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02-05-2018, 12:13 PM | #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: kokomo, Indiana, USA.
Posts: 15
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Battery charging
Hello. I own 4 generation 1 Segway’s. 2 years ago I suffered multiple battery failures across multiple machines. After sending the batteries to MTO I was able to get all the machines back up and running.
I went a year and a half with no trouble but now have had similar issues. All the batteries are either new or rebuilt in the last 5 years. Most of the batteries are fully charged but give me a red light when on a machine. My question is, do the newer machines have a better charging system or is it the same as the older machines? Mike |
02-05-2018, 01:04 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Freedonia!
Posts: 1,703
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Are they Nimh batteries, or lithium ion? I'm surprised that you are having problems with multiple sets of MTO rebuilds. You'll likely hear from MTO regarding your post.
How do you know the batteries are "fully charged"? Are you checking battery voltage with a voltmeter? Your post suggests you are charging on the Seg itself, but to clarify, do you use an off-board charger? How do you maintain the charge in these batteries when the Seg isn't being used regularly? Do you leave them on charge all the time, or use a timer? The red light is an indication that the Seg's on-board circuitry doesn't like what it sees in the batteries. If the Seg software is unhappy with the battery (including excessively low battery voltage), it WILL NOT CHARGE the battery, no matter how long you leave it plugged in. The Gen II machines might use a somewhat different algorithm to determine battery "goodness", but the Gen II machines are also picky about what defines a "good" battery. The multiple failures, followed a few years later by another set of multiple failures, suggests it is something unique to your situation, rather than the batteries. |
02-05-2018, 06:06 PM | #3 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: kokomo, Indiana, USA.
Posts: 15
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Civicsman, thank you for the reply.
They batteries are all LI. I say they are fully charged because they show in the high 70s on volts. I purchased a reviver from MTO and had some luck bringing back some of the batteries that were low on voltage. I also purchased a voltage regulator/stabilizer in case it was something in my power lines. I live in the middle of town and have not had any trouble with any other electronics. I usually leave them plugged in a few days the unplug for a couple then start them for a few minutes and then start the procedure all over again. Now I have removed them from the machines while I try to figure out the problem. I have thought about just charging them with an off board charger but I have not purchased one yet. I had a machine last week that I started, then plugged in and the next day both were red light, machine would not start and they both had in the upper 70s in volts. I tried the batteries on another machine and it would not start either. I also tried them one at a time with a working battery and neither one would work. |
02-07-2018, 11:36 PM | #4 |
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Long Beach, CA
Posts: 1,127
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I am going through a similar issue. My i180 gets little use lately, and is plugged in while in storage. All was well last time I checked it, then we had a power outage last week, and after power was restored I found the front battery LED solid red and the rear battery LED solid green. The machine will not respond to the key, whether plugged in or not. I have removed the batteries, and will try them on my i2 one-at-a-time along with a good i2 battery.
Anything else I should consider? |
05-05-2018, 06:17 AM | #5 |
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Auckland, New Zealand.
Posts: 81
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To Pete in Long Beach: From your description, I'd say the power outage has blown your built-in charger (i.e. the CSB/Control Shaft Base). If so, the CSB is unable to charge either of the battery packs that are attached, but sufficient power is still passing through the CSB to light the LEDs. Consequently, the front battery pack has already over-discharged, thus giving a red LED. While the rear LED is solid green it is not actually recharging the pack.
It is possible to test if the CSB is working. It is unlikely the CSB can be repaired, but maybe someone else on Segway Chat can help you with that...and also with your front battery. Philip
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05-06-2018, 04:10 AM | #6 |
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: uk
Posts: 127
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Hi guys,
I think Phillip is mostly right...and I am splitting hairs..sorry Phillip.... the leds are supplied by low voltage side of the csb charger, they are switched on by a signal from the battery pack, the wire that comes from the csb to the battery packs works as follows: open cicuit=red led, hence why red when battery removed.... and fail safe. fully switched to zero volts=led off and no charge hence fail safe. switched to approx 3 volts between wire and zero volts=greenled and charging. the high voltage, 100 volts dc is a separate branch of the power supply. You can get a green led and no charge condition! if the high voltage side fails. If you know the pinout and are brave enough, you can force a charge into the pack if you have a 100v 600 mA supply, or some other form of current limiting...i.e. 60 watt lamp.. Although you can only partly charge this way, 5-10 mins to get get over an undervoltage condition..AT YOUR OWN RISK! for technical details, the high voltage side is current limited to 600 milliamps. As long as there is >69 volts on each battery and there is nothing wrong with the main boards then the segway should respond to the key, it will not start but it should recognise the key and beep on application.....at least mine do when I supply them with a home made power supply (6 model aircraft batteries on each side) I hope this helps, and I don't mean to undermine anyone.. Best Ian Last edited by dorrington; 05-06-2018 at 04:18 AM.. |
02-08-2018, 01:52 PM | #7 | |
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: York, PA
Posts: 644
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Quote:
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Warm Regards, Jason Abel Battery Builders / MTO Battery |
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02-09-2018, 10:12 AM | #8 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: kokomo, Indiana, USA.
Posts: 15
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Hello Jason
I will defiantly be sending in some of the batteries. I am hoping to figure out the issue first so I can send all of them in at the same time. I am not sure if you or someone else can answer this but would an off board charger be a more stable way to charge the batteries. Mike |
02-09-2018, 10:33 AM | #9 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: York, PA
Posts: 644
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I do not believe there to be any difference between the off board and on board chargers except for convenience.
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Warm Regards, Jason Abel Battery Builders / MTO Battery |
04-29-2018, 12:56 PM | #10 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Prescott, AZ
Posts: 22
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spell chek
Jason... you run a top notch business. Not sure why customers would
"defiantly" send in a battery. Big smile... |
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