The Big 55 Bang!!

The first time I tried 55 mph the batteries didn't like it, they started to sag and the buzzer went off on my MiniBMS which indicates a cell is getting low under discharge.  OK, the batteries haven't been used in awhile so I'll charge them up and try it again with a fresh pack.

Second try, rode up to Roslyn and then tried 55 mph, woo hoo it's going 55 then BANG!!!  Holy smokes, what the snikees was that?!  It looked like the hood had popped open.  (How can that be, the hood opens like a corvette?) Pulled off the road and discovered the old gas hood, smaller part of the hood, had popped open.  So...I guess I need to use the key and lock it in place. Duh....

But still the buzzer went off again during my attempt.  In general the pack doesn't like a sustained 150+ Amp hour drain.  I then drove home, jacked up the rear end and had my wife put it in gear and ran the wheels at 7 amps while I checked the batteries to see which ones were lower.  I really didn't see much difference.  I either need to do a higher discharge to test or maybe the pack is just getting broken in again and I need to just keep driving it?

There is another possible solution.  Creating a supercapacitor bank that allows the battery not to feel the strain of high/quick discharges.  Go to diyelectriccarforum and search under Flux Capacitor.

 Tons of discussion.  The inventor did this for under $100 bucks and connected the thing between the contactor and the controller.  The prices I'm seeing are around $300 - 400.  That's about the cost of three 100AH liFEPO4 batteries.  If it preserves the pack, it's worth it weight in gold.

More to come.