Jump to content

KS-16X down to 5% (67v) battery charge after full-charge (84v) 10 days ago


Spaghetteh

Recommended Posts

I charged my 16X from 30% to full about two weeks ago and while I usually avoid storing it at full-charge for too long I didn't have the time to take it out last week so it sat for about 10 days.

When I got some to taking it out this weekend I got about a block before I realized my battery was reading 5% (67v) charge. This is despite charging it to a full charge the last time I did anything with it. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the logs from that charge session... But I always keep my phone connected during charging sessions to monitor it's progress and would have noticed if it was doing anything weird and am confident it had indeed charged to 84v.

My current running theory is that it was stuck in some kind of standby mode this entire time. I've noticed before that it stays connected to my phone when I unplug it even if the motor stays disengaged. I also remember seeing KS-16X as an option when I was trying to connect an Xbox controller to my computer days later and being suspicious but forgetting about it. I haven't noticed this behavior with my other two KS wheels but the 16X's design is a little newer so maybe it's something that they added to newer wheel? Either way, I'll be checking all my wheels now to ensure they're fully powered off after charging.

Has this ever happened to anyone here? Does anyone else have an idea as to what might have happened? Should I be concerned about my battery health?

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 16X has a never fixed firmware bug where the board starts draining something like 20W once it finished charging and balancing the packs.
Then the wheel seems to be off, but it'll drain battery until the voltage gets really low.

It's frankly a really annoying bug, because unless you monitor very closely the charging process with an app and/or a energy metering plug, it's pretty hard to let the wheel finish balancing the packs and not start discharging them.

Based on your description, it seems likely that it's what happened in your case. What do you think?

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That sounds like it explains a lot to me. I do remember monitoring the charge up until 100% and then letting it go for several hours without watching it as carefully until I went to bed. I'll be more conscious about that in the future. Thank you!

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Tawpie said:

The new firmware 2.09 (I think, I'm on 2.12) will turn the control board off of when you unplug the charger. Earlier firmware left the control board fully powered on, and vampires all your charge away. The workaround is when you finish charging and balancing, unplug the charger, then power cycle the wheel. Then it doesn't lose any charge.

Owa they fixed it eventually?

I need to put mine back together :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, supercurio said:

I need to put mine back together

yes, you absolutely do. :D

NOTE: the new firmware breaks your ability to unlock the wheel with third party apps, not sure why. If you use a password and lock your wheel, the only way to get it unlocked is with a KS app (I used SoftTuner, then cleared the password because I am paranoid and prefer my wheel unlocked)

Edited by Tawpie
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...