes to the back cog, to allow me to take advantage of the increased freewheel.
I think the desired minimum range of 15 miles on these challenging North Cornwall Hills is now possible, maybe perhaps a little bit more once the battery beds in
.
That's great to hear!
My Ping battery arrived yesterday. I've just spent a bit of time soldering on wires and connectors and it has just gone on to charge. I had a bit of a fright as the first time I tried to charge it, a couple of my solder joints melted after a couple of seconds, but it seems ok this time.
Footie or anyone else who has one of these, do you know what the two lights mean? I started with one red and one green. Now I have two red. Is that normal? When do you know when it is finished - two green??
Frank
PS - meant to say thanks to Ian for posting the wiring diagram. It was helpful for me too. I thought I knew what to do anyway, but I got a tidier result following it!
My Ping battery arrived yesterday. I've just spent a bit of time soldering on wires and connectors and it has just gone on to charge. I had a bit of a fright as the first time I tried to charge it, a couple of my solder joints melted after a couple of seconds, but it seems ok this time.
Footie or anyone else who has one of these, do you know what the two lights mean? I started with one red and one green. Now I have two red. Is that normal? When do you know when it is finished - two green??
Frank
PS - meant to say thanks to Ian for posting the wiring diagram. It was helpful for me too. I thought I knew what to do anyway, but I got a tidier result following it!
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The lights confused me, so I emailed Ping about them.
One is the power light - red all the time.
The other is the charging light - switches red to green, red when charging, green when charged.
My battery must have been almost fully charged because the charger went red/green for about ten minutes then sat for almost 12 hours on green, until I switched it off.
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One is the power light - red all the time.
The other is the charging light - switches red to green, red when charging, green when charged.
My battery must have been almost fully charged because the charger went red/green for about ten minutes then sat for almost 12 hours on green, until I switched it off.
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I'm very pleased with my LiFePO4 battery from Ping. I've given it three charge/discharges to condition it. The first charge gave about 21 miles, 23 the second day and almost 30 today (flat terrain).
No cut-outs or other faults. Charger working well.
I've made a box to protect it, cut down from an old, thick cardboard box that a TV came in. It's a similar shape and weight to the Wisper battery, and sits easily in a pannier.
At £150 for 36v / 10Ah, delivered to the UK, evidence to date suggests it is the best additional battery option going. Let's hope they age well!
Frank
No cut-outs or other faults. Charger working well.
I've made a box to protect it, cut down from an old, thick cardboard box that a TV came in. It's a similar shape and weight to the Wisper battery, and sits easily in a pannier.
At £150 for 36v / 10Ah, delivered to the UK, evidence to date suggests it is the best additional battery option going. Let's hope they age well!
Frank
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Glad all's well with your battery Frank.
Cycled mine today until it cutout - reached 18.5 miles (knees are sore now). Very pleased with it.
I also had a chap in a 4x4 pull me over to ask about the bike - that's a first
LiFePo4 Test on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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Cycled mine today until it cutout - reached 18.5 miles (knees are sore now). Very pleased with it.
I also had a chap in a 4x4 pull me over to ask about the bike - that's a first
LiFePo4 Test on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
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