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Re: PFC-30 Reinstallation problem
by Roland Wiench
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Hello Dave,
To check to see if the charger is putting out any current, put a voltmeter
in the 50 to 100 ma scale and attach the leads in parallel to the shunt, at
the same place the Emeter sense leads come off.
If it still reads 0 amperes, then the problem is in the charger or battery
connections. If you read any ampere, but not at the Emeter than it may be
the wiring or Emeter.
To do the following battery test, I use a insulated rubber blanket (or use
1/8 neoprene rubber sheets to drape over your working are. Remove any metal
you are wearing and stand on a insulated floor. Always have a second person
in the area.
To check the battery connections, you place the leads in parallel with any
one of the battery links while the charger is on. Place on the same link
connection only. Connect the leads on the battery post, not the battery
clamp or connection.
One lead on the positive end of that link, and one lead on the negative end
of the same link.
If the battery charger is charging normal and lets say the reading on may
link connections read 0.001 amps and you found one that reads 0.005, then
that connection may have to be clean and tighten.
Next, you check the voltage of each battery while the charger is on. If you
find one that is lower than the rest of the cells, then its either a bad
cell or high resistance connection.
You say, you are connected to a GFCI C/B. This must be down line from the
PFC C/B which is a standard built in C/B. Sometimes the power cord
connections, receptacles and circuit breaker wire connections may have a
high resistance. The first thing a electrical work does, it to tried to
reset the GFCI C/B and try again.
If this does not work, then turn off the breaker, pull the circuit breaker
panel covers. If this C/B is a push in type, then pull it out by inserting
a plastic type putty knife in the center grove and roll out the circuit
break and inspect the C/B connection to the panel buss bars.
Sometimes these will get loose and cause a circuit breaker to open. There
may be arc marks on these connections where the connections were loose.
Spring the connections tighter together and reinstall the C/B. Then tighten
up all the wire connections from this GFCI C/B all the way to the charger.
And try turning on the charger again. If this trips the GFCI C/B again try
this circuit on a standard breaker to see what happens.
If the charger works, then it's a bad GFCI C/B, if not then I would contact
Rich Rudman at Manzanita Micro
Roland
----- Original Message -----
From: "dave cover" <davecover@...>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <ev@...>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:11 AM
Subject: [EVDL] PFC-30 Reinstallation problem
> To all you Manzanita Micro fans, I have a dilema. I have a pack of 142
> BB600s in my car and I'm just finishing up reinstalling everything. Last
> year, before I took it all apart I had 144 BB600s. I had to move some to
> another location and fit all but two cells in the new location. Last year
> the PFC-30 worked fine charging the pack. Now, when I try and charge it
> runs
> fine for a minute or two and then trips the breaker.
>
> Before firing up the charger the pack was at 170 volts. BB600's are
> usually
> flat at 1 volt per cell, charged at 1.2 volts per cell, and charging
> voltage
> can easily go to 1.55 volts per cell or higher. So the pack was not dead,
> even though it sat a while.
>
> When I first fired up the PFC, the voltage rose like normal, up to around
> 189 volts. One odd clue is that my eMeter shows the correct voltage, but
> doesn't show any charge current. When I fired it up I had the charge knob
> turned down, but when I turned it up it had no effect on the charge
> current.
> I have a twisted pair running directly from the shunt to the eMeter, no
> breaks or connections. I think the eMeter is correct but have no other way
> to measure current?
>
> On top of it all I have an appointment with Motor Vehicle tomorrow and I'd
> really like to have a bit more of a charge on the pack before then.
>
> What kind of things could cause the PFC to trip my breaker? What might
> prevent the charge current from ramping up? Are there any debug codes I
> can
> read from the charger? (No, I don't have any RegBus.)
>
> It is a GFCI breaker, but never tripped before. It works fine with my
> welder.
