Inmotion App and Battery

[Proflee]

Dear all,

My Inmotion V5+ does not seem to charge full to 100% as indicated on the app anymore.
While the light from the adapter (that rectagular block thing) switches from red to green, when I connect to the app the percentage is always only 90 something, never 100%.

Moreover, when I connect to the app while charging the V5+, there seems to be no indication on the app to say that it is indeed charging.

Any help?

TIA

Edited August 8, 2018 by Proflee

[Demargon]

That's unusual. My v5f reach the 100% in the app indicator one hour before the green light in the charger appear (approx).

If you unit have some kind of miss calibration maybe you can fix it with a reset or erasing the flash data

[WARPed1701D]

45 minutes ago, Proflee said:

Dear all,

My Inmotion V5+ does not seem to charge full to 100% as indicated on the app anymore.
While the light from the adapter (that rectagular block thing) switches from red to green, when I connect to the app the percentage is always only 90 something, never 100%.

Moreover, when I connect to the app while charging the V5+, there seems to be no indication on the app to say that it is indeed charging.

Any help?

TIA

This is likely a faulty charger. Inmotion chargers have been dropping like flies lately. To confirm the fault you will need a multimeter to measure the output voltage at the charger output plug. It should read in excess of 84v (mine is 84.7V according to my Charge Doctor) across two of the pins. Yours will likely read less if the charger is at fault. If this is the case you will need a new charger.

[Proflee]

Thanks guys for your input. But I'm a rider with only a lay appreciation of technical electronics :")
Also, this is my first wheel (a second-hand) that I learnt on, so idk about purchasing expensive equipment to measure the health of this old wheel
 

Demargon: what kind of data would be erased if I hit that reset button?

WARped: if I were to ask plainly, if my charger is indeed culpable, would it mean much (can I just keep riding and charging since it goes to 95%?) or is it just that I cannot charge that few % to 100%? Also, I ought to add that I've been using this timer socket thing that is supposed to cut the power off based on the setting I put it at. So, if my wheel is low on battery and needs to be used the next morning, but I can't stay up to watch it be charged full to uplug, I'll leave it charging overnight attached to the timer socket thingy. I wonder if the socket is actually useless and has caused me to actually overcharge it for hours at times

Lastly, to everyone, I also wish to ask: is the app supposed to show 'charging' or anything similar to show that it is indeed charging?
Like a phone would with a lightning symbol in the battery icon.

[Stan Onymous]

1 hour ago, Proflee said:

Thanks guys for your input. But I'm a rider with only a lay appreciation of technical electronics :")
Also, this is my first wheel (a second-hand) that I learnt on, so idk about purchasing expensive equipment to measure the health of this old wheel
 

Demargon: what kind of data would be erased if I hit that reset button?

WARped: if I were to ask plainly, if my charger is indeed culpable, would it mean much (can I just keep riding and charging since it goes to 95%?) or is it just that I cannot charge that few % to 100%? Also, I ought to add that I've been using this timer socket thing that is supposed to cut the power off based on the setting I put it at. So, if my wheel is low on battery and needs to be used the next morning, but I can't stay up to watch it be charged full to uplug, I'll leave it charging overnight attached to the timer socket thingy. I wonder if the socket is actually useless and has caused me to actually overcharge it for hours at times

Lastly, to everyone, I also wish to ask: is the app supposed to show 'charging' or anything similar to show that it is indeed charging?
Like a phone would with a lightning symbol in the battery icon.

Just contact your dealer and get a new charger. Those new chargers are made so terribly that they just blow. Get a new charger. 

None of those solutions are normal operating procedures for a charger. I dont know why people rush to the more complicated and less helpful diagnostics, when the Charger is the weakest link in the charging chain. The inMotion USA chargers blow a circuit the first couple of charges, and are made with the cheapest of connectors and parts. So get the replacement from ebay tech toyz or eWheels if the seller doesnt offer a replacement. 

The InMotion app does not show that it is charging or how much time til charging is done. It does show you a read out of the charge in the battery.

