I like the copper clad board, and yes, I like it as a ground. Technically, you don't need it since the LED PSU are internally grounded and isolated, but if you add a RS-25-12 later to drive the fan in the car, then maybe you'll want it.

High wattage bulbs discharge to 120V. Lower wattage bulbs below 120V.

1 DVM in parallel for voltage, the other in series on the 10A setting for current. You can video the discharge and compute capacity with little effort... actual data to see what you get.

Steve

 

I just built a similar charger for 60 dollars in parts. Its doing its first charge right now, I am at 16 hours. I have it set for 172 volts. Does anyone have a chart to give me an idea what the voltages should be as it goes up?


Mine is manual all the way about the same as yours but I do have the fuses and am using computer power supply cables.


Here is what I have now, set at 172 vdc . Each time I check I have to power down, unplug, power up, check, power down, connect, power up.


9pm 157.5 pack voltage
9:30 163.4 (checking for fires)
3am 166.3
9am 165.4
12pm 163.8


I am not sure where it is supposed to be so if someone has their chart it would be cool to look at.


The pack was throwing IMA errors so we will see how this works.

 

Set to 178V for HCH1

No. No such chart exists. Too many variables.

Why do you have to disconnect? Can you not just measure with a multimeter while it's charging?

The voltage drop suggests you may be experiencing some seriously adverse heat issues. Are you charging while it's in the car? If so, stop immediately unless you can provide adequate circulation. Damage may result.

 

Follow-up...

The goal with grid charging is to charge at 350mA to PEAK voltage for your pack. This typically takes 24-36 hours. However, heat will cause a premature peak and drop. I'm very concerned this is what's happening to you unless it's a matter of your disconnect/measure process where the time between disconnect and measure is too variable as there is an instantaneous, normal and significant Voltage drop after charger disconnect.

You want to measure the peak when the grid charger is attached. You're finding the point where the pack won't take any more current for charging, and it starts shedding it as heat... essentially, an equilibrium while under charge. By removing the charger to measure voltage, you'll disrupting that equilibrium and the measurement means nothing.

 

I am charging in the car but had two fans blowing on the pack without the metal plate in place. I stopped. Going to reset and see how it runs. Next time I will pull the pack out and sit it on the seat I guess. thanks

I cannot check it connected due to the shell computer connectors I am using.

I have the power supply for the fan I just don't have a connector to swap it out on the existing fan. On the to do list.

Update:
To update the OP, I just went out and drove the car. It had the iMA/check engine light. If you cleared the code it would come back in 15 miles or so. You could see the battery indicator changing up and down kind of fast then throw the code. Now after 16 hours on a grid charger at 172 volts the battery appears to be more stable in that it doesn't drain/charge as fast and hasn't thrown the errors yet. I have driven it 30 miles. I don't think I am finished but I am at a good start. I need a fan solution. so I don't have to remove the pack. But I will let the kid drive the car and we will see if it throws a code soon.


Please note that I have 2 Honda Gen 1 cars not Gen 2.

 

There is a voltage chart on this page below. It shows that anything past 172V is at/over 100%. 8 Bars is like 166 volts, and 1 Bar is like 147 volts. (this is for HCHII). The batteries will go up to 182 or so.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24097

 

Blowing on the pack will do nothing to cool it. It's insulated everywhere but the inlet and outlet openings (top and bottom as mounted). Normal flow is top to bottom, and there is a "valve" that prevents reverse flow, which is what convection was trying to do, so a lot of heat accumulated in the pack. There's a reasonable chance you damaged the cells.

Charge 24-36 hours or until peak voltage, provided you are adequately cooling the pack. cells shouldn't be over 100°F if you're cooling them adequately. If you can't drive the car fan (12V supply and a PWM signal), you shouldn't have it in the car. A simple box fan blowing through the pack can provide adequate cooling in indoor temperatures.

The chart is not accurate. It's the car's SoC, so car-max = 80% actual, and it assumes a pack within spec. Used packs aren't. Packs throwing codes/recals are even further out. Pack peak voltage increases as they age/deteriorate due to increases in internal resistance, hence my "too many variables" comment.

Good luck,

Steve

EDIT: FIX YOUR METHOD OF CONNECTION. FROM WHAT YOU DESCRIBE (4 PIN MOLEX FROM A COMPUTER POWER SUPPLY?), I QUESTION IF IT'S RATED FOR THE HIGH VOLTAGE, AND NOT BEING ABLE TO MEASURE VOLTAGE WHILE CHARGING IS UNIMAGINABLE.

 

Maybe this will help with your imagination. The other end is connected to the pack, its plenty beefy.

Any recommendation for a 12 volt pulse width modulator controller for a gen 1 civic?

I have driven the car 50 miles and it seems to be fine. Next time I will have a fan or take it out of the car.

 

Peter Perkins on Insight Central sells a custom PCB for $20, and you can purchase all the components from Digikey for $15. You'll also need to be able to program the PIC controller with Peter's code. IIRC, Peter will sell you one of those as well for another $20. As you can see, you're $50 into it.

There is an alternative. From my understanding, you can connect the PWM control line to ground with about 21k Ohms. This spoofs the fan and can get it to pulse, which is better than nothing and cheap. The details are in that thread. I can confirm an HCH2 fan will work in such a manner, but instead of 21K ohms, it's about 5K ohms. I think the PWM signal is inverted on the HCH2.

Well, at least you won't get your polarity reversed, and it can definitely handle the current. I recommend a couple cheap HF multimeters. You could wire one in parallel to measure voltage, and another in series to check current AT the grid charger end.

 

Thanks for the info,

As I understand it there are 3 parts: Charge Unit, Fan Driver and Discharge unit

I see Parts lists, I see photos, is there a circuit diagram somewhere?

Also as I understand from reading something needs to be attached to the unit to drive the fan correct? If the fan is being driven does the pack need to be outside the vehicle or can it stay mounted?

The light bulbs are simply a resistive element to completely drain the pack right?

Is there a jtag type interface one can use for data logging?

I tend to make things overly complex, but it seems throwing an arduino in the mix to control timers charge and discharge rates as well as working as a data logger might be a interesting project. Unless someone has already done such, and the total even with a custom enclosure would be far less than the 400 I keep seeing places. Am I missing something really basic?