Pendleton Somerby Battery Problems

[plymouthpirate]

As vfr and I have indicated access the BMS ribbon connector first and disconnect it ( the connector is white and will have 10 or 11 thin sense wires attached).
When you have reached this stage we can guide you to take the necessary 10 cell group voltages via the ribbon/sense wire connector.
For your meter test it by measuring any other type of battery to make sure it is reading correct otherwise simply put a new battery in it so no erroneous readings are given.

I had a forum user bring to me a battery recently it takes longer to undo and remove the internal battery pack then it does to take the voltage readings. The silverfish one I looked at had silicone applied both ends so it needed carefully removing before the pack could be slid out.

Okay, I will replace the battery in my multimeter as suggested and then have a look to see if I can remove the outer case first. Thanks for your advice.

 

[Nealh]

Okay, I will replace the battery in my multimeter as suggested and then have a look to see if I can remove the outer case first. Thanks for your advice.

The battery pack it self as it stands is U/S so there is nothing lost in removing the inner pack to take a few readings, if it is found to be past recovery then a re - cell is on the cards however if it is recoverable and remains so then for at least now you will have saved spending £200 - £300 in the short term.

 

[Arti]

Hi my Pendleton is new and has been fine until after the first battery change. The on/ off light is flashing on the high setting

 

[vfr400]

Hi my Pendleton is new and has been fine until after the first battery change. The on/ off light is flashing on the high setting

You'll have to take it back to Halfords for them to fix it. It's covered by warranty.

 

[Nealh]

As vfr has said take it back to the shop, the only time a battery is worth playing with is when there is no warranty to sort it out or is second hand which equates much to the same thing.

 

[Deleted member 16246]

I hope it is OK to re-awaken this thread about re-awakening the Pendleton Somersby batteries, but I've just done this with a bike we bought the other day. My partner bought a bike that had a 'dead' battery. The bike was little used - immaculate really, and had been left unused and uncharged for over a year. The seller told us she could not charge the battery, and that the charger light just stayed green. We knew there was a risk we would need to spend a significant amount on a new battery, but after some investigation on line, I saw a technique described as 'jump starting' the dead battery by briefly and cautiously charging it through its output or motor port.

We got the bike and battery home and I took some voltage measurements. There was 0 volts on the charging port pins and about one volt on the motor or output port. I concluded that the BMS was shut down and that the battery cells were probably very very low, possibly with completely dead cells.

I double checked the output port polarity and connected appropriately coloured wires to the contacts and connected a non Pendleton 36v Lithium charger to the wires - double checking polarity and watching carefully for any adverse reaction. I used a different charger because it was easier to connect it to the wires I was using, than it would have been with the din plug output on the Pendleton one. The connection was in parallel to my multi meter set on DC voltage measurement. At first the charger light stayed green, but the voltage measurement slowly raised to about 20volts and then the red light came on on the charger. Over couple of minutes the now charging battery voltage rose to about 30 volts, and I then disconnected the charger from the output port and inserted the correct charger in the correct port, and it switched on and began charging.

We kept the charging battery under supervision and over five hours or so, it charged normally and cut off at 41.8 volts. I left the voltmeter connected and went to bed. Next morning, the voltage remained at 41.6 volts, and on reinstalling the battery on the bike, the outfit performed flawlessly with strong power in the high assistance settings, pushing the bike up steep hills with considerable pep. My partner and I then went for a sixteen mile ride on our bikes and the Pendleton was great. All the battery lights were still lit at the end of the ride, but after an hour for cooling down, I re-charged it and after two hours the charger cut off and the bike is ready for its next adventure.

I wonder how many perfectly good Pendleton batteries are lying in land fill right now. Halfords could easily recover them, but perhaps that would not suit their bottom line quite as much as shaking their heads, shrugging their shoulders and offering the customer a £300 replacement. Given that Lithium and cobalt used in these batteries are rather scarce elements, it's a heck of a waste.

Do take care if you use this method. You must not create short circuits on the output port and you MUST NOT try to fully charge a battery on this port. The battery would be completely unprotected from over charging and there might be a risk of damage and fire if a charger was left connected to this port. The method is purely to kick the BMS back into life. As soon as the voltage has raised so it can charge on the correct port, use the correct port.