@AssyRequired - I am in Phoenix
This one is titled- Hey Rocky, Watch me pull a rabbit out of a hat!!
One more random thought for you to try/look for-
Start at your charger and identify the 72v bundle coming out (not the 120v going in).
Follow and inspect the wires as that go out and interface with your car. If there is a plug along the way, pull it apart and look for dirty connections, heat damage, bad crimp, frayed wires or anything off normal. Specifically if the wire is red or black. If a wire ends in a ring terminal make sure the crimp is tight and the ring is clean.
Follow it to wherever it terminates and eventually connects to bigger wires that lead to the battery pack.
Take note if the black wire connects to frame or B-.
lt probably just goes to the motor controller, but maybe also to the electrical box on the dash(aka the PSDM).
Take note where the red wire ends up. I think it should go the the B+ side of the contactor or possibly the B+ lug on the PSDM. Just as a test, remove that red wire and run a jumper wire directly over to the +72v (pos) lug on the battery and see if your charger acts any different. (MAKE SURE you pick the correct post in the pack to hook that wire to). If your battery is full you may need to burn some amps out of it to get your charger to ramp up a couple of clicks. I suppose if it is a PITA to remove the wire just for this test you could just leave it and shut off the main breaker and clamp another wire on to the post. Use a pretty thick wire. Maybe 12 or 10ga?
Theory: There may be a loose/bad connection on the charge path. It is just good enough to show the charger that there is a pack on the other end, but when any current is pushed, resistance goes up, charger sees V going up and throttles back thinking battery is full.
The bad connect probably isnāt in your draw/motor path because your car runs great when batts are charged.
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Interesting theoryā¦ OK - I will try that as well. I went through the painful process of charging up the batteries one at a time with a 12V charger, and the Delta Q finally kicked inā¦ It is gurrently in green flashing mode, so I kinda dont want to touch it for the moment.
After I get a solid green, I will spin it around the neighborhood a bit, and change that charging profile back to 13 to see if I can get it to charge.
If I still dont get good results, I will change it back to 126, and work on the procedure you outline above.
I still like your theory of the profile being wrongā¦ I found a statement somewhere that the 126 code was only compatible with fullriver for some reasonā¦ I still think I need to get it to charge on a GEM profile.
Thanks again for your support!
Travis
How high did you have to get before the charger kicked in?
Did all the batteries come up Ok?
What was the finish voltage at green light?
@AssyRequired - I probably wasnt as dilligent as I should have been on the readings prior to getting the charger to kick in. I was just so happy to see it charging again that I slowly backed awayā¦ It appeared the batteries were all in the 12.6-12.9 range, though. All of them appeared to take a charge just fine.
At green light - 13.3, 13.18, 13.06, 13.06, 13.20, 13.20. And at the main contactor under the dash I had 79.3.
I just took it for a 2 mile spin. Everything seemed to work perfectly. Brought it home, plugged it in again, and it entered what appears to be the standard 126 charging mode, which is a flashing amber on #1. I will go out and check it again in a couple hours.
Funny thing happened about 3 minutes into this chargeā¦ the LCD dash was lit up with the yellow cord and the battery bars. I heard the charger relay click a couple of times, and when it did this, the dash blinked off, on, off, on a couple times. Ended with it on, and the same blinking amber on the charger.
Typically it comes on with charge icon and the SOC then the SOC goes out in a few seconds(?), leaving a dark display and the charge icon.
It sounds like the charger was resetting or the interlock relay in the charger is having commitment issues.
Again, bad contact somewhere.
Have you done a load test yet on these batteries? Either with a tester or your meter with a brakestand.
My suspicion yetā¦
Run it down!
Hey @Inwo - Yep - I ran it down to zero on Fridayā¦ Had to limp home on turtle mode after about 10 miles. Plugged it in after this and I was back to 4 blinking reds on the charger. That was why I charged each battery manually again to get the onboard charger to kick in again.
@AssyRequired - I will start lookking for a bad connection. I have not done a load testā¦ Just used my little handheld battery analyzer, and got āgood batteryā on all of them, for what it is worth.
