So I just installed my motor kit and controller and all the connections are awesome on it. i used crimp on connectors for a few wires, including the wires that connect between the battery and the controller.

anyway so the battery is charged, and I've never used any of these parts before.

and the i hook up the main plug ot the battery and SPARKS/SMOKE IMMEDIATELY around the plug and coming from inside the battery casing. WHAT THE EFF?

I immediately disconnected it and thank god my controller is fine, at least to me it seems like it's FINE and working normally. But this battery... I disconnected it from the controller... and reconnected the main plug back again.. turned the key on and all was quiet.. then a few seconds later.. all of a sudden i hear sounds and see smoke coming out the casing, AHHH!!!... disconnect...

why is this happening? this is so sad... i spent $450 for this battery and it's my first e-bike project ever and the thing is smoking.. i'm scared to connect it. i might have to remove this aluminum casing, but i wouldn't know how to test the cells individually, or if that's even possible. :(

anybody know what i should do?

this is exactly what my battery looks like:

http://goldenmotor.com/LiFePO4%2036V10AH%20PAK1.jpg

I just opened the case and there's a BUNCH of little black wires... except ONE of them is completely frayed/cut/messed up and plastic insulation is completely ripped off. Then there's a group of these other black wires that are sort of melted in some parts, and a red wire is slightly melted as well, just barely enough to show about 0.5-1mm of the actual wire beyond the plastic insulation. Damn it dude, I don't even know what the hell happened. I'm guessing that one wire mustve been the one that messed everything else up. God damn, now what. I wonder if Goldenmotor would send a completely new battery, I feel completely jipped, this is horse ****.

ask them if they will send you a new battery.

if they won't...

replacing a bunch of wires is not TOO hard, be brave...

(and don't short-circuit anything while you are replacing wires)

I just rewired the internal black wire together that was split apart. Now everything is checked over and insulated and OK internally for the battery.

But i'm checking the rest of the wires and the main positive and negative power wires that stem from the battery, the ends of those are burned out and the plastic insulation is a bit frayed as well too.

Great... why does this happen?

reversing the polarity will cause a meltdown, allways double check the wiring. your not the first to do it.:D

Okay guys,
I too have a goldenmotor LiFePo4 36v 10ah and though I haven't used it other than about 100 yards up the block, I initially charged it fully and let it sit for a couple of weeks till my motor (ampedbikes) came in. I then hooked everything up and it worked fine out of the gate. I measured the voltage to insure I had the polarity correct and it read 38.1-38.4 volts. (just noted the voltage during polarity check) I ran it about 100 yards total. let it sit for another day and put it back on the charger tonight. Charger is 12 cell balancing charger from golden. The first time I charged it about four of the cells took much longer than the rest to finish charging, it seems these same cells (near as I remember) are taking the longest this time as well. Is this normal or should they be more random in which cells take longest? Should I be concerned that I may have bad cells? I have obviously not torn it down and measured any individual cells, but after hearing about the internal build quality on the goldemotors forum, I feel I should. What are your experiences with normal charging profile for LiFePo4's?

mrlassiter

my ping battery takes time to balance cells, the charger cycles on and off, sounds like there not matched cells. no big deal the bms in the charger takes care of it. if theres a problem with a lifepo4 cells it just wont take a charge at all. like led acid its a good idea to charge it even after a short ride. you dont want a cell to drop below 2v or it would damage the cell.if i had led's on my charger or bms i would be seeing the same.

my ping battery takes time to balance cells, the charger cycles on and off, sounds like there not matched cells. no big deal the bms in the charger takes care of it. if theres a problem with a lifepo4 cells it just wont take a charge at all. like led acid its a good idea to charge it even after a short ride. you dont want a cell to drop below 2v or it would damage the cell.if i had led's on my charger or bms i would be seeing the same.

Awesome! Thanks Karma. I figured it was normal, but the alternative was to ignore it and fry my cells.
Update:
I now have ridden this battery round trip to work (13.5 miles each way R/T 27 miles) without charging (baptism by fire, I guess), constant pedalling, mostly flat, the wind this a.m. was cross to headon (I'm going south and east, wind was 220 degrees at about 10mph+) and by this afternoon it had swung to 250-270 degrees and around 15mph+, so stiff headwind (welcome to the So. Ca. High Desert.) Temps 98f humidity 14%, and again I pedalled constantly. I had some juice left when I pulled up the drive, but the cheap thumb throttle meter light for full had just gone off about the last 2 miles from home. The trip is mostly flat. I say mostly, as it is long slight inclines. I still can't figure out if it is more up hill to or more up hill from, so yeah, mostly flat, with a definite rise towards home for the last 1 1/2 to 2 miles (will post M My R later if anyone wants it)

I could probably use another 10ah battery, but will definitely be able to make it with my own energy reserves in probably the worst conditions, but my worst conditions will be pretty consistently normal around here, so, I will try to work out allowance to charge this battery at work.

I hafta work the midshift tonight, so questions later, but, if you have them ask away... Or. you might wait til I find some excuse to tear this goldenmotor LifePo4 apart and confirm others' findings on the internal build quality. If the screws visible from outside are an indicator, though, they are right on the poor build qual.

mrlassiter

yeah i agree, the screws/casing for the battery is sort of poor.

anyway, i got the multimeter out and the polarity was reversed... so i fixed that.. and hooked it up to my controller and the wheels were spinning, yay! now.. the only strange thing was, the battery lost all its juice after about a minute. It should be fully charged... but i dont know.. maybe the reversal messed everything up?

i'll try charging it again.. oh and mrlassiter, my charger works the same way too, some cells seem to take way longer than others, but it seems like it knows what it's doing, lol.