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Elithion Lithiumate Cell Board Failure

A few days ago I was checking the battery pack voltages and noticed that 5 of the cells were reading over 4 volts and fail code warning. Cell Boards Installed, Elithion BMSCell Boards Installed, Elithion BMS

Upon further investigation #31 through #35 cells were not sending information to the controller of the Elithion Lithiumate BMS. The over 4 volts probably was a default reading. After removing the rear battery box cover, the LEDs on those 5 cells were not flashing as they should. #31 was the first in the string to not flash. I put a voltmeter on #31 and it's voltage was .03 volts with the charger on. After removing the cell board I tested it and it was shorted. It tested 56 ohms across the positive to negative. Resistance should be infinity. I charged the dead cell for a hour and no response. I charged her for 6 hours still almost Zero voltage.

2 new CALIBs 130 ah have been ordered from Calib Power. I did not ask to have the one warrantied because I believe the BMS ruined the cell. I ordered 2 instead of one in case of another failure I will have a spare. See the video below.


Comments

Mon, 01/02/2012 - 22:06 — atzi

From: Robert Helvestine <robert@elithion.com>

I saw your website posting about the bad cell board. I believe we also spoke about it via email a few weeks ago. I tried to comment on the website explaining what may be occurring and why the cell board was failing, but your website would not post my comment believing that I was spam. Can you post it so that others can see what may be happening in their system? It is below:

Hi I just wanted to share some ideas on why the cell board may have been damaged, leading to it draining the cell.

Could the cell board have been installed backwards for just a split second? If this occurs, the cell board is blown immediately, and will not protect the cell it is supposed to monitor. This may seem obvious, but occurs at least once in most installations.

During installation was the battery not fully disconnected? This would lead to a very large voltage present over that one cell board, destroying it. It is important to completely disconnect the battery during installation.

Is your BMS able to shut down your load? This is absolutely necessary to protect your cells. If the BMS cannot shut down your load, you may drive the cells past their safe operating limits and reverse the polarity of the cells. Reversing the polarity of the cell will destroy the cell board (and, of course, the cell itself).

Thanks,
Robert Helvestine
Elithion Technical Support

Sat, 01/07/2012 - 14:25 — atzi

BMS and cell board had been

BMS and cell board had been in operation for 3 months and was not installed backwards. After installation all cells were checked for voltage and temperature and all were balanced and similar temperature multiple times. The location of the shorted board is shown in the video and is not near any area that would be a likely friction location.

The BMS was not set to shut down the load.
The BMS was set to balance the cells and was doing that.
The BMS controller had other problems from the start. It could not see the charge (source) current although reversing the direction of the sensor to lead showed current even though.
I have removed the Elithion system and am pondering what to do to monitor/manage the pack.

I thought I was protecting the battery pack with the Elithion but now....


I believe I let the fox into the hen house.

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