Batteries for dummies

canis2022

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Mar 19, 2022
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It looks like my battery is in need of replacement. Has anyone had any luck having them rebuilt or is it best to just get a new one?
It currently has a Samsung 48V downtube battery. I attempted to take it for a ride this morning but, only got about 20ft before it shut down.
I did a test with a voltmeter ( I'm not that skilled with a meter) anyway, I got a reading of 53v with the meter set at V... (200) I tried a few more times using just peddle assist but after a couple hundred feet, the battery showed just 50% on the meter after being fully charged the day before. I'd say the battery is aprox. 5 years old (bought the bike used 3 years ago)
 
Sudden voltage sag like that generally means one (or more) bad cells in the battery. 5 years is a pretty good run for a battery that works as hard as an eBike does. What is the make/model of the bike?
 
Okay, I know nothing about that bike but the pack looks like a pretty standard setup (not one of the built into the frame or other types of insanity).

I have an ancient incandescent spotlight that runs on 48v which I only keep around to create a load for battery packs so I can test for bad cells. If you have a Batteries+ store or something like that I'd bet they can run load test(s) and see where you are at. They can probably even rebuild the pack. (hint, if you can get panasonic cells DO IT!)
 
Okay, I know nothing about that bike but the pack looks like a pretty standard setup (not one of the built into the frame or other types of insanity).

I have an ancient incandescent spotlight that runs on 48v which I only keep around to create a load for battery packs so I can test for bad cells. If you have a Batteries+ store or something like that I'd bet they can run load test(s) and see where you are at. They can probably even rebuild the pack. (hint, if you can get panasonic cells DO IT!)
I hadn't thought about batteries + but, that might be an option. I'll give them a call before I go any further. The other option might be FTHpower
out in California. Someone on this forum had mentioned them and from what I can tell, they seem to be a first rate outfit. However, if batteries+ can rebuild the battery, I'd save a lot of money in shipping costs since they have a store about 20 miles away. Thanks for the info. I'd rather keep the same battery because I'm skeptical about trying a different battery mfg. and hoping the specs. match up with my controller and display etc.
 
Not sure if any help but i have 2 new (had literally about 5 charge cycles) bosch batteries for sale on Geartrade at the moment. I did put them on the sale section if interested.
 
Not sure if any help but i have 2 new (had literally about 5 charge cycles) bosch batteries for sale on Geartrade at the moment. I did put them on the sale section if interested.
Thanks for the offer but, I've decided to send it in to be rebuilt.
 
Okay, I know nothing about that bike but the pack looks like a pretty standard setup (not one of the built into the frame or other types of insanity).

I have an ancient incandescent spotlight that runs on 48v which I only keep around to create a load for battery packs so I can test for bad cells. If you have a Batteries+ store or something like that I'd bet they can run load test(s) and see where you are at. They can probably even rebuild the pack. (hint, if you can get panasonic cells DO IT!)
I did call our local batteries plus store about testing and possibly rebuilding an ebike battery but, they had no idea how to proceed. The guy said he would call his corporate office and get back to me.... he never did. I mailed the battery to FTH Power to have them rebuild it and I'm now waiting to hear back for them as far as how much they would charge to repair it. When I have more information, I'll do a review of FTH and the final outcome.
 
The work on my battery is done and I should have it back by Friday. The only way to communicate with them is by email, no phone calls. Getting the person I was talking to to understand what I wanted was a bit frustrating to say the least. She kept trying to sell me a new battery and I had to make it clear to her that I was only interested in fixing my existing battery. After some back and forth, she explained the process for sending the battery to them (see the explanation above.) After they received the battery, she communicated to me that they thought the battery was fine. Some more back and forth and she finally got back to me and said the battery connections to the rail was burnt but that they could do a repair using a new case and my batteries but that I would need to replace my old rail with theirs. No big deal I guess, but that's one of the things I was hoping to avoid ( here's hoping everything is compatible like the display and motor.)The cost for the repair was $265 compared to $600 for a new one. However, I'll still have an old set of batteries that will need to be replaced sometime in the future. I still think I'd go this route again because of the savings.... this would have been a lot more straightforward if my case hadn't been damaged. If you have any questions about the process, just let me know.
 
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