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[Endoboy]

The nominal voltage of the molicel pack and the 7 leaf pack is approximately 53v and bothe fully charged are about 58v. That's why the factory bms seems to work well.

Just completed my Leaf battery build, along with some expert help from a friend that has 20 years of tech experience, with a heavy dose of electronics skills. The battery tested fine, but when I put everything back together, I get an error on startup. The BMS is beeping a repeating 3 beeps. The only reference I see to that error code says that it indicates a "fail sanity/Mfg. test". The pack is reading 54.3v at startup, and seems to be charging fine, but it won't drive and won't stop beeping while the ignition key is on. I'm going to leave it on the charger for 6 hours or so, and see if that makes a difference, but I'm wondering if anyone else out there has a clue on what my issue is.

[Cortezdtv]

What is the sequence of beeps?

[Endoboy]

What is the sequence of beeps?

Three long beeps, repeating. It only does it when I turn on the system, and doesn't stop until I turn it off. Also, when I took it off the charger later (with the key in the off position), I got another series of beeps. It was 5 short and then 4 long. Didn't seem to charge at all, either. It still has the same 54.3v it did before the 4 hours of charging. But the charger lights indicate 80% charge (absorption phase), so it might be in trickle charge mode.

[Endoboy]

Well, after a 9-hour charging session, the voltage actually dropped to 54.2v, so the BMS is probably keeping it from charging as well as running. Odd that the charger lights indicated that it was charging, though. It seems like there must be a reset for the BMS, to get it to accept a new battery. Guess it's time to take the battery back out and check everything again...

[Erasmo]

The BMS should be happy with that kind of voltage. Perhaps a comm problem?

[Endoboy]

Yeah. All I can do is pull the battery back out, break it down and see, but I don't think it's a comm issue. All the connectors look great, and all are hooked up to the same ones they were before. I guess I might have to try contacting Zero if I can't find the problem, and see if they can diagnose the problem.

[Endoboy]

Does anyone know who makes the BMS in the 2010 Zero S? Not sure why I didn't think of it earlier, but maybe if I contact the BMS manufacturer, they can tell me how to reset the damn thing. Still no response from Zero. Not sure why...if they don't want to deal with it, all they had to do was say so.

[protomech]

Likely it is a custom board produced by Zero.

[Erasmo]

Does anyone know who makes the BMS in the 2010 Zero S? Not sure why I didn't think of it earlier, but maybe if I contact the BMS manufacturer, they can tell me how to reset the damn thing. Still no response from Zero. Not sure why...if they don't want to deal with it, all they had to do was say so.

Have you tried giving them a call instead of a email?

[Endoboy]

Yes, I called first, and their tech support person didn't have an answer for me with the older bikes. He was the one who said to contact via email and they would forward it to the right expert.

[Camresearch]

Three long beep.  BMS doesn't like the power pack on start up.


"( BMS Appendix
There are other beeps which may occur under two
circumstances that operators will normally never see.
Unlike many electronic systems, the BMS essentially
never “power cycles.” A typical BMS is powered-on
only once, in the factory, when it is connected to the
wiring-harness inside the power pack. It may quite
possibly operate continuously for years without ever
being powered-down.
But on that one occasion when it is first powered-on,
the BMS will perform a simple sanity check and
report the result with a beep pattern. Note that this
sanity check (and the resulting beep patterns) is
different from the key on self-test. The sanity test (and
the beeps) happens immediately when the board is
first powered-up (connected to a power pack).
During service or maintenance, the BMS-board may
be disconnected from and then reconnected to the
power pack wiring harness. In those cases, the BMS
will perform the sanity check (and result-beeps) every
time it is plugged-in.
6-6
PATTERN WHEN MEANING
2 Short Pwr-on M-cmd Pass Sanity/ Mfg.test
3 Long Pwr-on M-cmd Fail Sanity/ Mfg.test
It is possible to encounter the sanity check result errorbeeps
from a badly-malfunctioning or damaged power
pack. If so, the user should return the power pack to
Zero for repair or replacement.  )"

[Justin Andrews]

As you are building your own battery pack, would it not be better to build or purchase a BMS tailored to the new battery pack?

Using a BMS that's not designed for the pack and battery chemistry seems like a recipe for failure/firey doom to me.

[Endoboy]

As you are building your own battery pack, would it not be better to build or purchase a BMS tailored to the new battery pack?

Using a BMS that's not designed for the pack and battery chemistry seems like a recipe for failure/firey doom to me.

I don't know enough about electrical systems and BMS modules to figure all that out. But according to others earlier in this thread, the battery chemistry, voltage and AH rating are all identical to the original Mollicells, so it should have been a straight swap.

Zero did eventually get back to me, saying they don't support non-stock modifications, and suggested I refer my questions to the message boards like this one. So...the can has been kicked down the road, as expected. If anyone knows someone (or some shop) in the California SF Bay area that does this kind of modification, I'd love to get that information. At this point, I've given up and I'm ready to turn it over to someone who actually knows what they're doing, which isn't me.

[drumgadget]

A quick Q for iSurgeon:

Did you use a preassembled 7-module pack like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lithium-Li-Ion-53V-48V-Golf-Cart-Pack-Battery-Module-EV-60AH-58-8V-NISSAN-Leaf/262027761321?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Db61ed0a70cde46978f89257deabe1338%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D261945418558

Or buy individual modules and make your own series pack?  What about the BMS they mention in the listing?

Mike

[iSurgeon]

A quick Q for iSurgeon:

Did you use a preassembled 7-module pack like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lithium-Li-Ion-53V-48V-Golf-Cart-Pack-Battery-Module-EV-60AH-58-8V-NISSAN-Leaf/262027761321?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Db61ed0a70cde46978f89257deabe1338%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D261945418558

Or buy individual modules and make your own series pack?  What about the BMS they mention in the listing?

Mike

I Bought 7 leaf cells from nick at hybrid auto center in vegaS . He included straps to wire them in series and wires to run back to thew zero bms. I had the benefit of being able to measure the voltages at the bms connector since my battery was still operational but suffering from extreme voltage sag. I made sure the bms wires were seeing the same voltage on the new pack as they were seeing on the old pack. My bike now has about 1400 miles on it since the conversion and is still running great.

I don't have time to walk anyone through the process but anyone who would like the pics I took during the process emailed to them send me a message with your email and I'll get them to you.