Electric Bikes Conversion Kits EMTBS eRoad/Commuting What's New?

Required: Battery Repair/Re-build

S

Stitch-Up

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 22, 2014
16
3
Bridgend, South Wales
www.stitch-up.com
Hello all,

I have a Ebco EagleLifestyle LSR-50 Electric Bike. Unfortunately, due to lack of use, the battery pack doesn't seem to have any capacity! The bike will power on but the LCD immediately shows Lo Batt.

I did read somewhere on this forum of a battery repair service and wonder if anyone could contact provide details?

The battery:
36V 10AH Lithium-polymer battery (slides into rear carrier).

Thanks

John
 

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A

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
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Stitch-Up said:
Hello all,

I have a Ebco EagleLifestyle LSR-50 Electric Bike. Unfortunately, due to lack of use, the battery pack doesn't seem to have any capacity! The bike will power on but the LCD immediately shows Lo Batt.

I did read somewhere on this forum of a battery repair service and wonder if anyone could contact provide details?

The battery:
36V 10AH Lithium-polymer battery (slides into rear carrier).

Thanks

John
Click to expand...
Some bike batteries, if left to discharge below a certain level, will not accept a charge from a normal charger anymore, for safety reasons.
There are special chargers, that when a battery is very low, charge with a tiny charge current, till a certain level is reached, when they charge normally again.
But going under charged, does damage a battery.....
The only place I know to buy a "Zero volt charger" (as they are known as) is from Stark bikes, it costs US$100 plus transport.
I know the above is true for Bike Li-ion batteries, but I do not know if your type is the same or not....
Regards
Andy
 
Last edited:
V

vfr400

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Jun 12, 2011
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The battery symbol shows full, so there might be another reason for the fault. If you can find the connector for the LCD, try unplugging it and leaving it overnight, then reconnect and try it again.
 
A

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
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vfr400 said:
The battery symbol shows full, so there might be another reason for the fault. If you can find the connector for the LCD, try unplugging it and leaving it overnight, then reconnect and try it again.
Click to expand...
vfr400 said:
The battery symbol shows full, so there might be another reason for the fault. If you can find the connector for the LCD, try unplugging it and leaving it overnight, then reconnect and try it again.
Click to expand...
If you mean the Green/Red LED on the charger, there are two reasons for a green LED:-
1) Battery fully Charged
2) Battery below safety level of voltage/charge, will not charge anymore till first charged by a "Zero Volt Charger!"
Thats the only way I know to possibly recover it.
But of course this is only one of several possible reasons for your problems, but this appears to be the single best reason at this time.....
A good move at this point is to get hold of a voltmeter to measure the exact battery voltage will help further,as it will help you decide what to do next. If it is very low, then that is your problem.
The special charger, for 36 volt batteries can be bought here:-
https://starkdrive.bike/accessories/0v-recovery-charger/
But may need an extra adapter to fit your own battery connector. Not difficult to make.
Or get a bike shop to "recover" the battery. Its most probably a simple and quick problem to fix. I had it on the battery delivered with my last e-bike. The company lent me such a charger. Since then,no problems.
regards
Andy
 
Nealh

Nealh

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I would check the battery voltage with a meter as the display is wrong, as it does show both a lobat message and has the full battery indicator which is contradictory.
 
Nealh

Nealh

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If technically minded and capable an attempt can be made to recover the battery with out spending £50 or £60 and can be done for next to nothing if you have an old phone charger, a volt meter and a bit of spare time.
 
J

jokskot

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Jul 14, 2018
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If technically minded and capable an attempt can be made to recover the battery with out spending £50 or £60 and can be done for next to nothing if you have an old phone charger, a volt meter and a bit of spare time.

Please expand or provide reference link.
 