>
> Thanks
>
> Dave Cover
> _______________________________________________
> For subscription options, see
> http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>
_______________________________________________
For subscription options, see
http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
To check to see if the charger is putting out any current, put a voltmeter
in the 50 to 100 ma scale and attach the leads in parallel to the shunt, at
the same place the Emeter sense leads come off.
If it still reads 0 amperes, then the problem is in the charger or battery
connections. If you read any ampere, but not at the Emeter than it may be
the wiring or Emeter.
To do the following battery test, I use a insulated rubber blanket (or use
1/8 neoprene rubber sheets to drape over your working are. Remove any metal
you are wearing and stand on a insulated floor. Always have a second person
in the area.
To check the battery connections, you place the leads in parallel with any
one of the battery links while the charger is on. Place on the same link
connection only. Connect the leads on the battery post, not the battery
clamp or connection.
One lead on the positive end of that link, and one lead on the negative end
of the same link.
If the battery charger is charging normal and lets say the reading on may
link connections read 0.001 amps and you found one that reads 0.005, then
that connection may have to be clean and tighten.
Next, you check the voltage of each battery while the charger is on. If you
find one that is lower than the rest of the cells, then its either a bad
cell or high resistance connection.
You say, you are connected to a GFCI C/B. This must be down line from the
PFC C/B which is a standard built in C/B. Sometimes the power cord
connections, receptacles and circuit breaker wire connections may have a
high resistance. The first thing a electrical work does, it to tried to
reset the GFCI C/B and try again.
If this does not work, then turn off the breaker, pull the circuit breaker
panel covers. If this C/B is a push in type, then pull it out by inserting
a plastic type putty knife in the center grove and roll out the circuit
break and inspect the C/B connection to the panel buss bars.
Sometimes these will get loose and cause a circuit breaker to open. There
may be arc marks on these connections where the connections were loose.
Spring the connections tighter together and reinstall the C/B. Then tighten
up all the wire connections from this GFCI C/B all the way to the charger.
And try turning on the charger again. If this trips the GFCI C/B again try
this circuit on a standard breaker to see what happens.
If the charger works, then it's a bad GFCI C/B, if not then I would contact
Rich Rudman at Manzanita Micro
Roland
----- Original Message -----
From: "dave cover" <davecover@...>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <ev@...>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 11:11 AM
Subject: [EVDL] PFC-30 Reinstallation problem
> To all you Manzanita Micro fans, I have a dilema. I have a pack of 142
> BB600s in my car and I'm just finishing up reinstalling everything. Last
> year, before I took it all apart I had 144 BB600s. I had to move some to
> another location and fit all but two cells in the new location. Last year
> the PFC-30 worked fine charging the pack. Now, when I try and charge it
> runs
> fine for a minute or two and then trips the breaker.
>
> Before firing up the charger the pack was at 170 volts. BB600's are
> usually
> flat at 1 volt per cell, charged at 1.2 volts per cell, and charging
> voltage
> can easily go to 1.55 volts per cell or higher. So the pack was not dead,
> even though it sat a while.
>
> When I first fired up the PFC, the voltage rose like normal, up to around
> 189 volts. One odd clue is that my eMeter shows the correct voltage, but
> doesn't show any charge current. When I fired it up I had the charge knob
> turned down, but when I turned it up it had no effect on the charge
> current.
> I have a twisted pair running directly from the shunt to the eMeter, no
> breaks or connections. I think the eMeter is correct but have no other way
> to measure current?
>
> On top of it all I have an appointment with Motor Vehicle tomorrow and I'd
> really like to have a bit more of a charge on the pack before then.
>
> What kind of things could cause the PFC to trip my breaker? What might
> prevent the charge current from ramping up? Are there any debug codes I
> can
> read from the charger? (No, I don't have any RegBus.)
>
> It is a GFCI breaker, but never tripped before. It works fine with my
> welder.
>
> Thanks
>
> Dave Cover
> _______________________________________________
> For subscription options, see
> http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>
_______________________________________________
For subscription options, see
http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
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