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[DonTom]

I completed my 80-amp easy-to-get-to fuse modification tofay.


If the 100-amp fuse in the battery ever blows again, it will be totally by-passed, and I will rely on external fuses, which makes a lot more sense than a DCFC fuse inside the battery pack.


Here are some photos of what I did.


The charge cables have a bunch of sealant on them because I opened the left side of the pack and handled things just after I sealed the right side.


The added fuse is on the left side of the bike. I deliberately routed the DCFC cable out of the battery different from the stock way so I could do this job. The DCFC connector is on the right side of the bike, the opposite side from my added DCFC fuse. The added fuse is using the saddlebag bracket to mount on the left side, away from the rear shock which is on the right side/


All completed, tested to the connector, but not yet on a DCFCer.  I think I will go back to the same EV-GO that blew my fuse for a real test.


 David (oobflyer here) and I blew our DCFC fuse on an EV-GO while using AutoCharge Plus. I doubt if Autocharge Plus had anything to do with it, but EV-Go surely did.  Different days and different locations. David's Ribelle also had a 90-amp fuse now replaced with a 100-amp fuse.


Here are some photos of my modification that I just now completed. Not yet tested on a DCFC but I am sure all will be fine.




-Don-  Reno, NV

 

[DonTom]

Tonight, I decided to get my first DCFC on my repaired 2020 SS9- First DCFC since May!


Nice warm night here.  I took the freeway at a rather high speed to Carson City and went to the new Hyperfuel DCFCs, that just recently went in service so I could check in on Plugshare.


I set the current to 55 amps and I really do not even notice the difference in charge times on this 13.4 KWH battery compared to when I was charging it at max. All worked perfectly, repair is now all completed as well as all tested.


I will be riding this bike a lot for a while.


Doesn't this look nice?




-Don-  Reno, NV

[oobflyer]

Very nice work Don - I’m impressed. Now can you do it again… this time with a step-by-step slow-motion instructional video?

[DonTom]

Very nice work Don - I’m impressed. Now can you do it again… this time with a step-by-step slow-motion instructional video?

Well, as far as taking the battery out again (which is the easy part compared to putting it back in) that is what I am trying to avoid.


The exact way I did mine cannot be done without lifting the bike above the battery with all the junk on top of it disconnected.  That is because the DCFC cable is strapped with a couple of tie wraps near the battery central plate where it is not possible to get to when the battery is still mounted in the bike.  I planned ahead before I put the battery back in the bike.


But the "+" bikes could be different and they have no battery central plate. The central plate is for the cooling of the batteries which was removed in the "+" bikes so they could add more cells and make a lighter bike at the same time. The "+" bikes even with the higher KWH capacity is lighter than the battery for my 13.4 KWH battery pack.  I do not know how they run the DCFC cable on your bike, but it  could  be different than my SS9.


It's not a big deal, but I need to change the external fuse and holder one of these days. I just now found out that fuse voltage rating, 32 volts max. Not an issue until it blows and I do not expect it to. The voltage rating of a fuse is just for when it blows, it then can arch across with a higher voltage than its voltage rating. It will only take five minutes to change the fuse and fuse holder after I get the correct parts.


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[PWM]

Nicely done, Don...impressed by the deliberate effort to complete the task in DIY form...certainly not a casual undertaking.

Seems like you've established a special bond to this bike over many in your collection...keep her going dude...thanks for sharing your maintenance experience.

[DonTom]

Nicely done, Don...impressed by the deliberate effort to complete the task in DIY form...certainly not a casual undertaking.

Seems like you've established a special bond to this bike over many in your collection...keep her going dude...thanks for sharing your maintenance experience.

Yeah, I find its shorter range to not be much of an issue as there are enough DCFCs for me to get almost anywhere these days and I like to take a break about once per hour of riding anyway. I get to places just as fast because the charge times are a lot shorter.


And I like the very small windscreen on these hot days we have been having lately. And the battery cools better than on the "+" bikes and the charge doesn't slow as much when hot, even though the battery indicator is in the yellow just as often as the "+" bikes. It would be better if there were a readout for the battery temperature in degrees.


I rode the SS9- here to Auburn from Reno the other day, my first long ride on it since the repair. Required one DCFC to get here just a little more than halfway at Cisco Grove, CA than I took the bike on the more scenic longer way on Hwy 20 to get here. Around 110 miles/177 km. Bike ran perfectly and was an enjoyable ride, even though it was a hot day when I got to the lower elevations around here.


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Specter]

 if you go into your engineering screen there should be a battery temp readout for you to get an idea.

Aaron

[DonTom]

I have been only riding my SS9- lately as it is my favorite bike in hot weather such as here where it peaks a little over 100°F/ 38°C every afternoon lately.


