Sonny 21 Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Hi.. i have a tg f3 wheelbarrow for a year now, but duting the winter season i haven't used it but keep in charging it once a month. But now, the charger shows green which mean its fully charged, but when i turn it on the led light only comes on for a moment then it dissappear. First i thought i have a bad charger but aftwr buying a new charger the case is still the same. I opened the battery and the mother board but i think everything is still connected. Does anyone have any idea whats seems to be the problem? Thank you in advance.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Keeping batteries at full charge is almost as bad as leaving them at a low charge so charging them fully every week and not using about 20% was not a good way to store it. Afraid you may have ruined your batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 I also think that keeping lithium-batteries fully charged during storage is a bad idea. I stored my packs in room temperature, they had 57.2V (around 3.6V / cell) when I put them to storage, then measured the voltages about monthly... in about 5-6 months, the voltage dropped to around 56.4-56.5V per pack (so less than a volt), no need to charge at all. From that description, it's hard to say what actually is causing the problem. One option is that the mainboard has broken for some reason, but it could also be that the cells aged a lot faster if you kept them at or near full at all times and cannot keep the charge anymore (the voltage drops fast when they're being discharged). Or it could also be the battery BMS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 I guess the suggestion that charging it once a month while not using it by the manufacturer was not that great.. I continued reading thru the forum and i think i found a cade similar with mine.. it has something to do with a loose connection with the battery..I'll try to disconnect the battery and plug it again..is there a right way to do it?thanks for replying.. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 1 hour ago, Sonny 21 said: I guess the suggestion that charging it once a month while not using it by the manufacturer was not that great.. I continued reading thru the forum and i think i found a cade similar with mine.. it has something to do with a loose connection with the battery..I'll try to disconnect the battery and plug it again..is there a right way to do it?thanks for replying.. ? Yes it is very poor advice, @esaj and @Gimlet are correct, Lithium batteries do not take well to this. This is the advice for Lead acid and NiCad batteries that has failed to go away. Absolute worst case is to charge the battery fully and store it somewhere cold, especially if freezing or lower, that can cause the battery to behave and be damaged as it it was overcharged. Stored at around 3.8V per cell plus or minus 0.1V and in cold conditions the batteries last very well - so in simple terms half to 3/4 charge on the battery indicator. However, total failure is unusual, so you may be correct that a lead has come disconnected, or possibly even suffering from some corrosion. Many batteries simply have an XT-60 connector - sort of orange/yellow coloured thing shown below - connecting to the main board, nothing special is needed if you are able to open the unit, just unplug it, and check both it and the wiring from the battery to the main board through it look OK. Then plug it back in again. If you have a multimeter check (carefully) the two pins on the battery side, if your wheel has 16 cells you should be seeing somewhere between 50 and 67V from the battery, anything less than 55 Volts may be too low for the wheel to power up. Anything lower than 48V would definitely suggest something has failed in the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 4 minutes ago, Keith said: Stored at around 3.8V per cell plus or minus 1V and in cold conditions the batteries last very well - so in simple terms half to 3/4 charge on the battery indicator. Nitpicking, but are you sure on the "plus or minus 1V" -part... 3.8V +-1V? 2.8 to 4.8V? Probably meant something like +-0.1V? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 41 minutes ago, esaj said: Nitpicking, but are you sure on the "plus or minus 1V" -part... 3.8V +-1V? 2.8 to 4.8V? Probably meant something like +-0.1V? Doh....... Yes of course it should be 0.1V, I've got the bug I often get that after I edit the save button won't work, I'll try and correct it later - unless you can? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 2 minutes ago, Keith said: Doh....... Yes of course it should be 0.1V, I've got the bug I often get that after I edit the save button won't work, I'll try and correct it later - unless you can? Moderator superpowers... Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 Thanks for the suggestions.. Ill post something as soon as i try it... wish me luck... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetpapi Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 When I had my TGF3, even after fully charging, the LEDs don't even light up or only the first 2 lit up. Rubbing my thumb on that LED indicator strip made them show all the LEDs fully charged. I assumed it was a faulty connection issue and rode it anyway. Do you think it's the same case with you? And please from now onwards call it EUC...not wheelbarrow. That wheelba...word is prohibited here. JK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 26 minutes ago, Planetpapi said: When I had my TGF3, even after fully charging, the LEDs don't even light up or only the first 2 lit up. Rubbing my thumb on that LED indicator strip made them show all the LEDs fully charged. I assumed it was a faulty connection issue and rode it anyway. Do you think it's the same case with you? And please from now onwards call it EUC...not wheelbarrow. That wheelba...word is prohibited here. JK Haha...Ill keep that in mind.. ? I thinkit has something to do. with the wirings of the battery to the circuit board.. When i charge it the LED light on the charge is green, but when i turn my EUC ? Full LED lights on but turns off immediately.. i read on a particular thread that he managed to fix the problem by unplug/replug of the battere wires from the circuit board, but i dont know where to start... im still waiting for some instructions..maybe some pictures will be awesome.. ? ?