Also dont worry about charging rates or percentage of charging to save the battery. It is ridiculous worry wart behavior that only stops one from enjoying their vehicle at full power so they can get some more mediocre riding later. Its foolishness disguised as busy work. After 4 years of charging you may just get another 100 charges at 90%. Forget that! Just get a new battery after four years or so and enjoy the ride that much better.

Edited August 8, 2018 by Stan Onymous

[Proflee]

Don't really understand your final paragraph.

[Stan Onymous]

Well you said you bought a charge doctor to only charge it to 90%. I assumed you had bought into the - dont charge your batteries to full or you may damage them-  marketing clap. Your inmotion will balance them anyway, so there really is no need to do it. It wont save you cycles, and it will keep you from enjoying your vehicle.

[WARPed1701D]

I think Stan is getting a bit confused between comments. The OP doesn't have a charge doctor it sounds like he just has a wall timer so his wheel isn't on the charger all night. This need not be to do with anything as complicated as charge limiting (especially as he is trying to get to 100% charge). It sounds like the guy just doesn't want his wheel on charge unnecessarily which is wise move given the recent video of an exploding Scooter battery.

@Proflee This is very likely a charger problem.

Not fixing it will not be a big deal to start with but may cause problems over time as the battery charging circuit will not enter balancing mode which ensures weaker batteries in the pack get an additional boost to bring them up to the same charge levels as stronger cells. By not balancing the weaker cells will just get weaker until they cause the pack to shutdown prematurely. This could happen unexpectedly while riding so there is some concern there and really you will need to address it at some point for your own safety.

If the wheel is less than a year old try to contact the last owner to find out where he/she brought it from and ask the reseller to get you a new charger under warranty. If that is not an option then you can buy one from a reseller yourself and hope that it is indeed the culprit.

If you want to confirm the charger is the issue before spending your money then you will need a voltmeter that goes up to 84v DC. Simple ones can be purchased quite cheaply and measuring the voltage is simple if you wish to do so.

[Proflee]

On 8/9/2018 at 2:34 AM, WARPed1701D said:

I think Stan is getting a bit confused between comments. The OP doesn't have a charge doctor it sounds like he just has a wall timer so his wheel isn't on the charger all night. This need not be to do with anything as complicated as charge limiting (especially as he is trying to get to 100% charge). It sounds like the guy just doesn't want his wheel on charge unnecessarily which is wise move given the recent video of an exploding Scooter battery.

@Proflee This is very likely a charger problem.

Not fixing it will not be a big deal to start with but may cause problems over time as the battery charging circuit will not enter balancing mode which ensures weaker batteries in the pack get an additional boost to bring them up to the same charge levels as stronger cells. By not balancing the weaker cells will just get weaker until they cause the pack to shutdown prematurely. This could happen unexpectedly while riding so there is some concern there and really you will need to address it at some point for your own safety.

If the wheel is less than a year old try to contact the last owner to find out where he/she brought it from and ask the reseller to get you a new charger under warranty. If that is not an option then you can buy one from a reseller yourself and hope that it is indeed the culprit.

If you want to confirm the charger is the issue before spending your money then you will need a voltmeter that goes up to 84v DC. Simple ones can be purchased quite cheaply and measuring the voltage is simple if you wish to do so.

I'm getting so worried. It used to charge to 100%. Then 95%. Then 92%. Then 89%. And after forgetting to unplug it after it finished charging (charger light turned green), it now charges to 86% only.

I bought this wheel from the original owner who seemed to have taken good care of it when he owned it. When I bought it, it was 2 years old with 1600km clocked. But it could charge to 100%. I guess I have a bad habit of charging overnight with a fraud timer charger who friggin doesn't cut the power for me. 

It seems like overcharging is the culprit of battery degradation? Not the charger?

[Stan Onymous]

31 minutes ago, Proflee said:

It seems like overcharging is the culprit of battery degradation? Not the charger?

The batteries have battery management boards that shut off the charging after a certain voltage is reached. I know that the InMotions will balance the battery packs at the end of the charge before it shuts off. Maybe the timer you are using is stopping the full charge and battery balancing that would normally take place. That is what Warped seems to be saying.  I have never used a timer or worried about having my batteries on the charger too long and I have never had any battery problems on any of the EUCs I own. I own the V5F and it is still riding strong.