A

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
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vfr400 said:
The battery symbol on the LCD that shows how full the battery is.
Click to expand...
That is usually called the SOC or "State Of Charge" indicator.
Its actually simply an indication of voltage level, but in relation to the "empty" and "full" charge levels. Almost the same as a car's tank indicator....
But if there is a bad connection in the battery, corrosion and the like for example, or even just a "dry joint", although it may indicate a full charge when no current is being drawn, when current is "pulled", due to the resistance of the corrosion, the voltage collapses.
Sadly, a bad cell may give a very similar indication.....
It sounds as though professional help is needed, as these batteries, if treated incorrectly, can possible catch fire or even explode.
regards
Andy
 
wheeliepete

wheeliepete

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I did wonder if the low batt. might disappear if OP rode the bike. On my LCD3 and 890 LED displays, I sometimes get a delayed response from the battery indicator after charging. It will display the last state of charge and then change after setting off within a second or two, like it has a memory effect.
 
S

Stitch-Up

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 22, 2014
16
3
Bridgend, South Wales
www.stitch-up.com
Thank you all for the replies and suggestions.

To answer a few of the questions:-
Yes, I have tried to ride the bike but I can't engage any of the three power settings.

I have considered trying to fix this myself as I do have all the gear. The battery is a pack of many individual cells all sealed together in what appears to be some sort of heat shrink with many wires emerging. I'm afraid that if I do split the pack I will pass the point of no return :)

I have measured the voltage and can see 36v BUT, as many will know, while 36v can be displayed, if there's no capacity in the batteries, it wouldn't be able to deliver any amps/power. Also, the battery pack did show signs of 'swelling' and I had a heck of a job trying to remove the pack!

A replacement battery pack for this bike is difficult to find and will cost a lot of money - circa £500.

Cheers

John
 

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wheeliepete

wheeliepete

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Feb 28, 2016
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Sounds like they are LI-polymer pouch cells which do swell with age as the cells break down. Now you have removed the pack from it's case, they may continue to expand. I'm not certain if the Tranz X packs are rebuildable, but it's worth contacting Jimmy to enquire, he is sure to know. I would be very surprised if he would want £500 to rebuild it.
 
Nealh

Nealh

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Once li - pol cells expand they are history, it is an indication of high IR and cell break down. Cells sag terribly and l capacity is lost.
 
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vfr400

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Jun 12, 2011
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wheeliepete said:
I did wonder if the low batt. might disappear if OP rode the bike. On my LCD3 and 890 LED displays, I sometimes get a delayed response from the battery indicator after charging. It will display the last state of charge and then change after setting off within a second or two, like it has a memory effect.
Click to expand...
On your LCD, that's the P5 setting, which is the length of time that the CPU averages the battery voltage before sending it to the display.
 
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vfr400

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Jun 12, 2011
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OP's bike dates back to around 2011, when pouch cells were the norm. The bike uses TransX electrics, which probably means CANbus communication. I can remember Bruce telling us about it, but I'm not sure what exactly was involved because he also mentioned other things, like phone connectivity, which I never heard of on that bike afterwards.

What that means is that you might need to keep the battery management circuit board if you want to get it re-celled. You should mention the possibility or probability of CANbus to Jimmy when you ask for a quote, which will be something like £250. He's been doing bateries long enough to know how to deal with it.
 
BG bicycle

BG bicycle

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Apr 25, 2018
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I believe one of these digital buck cc, cv, power regulators could bring a battery up to voltage. However, without specific monitoring of each parellel cell group not something I would try.

CF3825EE-7C12-4B22-94FF-8ACE950EBA36.jpeg
 
S

Stitch-Up

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 22, 2014
16
3
Bridgend, South Wales
www.stitch-up.com
Thanks again everyone.

As I'm overweight and unfit, I started out with the electric bike and as I improved switched to a traditional bike hence why the Ebco has been 'parked up' for a while! Now, as I'm 66, the benefit of electricity is attractive :)

The bike itself looks as new so it's a shame to give up on it for the sake of a battery BUT, it's dependent on cost of course.

Does anyone have a phone number for Jimmy as I searched with the details posted earlier in this thread and there were lots of returns :)

John
 
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