Author Topic: Voltage drop issue  (Read 2047 times)

Offline Whiplash

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Voltage drop issue
« on: June 05, 2023, 08:33:42 PM »
Hi! I have A voltage drop issue, not so much Golden motor issue.

I have a Golden motor VEC 500 controller with 200ah 16S 48V Liitokala lifepo4  battery pack with Dalys controller.

The problem is that I get significant voltage drop on batteries number 1 and 2 when battery control module is telling me I have still 75% battery left.

Battery numer one is the "main ground".

The battery controller stats are correct (I think). 

Am I drawing too much Current? Are my connections bad?

I can continue driving If I connect the VEC  500 directly to the battery, but the motor keeps shutting down so the voltage is really bad and not just the battery controller.

Offline Bikemad

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Re: Voltage drop issue
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2023, 10:34:38 AM »
Hi andto the forum.

The problem is that I get significant voltage drop on batteries number 1 and 2 when battery control module is telling me I have still 75% battery left.

Battery number one is the "main ground".

If you are referring to "Cells" 1 and 2 in the same battery pack then weak cells may be the cause. It shouldn't matter where the cells are positioned in the series string as they are should all be subjected to identical current loads.
The only exception to this would be if the BMS (battery control module) was drawing more residual current from a small number of cells, which could eventually cause those cell to discharge more than the rest over a long period of time, but this is unlikely to have any noticeable affect with your large capacity (200Ah) cells if they are regularly charged and fully balanced.

You say you have significant voltage drop but you don't mention either the unloaded or the loaded voltage.  ???

If your BMS allows you to monitor individual cell voltages, and they are all roughly the same after a full charge, but cells 1 and 2 are dropping significantly lower than the rest under load, then you obviously have a couple of weak cells that are causing the problem.

Does the BMS show 75% just before it cuts out or does it quickly revert back to 75% after the motor has stopped?
It would be interesting to know how the remaining capacity, total battery voltage and individual cell voltages reported by the BMS compare with these figures:



Am I drawing too much Current?

As you haven't said what the continuous current rating is for your battery or BMS is, or how much current you are actually drawing, it's difficult to say if you are drawing too much current.
However, if the maximum battery current setting in the controller is set to the default 220A then you could be drawing too much current, as these 200Ah LiitoKala cells have a maximum continuous discharge current rating of 202A.
And this LiitoKala 12V 200Ah battery only has a maximum continuous discharge current rating of 100A!

Are my connections bad?

If the voltage is dropping low enough to trigger the low voltage protection in the controller you would need to carefully monitor the voltage at the battery to see how low it drops just before the controller cuts out.
If you still have the standard battery settings in the controller, it should not cut out until the voltage drops below 42V. If your battery voltage is also around this figure then your connections and cables are probably good.

However, if the voltage measured at the battery is considerably higher than the voltage at the controller just before the cutout occurs, then you may have either poor connection/s or your battery cables may be too thin for the amount of current being drawn.

You might want to see if it is possible to set the Low voltage protection value (V) to 40V instead of 42V and also see if you can set the Low voltage triggering current reducing (V) to 51.6V instead of 44V to hopefully extend your range when the battery drops below 20% capacity

Alan
 
EDIT: Links to referenced LiitoKala cell and battery specifications added
« Last Edit: June 06, 2023, 10:56:50 AM by Bikemad »

Offline Whiplash

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Re: Voltage drop issue
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2023, 08:01:59 PM »
Thanks for the reply! I think I´m causing the issue, because I was drawing 200A of curreent continuously form the batteries instead of 100  ;D

I had top speed issues with my bike and I wanted to try what happens if I draw more current.  Clearly I´m demanding too much from the batteries.

I´m thinking of upgrading to 200A 72Volt system, but i´m not sure if it will be able to achieve the goal of 70kph with 100A.

The bike gets to 70kph with 200A. I think there is also issue with engine speed since 60kph draws 100A and 70kph draws 200A. 

I have a Dnepr sidecart project so it takes a lot of energy to get the tank moving...