SegwayChat - View Single Post - Bad experience with Alibaba battery provider -- can this battery be saved?

snout · 10-16-2021, 05:37 PM

Oh right -- the 2nd point of my post. Can the pack be salvaged? Because it's held together with screws, I took it apart to peek inside. I'd upload photos, but it won't let me because I still haven't posted five times.

I am looking back at my original notes to Pascal Hu. I told him that I'd gone on vacation and left the Segway (it's an i167, btw) unplugged. When I came back and plugged in the Segway, one pack charged normally, dropping back to the occasional green blink when the battery was charged, but the other one stayed solidly green, even when I'd charged it for 24 hours. When I then unplugged the Segway and plugged it back in, I got a red light from that pack. I pulled it from the Segway and checked its voltage, and it had full voltage. I tried reinstalling, but still got the red light. I let it sit for a month and still got the red light. I let it sit for a few more months, and the voltage dropped to nearly zero -- I am guessing that the bluetooth module on the BMS draws current? I tried bringing the voltage up to 60v by charging at 100ma (as someone else has outlined on this forum) and then put it back on the Segway to charge. I can't remember what happened then -- I think I got the green "charging" light on the Segway, but then eventually it turned red. Anyway, it's currently showing full voltage, so the Segway recognized it enough to charge it, but it's still giving me a red light.

On another thread here (about a supplier who's apparently providing decent aftermarket batteries), I was given the link for the bluetooth BMS software for that company's battery. I haven't tried it yet, but I am hoping that it will work with my batteries.

So:

-- Anyone here with the tech skills to speculate why the battery is showing full voltage, but the Segway is giving me a red light?

--This is on my i167. I also have an i2...if I install the bum battery on the i2, would the i2 give me any more feedback about what's wrong with the battery than the not-very-helpful red LED?

--I took the battery pack apart (it's easy! It's screwed together!) I took many pictures, but I need to post more before I can upload them.

--I had thought that maybe the BMS had frozen/locked up, and I had speculated that letting the battery's voltage drain down would reset the BMS, but that apparently didn't work

--now that I have the battery apart, can I simply find the shady cell(s) within the pack and replace them individually? Is there some way to tell with a voltmeter (preferably without de-soldering the whole pack) which "clump" of batteries is bad?

10-16-2021, 05:37 PM	#3
snout New Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Seattle, WA, USA Posts: 7	Can it be saved? Oh right -- the 2nd point of my post. Can the pack be salvaged? Because it's held together with screws, I took it apart to peek inside. I'd upload photos, but it won't let me because I still haven't posted five times. I am looking back at my original notes to Pascal Hu. I told him that I'd gone on vacation and left the Segway (it's an i167, btw) unplugged. When I came back and plugged in the Segway, one pack charged normally, dropping back to the occasional green blink when the battery was charged, but the other one stayed solidly green, even when I'd charged it for 24 hours. When I then unplugged the Segway and plugged it back in, I got a red light from that pack. I pulled it from the Segway and checked its voltage, and it had full voltage. I tried reinstalling, but still got the red light. I let it sit for a month and still got the red light. I let it sit for a few more months, and the voltage dropped to nearly zero -- I am guessing that the bluetooth module on the BMS draws current? I tried bringing the voltage up to 60v by charging at 100ma (as someone else has outlined on this forum) and then put it back on the Segway to charge. I can't remember what happened then -- I think I got the green "charging" light on the Segway, but then eventually it turned red. Anyway, it's currently showing full voltage, so the Segway recognized it enough to charge it, but it's still giving me a red light. On another thread here (about a supplier who's apparently providing decent aftermarket batteries), I was given the link for the bluetooth BMS software for that company's battery. I haven't tried it yet, but I am hoping that it will work with my batteries. So: -- Anyone here with the tech skills to speculate why the battery is showing full voltage, but the Segway is giving me a red light? --This is on my i167. I also have an i2...if I install the bum battery on the i2, would the i2 give me any more feedback about what's wrong with the battery than the not-very-helpful red LED? --I took the battery pack apart (it's easy! It's screwed together!) I took many pictures, but I need to post more before I can upload them. --I had thought that maybe the BMS had frozen/locked up, and I had speculated that letting the battery's voltage drain down would reset the BMS, but that apparently didn't work --now that I have the battery apart, can I simply find the shady cell(s) within the pack and replace them individually? Is there some way to tell with a voltmeter (preferably without de-soldering the whole pack) which "clump" of batteries is bad?