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-   -   i180 newbie - i180 flashes only red 4x on powerup (https://forums.segwaychat.org/showthread.php?t=39390)

DanDaMan 05-09-2022 11:25 AM

newbie - i180 flashes only red 4x on powerup
 
Just bought my first Segway, a i180 - got it for $200 CDN cause the PO said it had bad batteries. I'm pritty handy and unafraid of projects so I got it. Cosmetically it appears as in great condition.

So I left it plugged in over night and after disconnecting the cord I put the red key in - it immediately shows the grey display (startup test) for 1 second and then just starts to flash solid red 4 times with 4 beep/beep tones (no icon is displayed - just flashing red), and then it shuts off. Tried a few times and got the same thing. I downloaded a manual and could not find what this error means (the manual shows that all red displays should have an icon too?).

So I removed bought batteries (which are lithium 73V) and tested each on my multimeter - one was 79V and the other 80V. So what does that mean? Is it normal for the battery to be higher than the rating? Does this mean the batteries are good? Can a bad battery still show the proper volts but still be bad (ie. no capacity)? Also I see the PO opened the battery packs - if I reopen them is there some other test I can do to confirm battery are good?

Would really love some advice where to check next, and what my solid red light means. Thanks

dgbint 05-10-2022 08:46 AM

Simple enough question, but lots of details needed for a good answer.

1
Are the batteries Segway batteries or aftermarket batteries ?
If Segway, they will have a serial number, which indicates how old they are.
Let me know.

2
What ever the outcome, batteries are complex, working on them and requires both special skills and special equipment. Beware and be very careful.

Michael

DanDaMan 05-10-2022 09:59 AM

Ok I have a bunch of updates and more questions, after spending hours googling and reading.

First, the red light I had was due my the outlet I had it plugged into - in short it was not plugged in and hence the battery was so low causing the red light and shutoff. After plugging into a working outlet for 12 hours the unit turn on and I got the green with full bars.

Went for a test ride - found that if I go slow (walking speed) I can ride 30+ minutes and still have >50% battery, but once I start going a little faster it goes to the red light with sad face and starts to shutdown - I tried it many times and this always happens. It goes to the red light and shutdown within seconds of going faster (but again if I go walk speed it is fine)?

So I started to take a closer look at the batteries. First, when I first start to charge my lithium batteries I get green charge light on both F and R, but one of the batteries went to red while the other eventually gets to the slow blinking green (suggesting one battery is good but other not). But when I removed both batteries, I found both at 82V suggesting both are at 100% charge. So I reinstalled both batteries and swapped (did this many times), and found that sometimes both batteries had the red light but other times both green blinking and other times just 1 green and 1 red. So in another words it is not consistent, but what is consistent is that in all cases both batteries would never go below 75V (even after the 30+ minutes of walk speed) and both would always charge up to 82V. Being both charge up, my BSM is good.

Even though both batteries are charging to 82V, could one or both still be bad, causing the error at a higher speed? If the batteries can still be an issue, can someone provide some details how I can test which cell/battery is actually bad? The PO already opened up both battery cases, so I was easily able to open one of them up (the one that originally had the red light). I pulled out the batteries with the pcb, and did some quick tests with my multimeter. Though since the overall battery was at 82V, I was not able to find any issues (if the battery was low voltage I would have easily been able to find the bad bank). But in my case with 100% voltage, what is the method to find the battery issue?

Thanks


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