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Electric EZGO Electric EZ GO Marathon, Medalist, TXT and RXV. |
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04-25-2015, 08:26 AM | #1 |
Getting Wild
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Kansas
Posts: 108
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Nissan Leaf Balancing
I decided to do a Nissan Leaf conversion. I am contemplating the BMS top balance vs the bottom balance and wondering if there is a third option. What about top balancing the cells by individually charging them? I have a hobby charger for lithium batterys which has 3 options: LiIo 3.6v, LiPo 3.7v, and LiFe 3.3v. I am wondering if I could use one of those settings to charge each cell to full charge and get the same results as a bottom balance?
Secondly, I have read as many Leaf conversion threads as I can find. Truly a wealth of information. Thank you to all who took the time to document the process. Now that a bit of time has elapsed since those builds, would you do anything differently if starting over? |
04-25-2015, 08:59 AM | #2 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Rio Verde, Az
Posts: 7,183
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
Any balancing is only temporary. You need a BMS that keeps your cells in balance and protects EVERY cell from over / under charge. This is the key to long Lithium battery life.
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04-25-2015, 09:02 PM | #3 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 204
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
Unfortunately, your hobby charger would have to be able to charge the Leaf cells to about 4.1 Volts. Nominal voltage for the cells is 3.8V. Also remember that each of the 2P sections is 60-66aH. Your charger would need to be capable of charging at a fairly high amperage to fill em up.
I used a mini-bms on my 84V pack and am doing the same on my 72V pack. These will eventually top balance my packs. On the other hand Sportscoupe and others just bottom balance the packs with no bms. I'm sure both methods will work, but I like the added security of neither overcharging nor over discharging my pack. |
04-25-2015, 10:12 PM | #4 | |
Getting Wild
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Kansas
Posts: 108
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
Quote:
Roncat, you mentioned in a previous post that you had some problems with the BMS install on the ezgo. No hesitation in getting another as opposed to bottom balance? |
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04-25-2015, 11:24 PM | #5 | |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 204
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
Quote:
Just make sure to not short the cell modules to pack voltage and you will be fine. Take it from me… a little electrical tape on the unhooked connections is worth its weight in gold |
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04-26-2015, 07:23 AM | #6 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Savannah, GA
Posts: 2,760
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums...bms-53768.html
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums...ing-85458.html There are plenty more if you want to drive yourself crazy reading. It's just a golf cart.... |
04-25-2015, 09:11 PM | #7 |
Gone Wild
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Rio Verde, Az
Posts: 7,183
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
No BMS won't work for very long. (Unless you manually balance frequently)
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04-26-2015, 12:52 PM | #8 |
Over This Interview Is...
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: AZ
Posts: 17,449
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
BMS we use is designed to "shunt" power from cells that fill up first, allowing all the cells to "catch-up" at the end of the charge cycle. Basically balancing the pack everytime. Only problem i have had with balance was on a cell whose BMS board had failed to control overvoltage (cell was reduced capacity & replaced). Our current bms has the ability to disable the cart if voltage goes too low, and shut down charger if any cell goes too high. We do bring them in for checkups (check terminals, Bms operation, and charger).
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04-26-2015, 06:09 PM | #9 |
Let's go racin' boyz!!
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Springdale, AR
Posts: 4,156
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
^^ This. I am my own BMS. Can't really afford to buy what I need so I top balance manually. I have some light bulbs rigged up to discharge single cells and I use a little 1 amp power supply to charge individual cells to achieve balance. As previously stated, the cells get out of balance no matter how well I have/had them balanced and I have to do it again. I'm pretty anal about it so I mess with it more that I actually need to.
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05-02-2015, 08:18 AM | #10 | |
Getting Wild
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Kansas
Posts: 108
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Re: Nissan Leaf Balancing
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