Occums razor says its usually the closest cut that is the best and most accurate. In your scenario, that timer seems to be the weakest link nearest to the problem. InMotions need to do the full balancing for the batteries to perform at optimal levels. Give it a try. Leave it on the charger, in the garage if you are worried, and see what its like in the morning. Mine has only taken 4 hrs to charge one time and that was when I ran it down to 20%.

[Proflee]

Okay I'm foreign to this idea of 'balancing cells'.

How does it work? Plug in the charger to both the wall socket and my wheel? Do I switch on electricity, or leave the wheel connected to the wall with no power?

btw, I'm cognisant of the BMS in electric rideables; I've ridden on e-scooters for a long time before hopping onto EUCs.
However, anecdotal experience still tells me that my laptop, phone, and other electronic devices' batteries still suffer in longevity if I leave them charging overnight.

Moreover, I have actually tried charging my V5+ with no timer. Just the charger, and I inadvertently left it charging for very long and saw the drop from 89% cap to now 85% limit in highest possible charge. Who knows, if I continue overcharging it may just drop below 80%?

So what do I do to 'balance' cells?

[Franz]

Hi guys! My inmotion v5 fully charged shows a range of 20 km. but after 4 the battery is dead, how is it possible, thanks.

 

[UniVehje]

17 hours ago, Franz said:

Hi guys! My inmotion v5 fully charged shows a range of 20 km. but after 4 the battery is dead, how is it possible, thanks.

 

How old is your wheel and how many total  kilometers?

You probably have some dead cells in your battery pack. Don’t ride it until you get a new pack! It might not have the power to balance you when stressed. I just had a bad faceplant myself riding a wheel like that. 

[Franz]

Thanks for answering, do you know how to get a new one and replace it...

[Franz]

One years old, about 30 km., I think the battery pack is not extractable.

 

[UniVehje]

6 hours ago, Franz said:

One years old, about 30 km., I think the battery pack is not extractable.

 

Sounds too early for dead cells but not impossible. You should find new batteries through resellers, Aliexpress or directly from Inmotion. Ask the place you bought it from and also from service@imscv.com

should be possible to replace yourself. 

[jonsonwan]

Hey guys, I got a inmotion v5f for 4 months. It does not charge to 100% from the very beginning. The charging stop normally around 80%. Only for one or two times, it reached 100%. 

I reported this to the seller, they thought it would be battery issue. So they shipped me another battery pack. I replaced the battery (took me 3 hours) but it still only charged to 80%. 

I measured the charger output, it showed 83.6v for no load, 83.5v when attached to the euc but not charging. From the inmotion app, the battery voltage is 79.7v. 

Could you help to see what may be the issue? 

What battery voltage should be when it charges to 100%?

Thank you!

 

[mrelwood]

 

2 hours ago, jonsonwan said:

I replaced the battery (took me 3 hours) but it still only charged to 80%.

Sounds like you just need a new charger. The originals are cheap and they often just stop working (correctly).

2 hours ago, jonsonwan said:

I measured the charger output, it showed 83.6v for no load, 83.5v when attached to the euc but not charging. From the inmotion app, the battery voltage is 79.7v.

It should be 84V when full, although both the app reading and regular multimeters are quite imprecise. Even my a tad beter multimeter only has a precision of +-0.5V at that range. Also, under load the charger output would be different from what you measured.

I would just get a new charger as the next step.

 

[jonsonwan]

8 hours ago, mrelwood said:

 

Sounds like you just need a new charger. The originals are cheap and they often just stop working (correctly).

It should be 84V when full, although both the app reading and regular multimeters are quite imprecise. Even my a tad beter multimeter only has a precision of +-0.5V at that range. Also, under load the charger output would be different from what you measured.

I would just get a new charger as the next step.

 

Got it. Thanks for the advise!

[jonsonwan]

10 hours ago, mrelwood said:

 

Sounds like you just need a new charger. The originals are cheap and they often just stop working (correctly).