A fuse is normally rated for 77°F /25°C for their current values. So I looked at my battery temp in the Eng. Menu "33/32" (90°) when I left home which is cooler than the ambient air temperature.  The bike's screen said it was 100°F which was accurate at the time. I assume the inside of the battery was cooler from the morning temps in my garage.


I have no idea what the first and 2nd numbers mean for the batt temp., but I assume they are both in degrees C.


I wanted to be sure that the cooler 80-amp fuse outside the bike is more likely to blow than the warmer 100-amp inside the battery pack. After it was charged to 95% SOC the battery temp was "38/36". Even the "38" is about the same temp as the ambient air temp.


I assume all is okay as I now keep my DCFC limited to 55 amps. And even after my DCFC today in the heat, the battery temp indicator was still green!


I am now totally done working on this bike. I changed the fuse to the same type that is in the battery pack but for 80 amps instead of 100 Amps as now in the battery pack.


It seems that Eaton / Bussmann makes no fuse holder for these types of fuses which are rated at 700VAC/500VDC. They are normally just bolted in such as in the Energica battery packs.


However, I discovered I could modify this fuse holder by drilling the holes out a little larger so the Eaton/Bussman fuse will fit with the new bolts spaced just a little farther out.


And here is what it now looks like on my 2020  SS9-, which will be a lot easier to replace than the one in the battery pack.


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[jotjotde]

You are correct, temperatures are in degree Celsius. First number is the maximum temp the bike has seen (I assume since switched on), the second number is the actual temp.

This outside mounted fuse looks somewhat StarTrekky to me.  You could add lighting so it glows in the dark. Tell anyone who is asking, it's the flux compensator 2.0 

[DonTom]

You are correct, temperatures are in degree Celsius. First number is the maximum temp the bike has seen (I assume since switched on), the second number is the actual temp.

This outside mounted fuse looks somewhat StarTrekky to me.  You could add lighting so it glows in the dark. Tell anyone who is asking, it's the flux compensator 2.0 

Thanks for the info on the numbers.


Yeah, the added fuse certainly does not look stock, it is clearly an add-on, but I cannot see it when I am riding, so I really do not care much about that. What I do care about is not needing to ever take the battery out and then getting inside the battery pack.


I figure I have triple protection now with the 100-amp fuse in the battery (It was 90-amp fuse that blew) added 80-amp fuse in series as well as now only charging at 55 amps max. I now will not hesitate to go back to the same EV-Go that blew my fuse in Garnerville, NV and use the Autocharge+ again on an extra hot day.



-Don-  Auburn, CA

[togo]

> David (oobflyer here) and I blew our DCFC fuse on an EV-GO while using AutoCharge Plus. I doubt if Autocharge Plus had anything to do with it, but EV-Go surely did.  Different days and different locations. David's Ribelle also had a 90-amp fuse now replaced with a 100-amp fuse.

Mine got blown by the EVgo station in King City a year or two back.  Thanks for posting the details!  Of course people should be aware of that there is high voltage under that bellypan, ist night für gefingerpoken bei die dumkopften sichtseeren as the old sign says beware dem spitzensparken.

[Specter]

So it appears this thing blowing fuses is fairly common here?  what is the problem, has the company officially said they are aware of this, what if anything has been done about it?  i mean if plugging into someone's stuff causes me a 2k repair bill, that's bad, and needs to be addressed.

Aaron

[DonTom]

Mine got blown by the EVgo station in King City a year or two back.  Thanks for posting the details!  Of course people should be aware of that there is high voltage under that bellypan, ist night für gefingerpoken bei die dumkopften sichtseeren as the old sign says beware dem spitzensparken.

When did you first notice something was wrong? Did your fuse blow at the very end of the charge, or when?


What year and type of bike?  What type of fuse inside blew? Was it a 90-amp or 100-amp. etc.


And was it extra hot outside that day? Was your charge current at max when it happened?


(While charging, hit the mode to the left to reduce the charge current, and the bike will remember it for the next DCFC.)


How was the bike repaired? Did you do the work yourself?


There is HV right above the belly pan in the "+" bikes. Bottom plate must come straight down to remove or else you have a bomb as the very high current capacity 300 VDC+ can short to the negative. And best to use all insulated tools.  I assume removing the stock screws / bolts, whatever, and then putting extra-long screws in the pan a few threads, will be the safe way to bring the belly pan straight down.


One nice thing about the "-" bikes is that the HV is harder to get to, no HV around the DCFC fuse as long as the contactor is open, which should be and is easy to test for--just make sure there is no voltage into the inverter. Keep key out, not charging and there shouldn't be any problem.


But with the plus bikes, a lot easier to get to the DCFC fuse but can be extremely dangerous if one doesn't know what they are doing.


-Don-  Reno, NV