Has anyone installed the enginer PHEV?

Hey Everyone,

I am back from painting my house. Things look pretty good for our kits. Hey, I decided not to wait for the 4kw batteries and will just go with the 2kw for now. Jack will refund you the difference instantly if you decide to do what I did. So I am gonna go and install this kit tomorrow. Does anyone have a cleat diagram on how to connect the batteries? My computer is down and only have my iPhone for Internet use. I just briefly looked at the cd when I got the kit. And didn't do much with it since I found out it was incomplete. Thanks everyone. BTW, pictures would be great!

 

Just took readings before heading to bed. When I first lifted the cover, the first one stayed unlit (balanced) and the 2nd one did one red dot every 20 seconds or so. But, by the time I finished pushing the buttons over and over to get all the readings (they cycle through them rather fast, or I'm just slow) the red dot lit up for a 2nd or two on both balancers. Not sure if getting the readings unaligned them if that's even possible? Here are the current readings...

Set 1:
3.364-3.372 | 26.94 | .009

Set 2:
3.341-3.350 | 26.76 | .009

I haven't plugged the car back in. I'll drive it for the same 9 mile run tomorrow and check how it compares. Take care.

 

Hey,

I just installed my kit and it is charging right now, has been for an hour.

1. Does anyone know the fuse type for the HV cable(red)? I took it out and misplaced it.

2. One of my balancers will not shut up. Is it because it has a cell that measures 3.9v?

Thanks and I will post data later on tonight.

 

That's too bad. I can understand why it's designed that way (easier/safer), but it seems that it should be possible to eke out a bit more from the pack if the BMS could actually charge the lower voltage cells.

That would explain why the BMS gets stuck beeping if you run the pack too low and one or more cells falls before the warning voltage and isn't able to "bounce" back above the warning level.

 

Yes. You should unplug the charger and let the cells even out. You will notice the reading on that cell has an H in the reading.

I was told for the first 10-12 cycles it is best to not completely charge or discharge the batteries. If you do they will last longer (more cycles) and operate better (hold more charge).

 

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His is beeping because of the one cell being over the limit (3.9V). He shouldn't unplug the balancer, he should let it 'balance' while the charger is unplugged.

 

Yes, on one of my test drives today, I heard the beeping and then immediately turned off the system. After a few minutes, the beeping stopped, which tells me the cell or cells were able to "bounce" back or re-balance. That is why it is important to drive with the car quiet so you can hear the "beep" I can barely hear mine. I'm still in the "break-in" period, so I turned off the system, went home and plugged in. Now I have charged for 2 hours (2kw) and am waiting for the batteries to balance before I use the system again. BTW you can drive your car even though the batteries are not balanced, just don't turn on the system until they are.


JOANNA

 

So who's going to be the first guy to wire in a light/buzzer or even a relay to force the system to shut off when one of the cells goes low?

Seems like that's a "must have" feature...

 

Hey,

Its been 2hrs since I charged it (the charger stopped after 2hrs). One of my battery cells still reads 3.99H. Should I just go and drive this thing? This cell was reading high out of the box. Could this be a sign of a bad cell? BTW, if you need a fuse for the red HV cable, it is a common 20amp automobile fuse. Will let balancers do their job for another 2hrs, totaling 4hrs, and will test the kit this evening. Wish me luck.

 

Which cell is it? If it is #6 it may actually not be high.

If you have a multimeter you can unplug the balancer and check the voltage. You just check each adjacent pair to see if they are flat. The bottom side of the plug gives you just enough metal to make a connection.

I am positive we have a bad balancer. It never shows the correct reading on cell #6.

 

good luck kammssss, may the "juice" be with you

 

No, do not engage the system yet. I let my batteries balance overnight. I was told to let them balance at least 12 hours before your first test drive. If you are impatient and do drive it, it wont break or anything. You will just get more "beeping" and need to balance even more before it works right. Remember, you can still drive the car in normal hybrid mode, just don't turn on the Enginer battery pack until the batteries are balanced.

JOANNA

 

Just back from short test drive, following readings on balancers:

Set 1)
3.330-3.355 | 26.66 | .027

Set 2)
3.312-3.329 | 26.58 | .017

I take it it's safe to plug the car in for 2 hours now?

 

I would go ahead.

I am definately noticing that after charging up a few times the batteries are staying at more equal levels.

 

Hey Boss,

My cell that reads 3.99H is lucky cell number 7.

 

Hey Everyone,

I don't want the EV button to work, so do I still have to connect the ground and the positive wire to make the switch to work? Thanks.

 

Just took readings after being plugged in for 2 hours, then unplugged the car.

Set 1:
3.389-3.475 | 27.25 | .105

Set 2:
3.341-3.458 | 26.91 | .113

So at what point you think it's safe to plug it in again or does it need to be driven first? I'll check it in a few hours. Would charging it twice a day if I gave it hours to balance while unplugged be a bad idea?

 

3.5 hours later readings are...

Set 1)
3.364-3.374 | 26.96 | .009

Set 2)
3.341-3.351 | 26.76 | .010

I replugged the car back in since it seemed the numbers are close enough and not over charged, I'll unplug in 2 hours again. Let me know if I'm doing anything wrong. Take care all.

2 hour later edit...

Set 1)
3.389-3.426 | 27.18 | .052

Set 2)
3.351-3.429 | 26.95 | .078

Unplugged car after taking readings, going to bed. Are my numbers looking correct? Showing 2 green lights on the what-cha-ma-call-it. Was one green and one red when I plugged it in I believe.

Morning edit new readings are...

Set 1)
3.359-3,368 | 26.91 | .009

Set 2)
3.341-3.349 | 26.75 | .008

I replugged the car back in. I'm now seeing overall my voltage is not really increasing. Are these normal broken in rates or do I need to do more charges per day and if so, at what variance is OK to replug the car back in?

 

Alright...

I finally installed the new 4kwh Mottcell battery kit..

Apparently, lots of the parts were missing. I had to improvise

I've been driving around town using this kit, but I haven't even been able to use the entire kit's capacity; My DC/DC converter keeps overheating.

Is anyone else having converter shutoff issues?

If you aren't, what did you do to your kit? I'm just about to give up.. I think I should ask Jack for ANOTHER DC/DC replacement...