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Old 04-19-2018, 07:06 PM   #1
Goliath
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Default Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

So, I was going to start posting all pics of my 1992 Western rebuild, as I'm nearing completion. Had a little setback Sunday, and thought I'd share.

To properly set the stage, let me preface the scenario by sharing something my wife recently told me. We have a second house out in Indian Wells (Palm Springs area) that will be the home for this cart. Five days ago, my wife told that a house down the street (in Indian Wells) burned down, and the fire department attributed that to the new lithium pack installed on the owner's cart.

So, I had to reassure my wife several times that this could NEVER happen with my install, as the LithiumBoost BMS system is very protective of over and under charging scenarios.

On to the story...
Saturday, I spent ALL day installing the batteries and BMS. I've had the setup for 2 months, but had to build a custom battery box, mounts for everything, and planning out the logistics of where to put it all. The BMS system has 15 individual chargers, so there was a crapload of wiring to organize, insulate, wrap, etc.

Going to do this in a few posts, so bear with me.

Here's a couple pics before beginning, and one after cleaning up the wiring and mounting the batteries.
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Old 04-19-2018, 07:09 PM   #2
LukeL
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Don’t keep us waiting!!!


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Old 04-19-2018, 07:15 PM   #3
scottyb
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Lipo aka lithium polymer batteries are not forgiving of charge or discharge outside their narrow safe zone.
Which is why I choose Life batteries for my build.
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Old 04-19-2018, 07:44 PM   #4
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

I didn't do a full resto, like many on the board, partially because I started with a near-mint cart. It must have been well cared for, because the original paint is excellent. That said, I don't skimp, and have well over $5k, and I'm guessing near 150 hours into it so far.

I'll never show my wife this thread, as she thinks D&D motors cost $100. Now I never said that specifically, but y'all know how that goes...

Here's a few pics of the setup before and after the battery box went in.
Yes, that's .5" aluminum sheet, which is WAY overkill, but it I got it for $30, and it was already the right size.

@Scotty - I did use the LiFePo4 cells
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Old 04-19-2018, 07:54 PM   #5
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Saturday night, tired, but SUPER excited that after several months of delays, batteries are in, chargers hooked, wiring triple checked.

All good to go!

BTW, tip for installing lithium packs. There are many cells in VERY CLOSE PROXIMITY. Be really careful when installing. No loose tools, no metal objects, all screws set aside. Install the jumper bars ONE AT A TIME, or one slight shake of your hand, and s**t can go south quickly. Put blue tape on the sides of adjacent jumper bars, so you've got a little safety barrier. Same when wiring up the chargers, as one loose eyelet flopping at the end of a wire can short those copper bars quickly.

So, I plugged it in, and...all chargers working, all lights red (good/charging).

And so I watched a movie with wifey, and went to bed.
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Old 04-19-2018, 07:56 PM   #6
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Next morning, super excited to find the BMS fans all shut off, and all lights green!

Wait, one is not green, it's flashing yellow/red, and making a clicking noise from that single charger.
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Old 04-19-2018, 08:05 PM   #7
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Super bummed at this point, but not as bummed as I'm about to be.

So, being super meticulous, I actually numbered each battery, and assigned the chargers each cell in the exact layout of the batteries, in order to make diagnosis more easy in the event of, well...this.

Charger #11 is the one showing a fault, so I go right to that cell with my Fluke, and measure it at 5.2v. Oy. BMS is supposed to cut off at 3.6(ish).

I then decide to find out if it's the cell, or the BMS. I suspected BMS, but had to verify. I go to remove one of the bolts from the cell, and it goes flying, as the bus bar torques to one side. I'm like "WTF" and take a closer look.

Can you find Waldo?
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Old 04-19-2018, 08:06 PM   #8
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

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Old 04-19-2018, 08:08 PM   #9
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooncarter View Post
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Old 04-19-2018, 08:12 PM   #10
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Default Re: Lithium Woes - How to avoid house fires!

Finding that cell swollen freaked my s**t out. After my wife's story about our neighbor, I'm thinking it's gonna keep growing, and my house would become the China Syndrome (an old movie for the younger crowd - Google it).

After I calmed down, I decided to remove it, to see the extent of damage. Luckily, I had installed foam all around the inside of the box, to dampen vibration. The cell had swollen so much, it compressed the foam, then proceeded to push the plywood box outward about 1/2".

It took an hour to get the cells out of that end row. I had to pry a middle one out sideways with a plastic auto trim tool, and broke 2 tools doing it.

I included a pic of a good cell, for reference.
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