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[ultrarnr]

Richard230,

Did your bike ever get back to charging the pack to 100%? When my Power Tank was first installed it showed 100%. After the first charge it only went to 99%. Then down to 98%. Right now this morning my battery is at 95% and won't charge any more. Not a good trend.

[Richard230]

Richard230,

Did your bike ever get back to charging the pack to 100%? When my Power Tank was first installed it showed 100%. After the first charge it only went to 99%. Then down to 98%. Right now this morning my battery is at 95% and won't charge any more. Not a good trend.

My charger cut-off is going in the other direction.  When the power tank was first installed, it would stop charging at 98%.  Since last week, the charger is now cutting-off at an indicted 99%.  But if you leave the charger connected for another day or two, it will suddenly pop up to 100%.  So I guess this issue is being resolved by the BMS or charger over time, at least for me.  On my bike the charger has never cut off at anything less than 98%.

Perhaps installing the additional battery module, after the original batteries have been used for a period of time, causes the BMS or charger cut-off algorithm to be confused, until the new module gets dragged down to the level of the original batteries?     Or maybe the BMS or charger just needs to get used to having more batteries than it had before?     But what do I know?  I am great at theories, but not so good with facts.      

However, I still believe that the power tank should be a factory-installed option and not an after-sale, dealer-installed one - unless the dealer's technician has had specific factory training for the installation and set-up of the power tank option.  Right now I am not convinced that all (if any) of the Zero retail dealer's technicians are receiving that level of training.

[ultrarnr]

Richard230,

Thanks for the response. Right now my bike is at 95% and will not charge any more so things are not going well. I am going to go riding more later and see if 95% is now the limit on charging for the battery. I went for a short ride this morning and the bike was at 97% when I returned. I turned the bike off and plugged the charger in it suddenly showed 95% but was not charging. I connected my smart phone to my bike but I am not getting any bike data at all. No battery level, odometer readings, nothing. Also had a brief moment where the bike would not move but no fault codes showing either. After turning the bike on and off whatever was wrong got cleared and the bike will now move. As far as training on the installation of the Power Tank there is none. Zero sent my dealer the instructions which were then printed out and taken to the mechanic who did the installation.

[WindRider]

I take it that the PowerTank is a permanent installation?

I thought that the PowerTank module would be the same as the Battery module for the FX so that it could be quickly removed if you want a lighter bike for a shorter run?   If it were quickly removable it could also be charged somewhere standalone.

It sounds more like it is just a part of the bike once installed? 

[Richard230]

I take it that the PowerTank is a permanent installation?

I thought that the PowerTank module would be the same as the Battery module for the FX so that it could be quickly removed if you want a lighter bike for a shorter run?   If it were quickly removable it could also be charged somewhere standalone.

It sounds more like it is just a part of the bike once installed?

The power tank accessory is a permanent installation of the FX module.  It is not something that the owner can remove, once installed. 

I don't think you can depend on your typical IC motorcycle mechanic to take the time (or have the education) to completely completely read and understand pages of instructions regarding the installation and operation of the power tank accessory.  If motorcycle mechanics wanted to have a well-paying job with good benefits and working conditions, they would likely be working elsewhere.  I think most of these fellows do it for the love of IC motorcycles and having a degree in electrical engineering is not a prerequisite for the job - Harlan at Hollywood Electrics, excepted, of course.

[Electric Cowboy]

Also interesting to note that if you quick charge, the gauge is off.

As we are testing the charger setup I have, I often notice the bike SOC is higher than the dash reads. I have to unplug all charges let the contactor open, and then plug the charger back in to get actual SOC.

No big deal for me though as it will stop at 98%, but for me when I plug it back in it reads 100%

I do not have a power tank though.

[trikester]

Something I have noticed - not s part of charging but of discharging - is when I have just finished a ride on my FX the iPod will show the remaining charge. After a few minutes of sitting the reading always goes down, sometimes as much as 5%. My question is always which one do I go by while I'm determining how much farther I could have ridden since I'm keeping a log of my more significant rides? Or, if sill riding, should I turn off the bike for five minutes to know my remaining capacity or do I go by the reading while the bike is still being ridden? The answer to these questions could make a big difference if I'm going to ride to near the charge limit.

Anybody know the answers?

Trikester

[Richard230]

I noticed the same thing.  When on a ride, every time I turn the ignition off then back on, the power remaining percentage drops by 2 or 3%.  I think it does that just to make sure that you keep riding and don't stop.   

Happily, my bike is pretty much beyond stopping at 98% now when charging.  It is now stopping at 99% and then a day or two later, it suddenly seems to turn back on and adds another .5 watt-hours to the system and then jumps to 100%, before going back to sleep again.  Go figure...   

[Richard230]

Apparently it also goes the other way.  This morning my display said 99%.  I pulled out the smartphone app and turned on the ignition.  The display immediately jumped to 100% (I guess the extra 1% was hiding). This was confirmed by the app, which showed 100% charge, 13.22 kWh in the battery pack and 116 volts, with 2 mV balancing.  (Yesterday, after I arrived home from my 95-mile ride the balancing was off by 20 mV.)

[zerotracer]

The outdoor temperature has also something to say regarding the battery capacity.
My capacity is about 10,500-600 kWh. on my ZF11.4 in a heated room

The picture shows the capacity in about 7-10 degrees celsius after 2 days off the charger

[Richard230]

I rode my bike around for 25 miles yesterday, plugged it in and a few hours later it had turned off and was showing a 98% charge on the screen, as usual.  Today, about 24 hours after it had stopped charging, I happened to pass by my bike and noticed the green light flashing.  The BMS had turned on the charger by itself and was finishing charging.  An hour later the display was showing a 100% charge.  So how about that?