C5ALIVE Forum

C5 Help => C5 Support => Topic started by: kamilb1998 on 03, January, 2012 - 10:53:37

Title: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: kamilb1998 on 03, January, 2012 - 10:53:37
Hi guys,

I went to a show yesterday and my battery only gave 4.5 miles of range, this was with the motor on  for pretty much all those 4.5 miles. Is it normal for the range to drop from 13 miles on a warm, sunny day to 4.5 miles on a cold, winter's day?
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: Lancealot on 03, January, 2012 - 20:35:45
Hi,

Quite a few people's batteries lately are suffering from loss of range due to cold weather. I would not of thought that much but different batteries suffer differently. I have Bosch S5 that don't seem to be suffering as much but I have not done any long runs lately.

Hope this helps

Lance
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: thedesigntailor on 03, January, 2012 - 20:53:06
Hi Kam

I'm finding the same - range has dropped massively in the cold.
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: radiomarty on 04, January, 2012 - 17:04:32
This is why launching the vehicle in the middle of winter wasn't one of Mr Sinclair's best ideas ! :) :)
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: kamilb1998 on 04, January, 2012 - 19:33:50
Went to school on it today, and I got there and back (4.4 miles) with the lights on and the motor on for most of the journey and I returned home with two red lights remaining on the POD.
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: Karl on 04, January, 2012 - 20:51:28
..battery range does drop considerably in the cold , but be careful not to over discharge the battery as they seldom recover from that.
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: kamilb1998 on 04, January, 2012 - 21:23:06
Quote from: BooBoo on  04, January, 2012  - 20:51:28
but be careful not to over discharge the battery as they seldom recover from that.

I am running the original keyswitch & pod assembly so was sort of hoping that if I stop using the battery when the 'brain' cuts power to it after the 20 second beep, I should be OK. Someone correct me if this is not the case?
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: Lancealot on 04, January, 2012 - 22:02:10
Just also check red cables POD to control box and also the connections to the key switch / battery housing as these get a bad connection and can result in incorrect LED indication on the POD. Also are all the POD pins solder joints ok, worth a check.

Lance
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: Karl on 08, January, 2012 - 17:31:49
..the battery protection circuitry fitted to the c5 is useful but shouldn't really be trusted 100% , use it more as a guide.

It is a 26yr old system after all  :)
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: kamilb1998 on 14, January, 2012 - 14:50:28
Managed to cover 7.9 miles today (outdoor temperature 4 degrees). So it appears to be getting a little better now I've come to use it a little more again.
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: thedesigntailor on 14, January, 2012 - 14:54:11
Mine was a lot better yesterday - about 5 miles and only lost one light.
Title: Re: Is my 3 month old battery starting to fail?
Post by: Retro Andy on 21, January, 2012 - 12:03:00
27 years old system now  ;)

Retro Andy.