Rebuilding Segway i2 battery

[shmonoff]

My recent project

[shmonoff]

More pictures

[danielg30]

Sent you a PM.

[dorrington]

Good stuff...

I take dead units and disassemble them.. I have made a machine to test, charge, cycle and capacity check each cell when removed from the pack...bad ones get rejected good ones get recycled..i put in 20 cells at a time,....go play golf....drink beer....come back to graded cells based on capacity...even old cells can still be usable........

[dorrington]

Just a thought for next time...

I make the parallel connections dominant in each cell group....it reduces volt drop...probably doesn't matter but I'm a bit ocd....

Nice work...and no smoke....

[dorrington]

Oops...ignore me...I've been drinking...

Looks fine....🥛🥛

[willballz11]

Ok guys I know I'm gonna get some flack for this but I can assure you that I have done this multiple times. Ok lets start with how rediculous it it is that nobody knows how to diagnose a segway. Even the authorized dealers. How has nobody torn one of these apart and figured out what's what. Anyway. Back to the point of the rediculous battery replacement parts. Ok so what is the answer if you have a battery problem. Send it to a company or buy a new battery. Well I will be the first to tell you. I have 2 golf carts and when the batteries go so low the charger does not recognize the batteries to even charge them. So I have to jump start the batteries with a car charger for a few minutes so I can get the charger to recognize that a battery is plugged in. No different on a Segway. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON RECONDITIONING YOUR BATTERIES OR BUYING NEW BATTERIES. It's a sham. Look it up on your own. I have 22 remote control vehicles all with lithium ion batteries I'm fully aware on how they work and how they operate. Segway is the only company that's tries to make it like there batteries are so special. There still lithium ion batteries at the end of the day. This is true for all batteries, lithium or lead acid, if you must jump start the battery, do it from a like sized battery. ... It is perfectly fine to jump start the EarthX battery from another same size battery or use a jump pack. That is exactly what I did. I had a red light and a green light. Took the batteries off and tested voltage on both. One was 77v and one was 5v. So then I plugged in the Segway and tested the ports that the battery plug into. One read 27v. And the other read 11v. Not sure if that's a problem but it seems odd. Either way I used as heavy gauge wire as I could did negative to negative and positive to positive and let it sit for 40 seconds. Feeling both batteries the entire time and with a fire extinguisher nearby just in case. Neither battery heated up and when I tested batteries again the one that was at 5v was now reading 60v. So I plug in the two batteries on my Segway and Wala. Two green lights Segway recognize s both batteries now. So for all the people that don't want to waste there money on refurbished batteries or buying a new battery. Just try what I did first. You will thank me later I promise. Regardless of how everyone will try to scare you not to do this. Remember these are the people that want you to buy new batteries and pay for the service to refurbish your batteries. Think for yourself
I'm sick of these people acting like a Segway is some rare device. It's a computerboard with sensors on it and a charging port. It's not really that sophisticated. Come on people use your head. Is it as dynamic as a car? NO. is it as unique as the electrical system as your computer? NO. I stripped mine completely down and rebuilt it it's a few computer boards and some heavy batteries. Just remember if your batteries go below the threshold for the Segway to charge them.IE red light. Jump start the battery First from the good battery. You will thank me later.

[TahoeJoe]

Originally Posted by willballz11

Ok guys I know I'm gonna get some flack for this but I can assure you that I have done this multiple times. Jump start the battery First from the good battery. You will thank me later.

Thanks for the input Will!

Jump starting a bad battery from a good battery first is a great point.
Most of us, I believe, are here after trying this "Guide to reviving the Segway Gen 1 and Gen 2 battery" method described here:
https://forums.segwaychat.org/showthread.php?t=36096

Which has worked for me on 3 out of 4 batteries. Your method does not call for a $100+ digital adjustable power supply, so I would definitely try your method first had I known, had any experience with Lithium-ion batteries, or just "used by brain" as you say...lol

I too was shocked with the lack of information available for average folks to fix this for themselves.

You're definitely preaching to the choir as far as resolving Segway battery issues by one's self. Im pretty sure that's why most of us are here. So, thank you so much for sharing the battery to battery tip! If you could post a pic of that setup, at this thread https://forums.segwaychat.org/showthread.php?t=36096 I think alot of people could really benefit to see it shown with a photo there.

[battman]

Hi, I'm an electrical engineer with great experience with building Li-Ion packs. But with segway batteries I have no luck so far! I have burned 3 BMS already so I'm desperate!!

I have tried to replace all the cells in some segway batteries but during connection of the BMS to the new cells the board gets burned.
I have tried starting from the GND and then connecting one by one the cells to the board and I have tried the opposite, starting from the Positive and connecting all the cells one by one going to the GND. In every case after around the half connections the board gets burned and I don't know why. I have burned 3 boards so far.
Can you please help me? In which order should the connections get made? What about the bridge connections between the two sides? I have connected hundreds of standard li-ion BMS in my life so the typical is to connect first the GND and then move one by one towards the positive. But this doesn't work here!!!
Should I start from the positive towards the middle. Then from the ground towards the middle and at the end connect the middle bridges?
Has anybody tried a complete dissasembly and replacement of all the cells?
Please help, I cannot afford burning another board!

[Roberto]

Originally Posted by battman

Hi, I'm an electrical engineer with great experience with building Li-Ion packs. But with segway batteries I have no luck so far! I have burned 3 BMS already so I'm desperate!!

I have tried to replace all the cells in some segway batteries but during connection of the BMS to the new cells the board gets burned.
I have tried starting from the GND and then connecting one by one the cells to the board and I have tried the opposite, starting from the Positive and connecting all the cells one by one going to the GND. In every case after around the half connections the board gets burned and I don't know why. I have burned 3 boards so far.
Can you please help me? In which order should the connections get made? What about the bridge connections between the two sides? I have connected hundreds of standard li-ion BMS in my life so the typical is to connect first the GND and then move one by one towards the positive. But this doesn't work here!!!
Should I start from the positive towards the middle. Then from the ground towards the middle and at the end connect the middle bridges?
Has anybody tried a complete dissasembly and replacement of all the cells?
Please help, I cannot afford burning another board!

Alle 23 Zellen verbinden. ( = inklusive Brücke in der Mitte)
Minus und Plus (76V) an das BMS anschließen.
Zelle 1 an BMS, Zelle 2 an BMS, Zelle 3 an BMS usw....... (bis 22)

fertig