It should be 84V when full, although both the app reading and regular multimeters are quite imprecise. Even my a tad beter multimeter only has a precision of +-0.5V at that range. Also, under load the charger output would be different from what you measured.

I would just get a new charger as the next step.

 

Does any 84v charger work? I can see some generic 84v 5A (or 96.6v 4A) Lithium Battery Charger with XLR (or GX16) plug .

[esaj]

2 hours ago, jonsonwan said:

Does any 84v charger work?

Well, "any" is a very broad specification, if thinking of all the things that could possibly put out 84V, no, "any" charger won't work... but quite likely "any" charger with the correct voltage, connector and polarity meant for lithium-batteries likely will work, as long as the charge current isn't too high.    When charging lithium-batteries, the charger should be of "CC/CV" (Constant current / constant voltage) -type. There's a gazillion manufacturers with varying quality, probably the cheapest of the cheap isn't a good option, but simply because it costs a lot doesn't necessarily mean it's good. The safest bet would be to buy from a domestic wheel reseller (like eWheels), they can tell you which charger you need if you're not certain yourself.

 

Quote

I can see some generic 84v 5A (or 96.6v 4A) Lithium Battery Charger with XLR (or GX16) plug .

Definitely do not use a charge with incorrect voltage. The battery packs do have some protections for overvoltage, but high enough voltage could break them and damage the charger, mainboard and/or batteries. 5A might be a bit too high current to charge with, if it is indeed V5+ (280Wh packs?) and not V5f+. Also check that not only is the connector the correct one, but that it has correct polarity, unfortunately I can't say with certainty what that is for Inmotion V5+, but http://hobby16.neowp.fr/ does have some tables:

InMotion V3,V5

Lenovo

Int:V+ ; Ext: 0V

84V

20S

Lenovo square socket, originally for Lenovo laptop power supply

 

No idea if V5 and V5+ use the same connector, I don't really know much anything about InMotions. I'd still recommend contacting someone like Jason from eWheels to make sure you get the correct charger.

Edited July 5, 2019 by esaj

[jonsonwan]

1 hour ago, esaj said:

Well, "any" is a very broad specification, if thinking of all the things that could possibly put out 84V, no, "any" charger won't work... but quite likely "any" charger with the correct voltage, connector and polarity meant for lithium-batteries likely will work, as long as the charge current isn't too high.    When charging lithium-batteries, the charger should be of "CC/CV" (Constant current / constant voltage) -type. There's a gazillion manufacturers with varying quality, probably the cheapest of the cheap isn't a good option, but simply because it costs a lot doesn't necessarily mean it's good. The safest bet would be to buy from a domestic wheel reseller (like eWheels), they can tell you which charger you need if you're not certain yourself.

 

 Definitely do not use a charge with incorrect voltage. The battery packs do have some protections for overvoltage, but high enough voltage could break them and damage the charger, mainboard and/or batteries. 5A might be a bit too high current to charge with, if it is indeed V5+ (280Wh packs?) and not V5f+. Also check that not only is the connector the correct one, but that it has correct polarity, unfortunately I can't say with certainty what that is for Inmotion V5+, but http://hobby16.neowp.fr/ does have some tables:

InMotion V3,V5

Lenovo

Int:V+ ; Ext: 0V

84V

20S

Lenovo square socket, originally for Lenovo laptop power supply

 

 No idea if V5 and V5+ use the same connector, I don't really know much anything about InMotions. I'd still recommend contacting someone like Jason from eWheels to make sure you get the correct charger.

V5F has a battery pack 320Wh.

While it looks better I should get an inmotion official charger to avoid all these uncertainties. 

Many thanks!

[jonsonwan]

On 7/5/2019 at 3:42 PM, jonsonwan said:

V5F has a battery pack 320Wh.

While it looks better I should get an inmotion official charger to avoid all these uncertainties. 

Many thanks!

Mine is a charger issue. After I got the new Inmotion charger, the issue was solved. 

Thanks for all the help!

[Franz]

On 6/22/2019 at 11:36 AM, Franz said:

Hi guys...where can i get a v5f inmotion charge board.

 

 

[Franz]

I need a charge board for inmotion v5f, i could't find that anywhere.