One last thingā¦ This morning, I got a green light, took it for a 2 mile spin, and it ran perfectly. When I got back home LCD battery monitor showed one green bar goneā¦ Switched the charger to profile 13 and plugged it in. No dice - it still just lights up the AC light, and there is no difference on voltage on the main contactor. So I am convinced 13 is still not charging at all. Switched back to 126, and it is charging again now.
I made an appointment to bring it to the dealer tomorrow. Was hoping to avoid this, so I will check connections later today, but otherwise hopefully the dealer will be able to help. My suspicion is that they will try to sell me a new charger. What does a new charger cost?
I can update software and load new profiles in it , Gel, lead and agm. But you would have to ship it to me. Also have new chargers for sale $360 and in the future, this model can be updated to lithium. Let me know if I can help.
The only reason I suggested to take it back to the dealer would be to see if they would step up and reprogram it for free. You being the next owner in the chain itās probably not likely, but thought you might try.
If it is a PITA then make sure that is what you really want to do.
Also, Iād hate for you to go through the effort if it was not necessary.
LG here can do a checkup/reload more profiles (assuming at a price) but you have to remove the charger and ship it to him (in FL). Post is maybe $25 each way. And you are without your car for a week?
If you do go the dealer route, donāt take it to them with a full battery. Run it down more than what you just did. I donāt want them to just plug it in and itāll look normal to them. If you do want a new charger donāt let them take the old one away. It might be totally fixable.
OK - just got back from the dealerā¦ they did a couple of things
- Confirmed that it has Fullriver Version 1-26-0 software on it
- Confirmed the battery temperature sensor is working fine
- Loaded algotithyms 5 and 6 on it, and set 5 to the default
- Determined that the chargerās internal temperature sensor is what is keeping the batteries from charging properly
- Quoted me $950 for a new charger
Does anyone know if the internal temperature sensor is fixable?
Thanks,
Travis
Should be.
Did they get flashing āammeterā leds?
Send charger to me and Iāll put your wires on a new generic DQ charger, program to #5.
$450 refundable for any reason.
1-26-0 confirms charger will only work on your 126. All the Gem profiles are dead.
@inwo - stil got the flashing ammeter LED, but this time, when I brought it home, I took it for my standard 2 mile test drive and plugged it it. Prior trials have required about 8 hours to get a green, this time I got a green light after labout 2ā¦ I am going to run it around for a longer ride tonight and give it another try. Hoping the #5 profile is doing better than #126ā¦
I must have missed it. Did you report that?
Iāll need to review the thread.
See it now. Flashing amber on #1. Doh, sorry I missed it.
Prior trials have required about 8 hours to get a green, this time I got a green light after about 2ā¦
Iād be careful about using this as a sign of success. There are a few things in play here.
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Your pack has not really been taxed for several days now but have had the benefit of being topped off several times trying to get the charger to work.
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Switching to a profile that most likely has a lower finish voltage will obviously go to green light faster. It doesnāt have to work near as hard to get in that last .01v that the batteries donāt want to go.
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The dealer confirmed your charger is limiting itself. Get that fixed. You have a couple paths for r/r options.
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There is a good chance that your pack is still hurt no matter how the charger issue works out (be prepared for disappointment). Next time you run it around for a while, do another battery check before plugging it in. You did a pack scan at Full, but not after you ran it for a bit. I donāt recall reports of a LOAD test either.
@AssyRequired - Got it - thanks for the reality check! I did take it for a 6.5 mile spin last night, ran perfect. Plugged it in and got a #1 amber, solid (not flashing). Left it overnight and had a green light in the morning.
Here are the results of the load test I did this morning:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Voltage | 12.8 | 12.76 | 12.72 | 12.72 | |||
| Voltage prior to load | 12.8 | 12.66 | 12.55 | 12.57 | |||
| Voltage under load | 11.94 | 11.83 | 11.82 | 11.8 | |||
| 5 | 6 | ||||||
| Initial Voltage | 12.74 | 12.74 | |||||
| Voltage prior to load | 12.6 | 12.6 | |||||
| Voltage under load | 11.73 | 11.76 | |||||
1, 2, 3, and 4 are the batteries under the seat, and 5, 6, are in the back - above the rear axle. Moving from driverās side to passenger side.
looks like it is working properly.
@LithiumGods - OK - so those readings make you think the batteries are OK?
no way of telling until you run them and see how many miles you get. But it appears the charger is working right.