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 42 minutes ago, Sonny 21 said: Haha...Ill keep that in mind.. ? I thinkit has something to do. with the wirings of the battery to the circuit board.. When i charge it the LED light on the charge is green, but when i turn my EUC ? Full LED lights on but turns off immediately.. i read on a particular thread that he managed to fix the problem by unplug/replug of the battere wires from the circuit board, but i dont know where to start... im still waiting for some instructions..maybe some pictures will be awesome.. ? ?... Keith posted a picture of the connectors above, likely they're XT60's, they look like this: Connected together: If you open up the wheel (NOTE: make sure it's turned off first, and not connected to the charger), try to locate those yellow connectors, disconnect them (they'll be tight), and then connect them securely back (you might hear a "snap" or even see a spark). If you don't see any yellow connectors, another likely candidate is Deans ("T-plugs"): If you have a multimeter, and know how to use it, you could also try measuring the battery voltage from the connectors (before connecting again). Be careful with the battery, it has quite some power, so don't go short circuiting it by accident... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 8 hours ago, esaj said: Keith posted a picture of the connectors above, likely they're XT60's, they look like this: Connected together: If you open up the wheel (NOTE: make sure it's turned off first, and not connected to the charger), try to locate those yellow connectors, disconnect them (they'll be tight), and then connect them securely back (you might hear a "snap" or even see a spark). If you don't see any yellow connectors, another likely candidate is Deans ("T-plugs"): If you have a multimeter, and know how to use it, you could also try measuring the battery voltage from the connectors (before connecting again). Be careful with the battery, it has quite some power, so don't go short circuiting it by accident... Thank you very much much esaj.. ill try it later... the red plugs are tied with a zip but ill try to cut them, is it safe to do with my bare hands? or do i need to use something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 27 minutes ago, Sonny 21 said: Thank you very much much esaj.. ill try it later... the red plugs are tied with a zip but ill try to cut them, is it safe to do with my bare hands? or do i need to use something? Sonny, By "is it safe to do with my bare hands" I assume you are talking about the voltage? 60-70 Volts will not harm you. What would be dangerous is current. If you accidentally short circuit the connectors as @esaj mentioned above then enough current to cause metal to melt and overheat the battery may occur. This is really only likely to happen if you are careless with multimeter probes, start to take the battery apart or change the plug. The plugs are polarised so you can't accidentally plug them in backwards. By the way, it is common (but by no means universal) for the red (Deans) plugs to connect battery to the charging port and XT-60's to connect battery to main board, so ensure that it is the plug to the main board you have found, I have assumed that any fault is between the battery and main board as the wheel hasn't been used since it was last charged OK. It is good that the plug and socket are zip tied together - that should prevent any chance that there is a loose connection at the plug so you may need to look further? One other possibility we haven't mentioned is perhaps a faulty on/off switch that isn't locking, If the battery has good voltage, it might be the switch, if you hold the switch pushed down do the LED's stay on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 @Keith I managed to disconnect the plugs of the batter to the circuit board, unfortunately i dont have the multimeter ti measure the voltage of the battery.. Thanks for assuring me that i can do it with my bare hands without hurting myself.. ?... I will reconnect everything later and see it fix the problem.. Thanksnfor mentioning about the faulty on/off button, i haven't thought about that and i will examine it later. Thanks for the replies... This forum is great..Good day.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 I tried to reconnect the plugs of the battery and the circuit board but still no luck... so now im back to zero... I laso tried to press hard the power button but it still shuts down..I guess i have to measure the voltage of the battery, but i have to look for a multimeter..and worst case i maybe have to replace the battery! any recommendations for good battery replacement? i bought my euc (tgf3) in banggood last year and i am in italy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 On 30 April 2016 at 1:40 PM, Sonny 21 said: I tried to reconnect the plugs of the battery and the circuit board but still no luck... so now im back to zero... I laso tried to press hard the power button but it still shuts down..I guess i have to measure the voltage of the battery, but i have to look for a multimeter..and worst case i maybe have to replace the battery! any recommendations for good battery replacement? i bought my euc (tgf3) in banggood last year and i am in italy.. These days multimeters are so cheap it really is worth buying one, just make sure it is set for volts, and the probes are plugged into the volt, not amp terminals (has happened more than once in this forum!) It is well worth making sure it is a battery problem first. So far I haven't needed to buy an EUC battery, so I'm no expert on good sources for them. My battery knowledge comes from Radio Control LiPo's which are very similar technology and I've bought dozens of them. However I do know that Banggood do sell them and also a lot of people on this forum have nice things to say about @1RadWerkstatt on this forum see the post below. If you are happy with your EUC, it is worth considering buying a bigger battery if it will fit, I.e. If yours is now 132Wh, a 260Wh pack will have another set of cells in parallel which draw less current from each cell and/or give you more power when you need it as well as range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny 21 Posted May 2, 2016 Author Share Posted May 2, 2016 Thanks @Keith..im very happy with my euc and qas excited to ride it again this summer.. unfortunately it has some issues that i wish i can fix.. Thanks for the link...ill buy a multimeter and test my battery first then i will consider buying if so...the battery i have is a 260wH Samsung LiPo according to the manufacturer.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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