Hello,
a finally got my new battery today. A next generation AGM battery, which is also used in golf carts. But i could only drive for 10 seconds then it blew a fuse. This is a fuse i used for security reason between the battery cable. It is a 30A fuse, is this to low? Strange thing is with a normal car battery i could drive for a few minutes, which is normal because the battery was only meant for starting a car engine. There is a different in voltage between the car battery and the AGM battery the first one is exactly 12Volt and the AGM is between 12.8 and 13 volts. The new battery is 55Ah. Has somebody a suggestion?
That's a great option 2 fuses. Instead of a fuse i used today a 70 Amp diode, but the problem with this is it reduces the voltage to much. So i removed it, and went on a long test drive. But i'am going to use the 2 fuses option, thanks for the info.
I have to ask - why are you even fitting a fuse ?
I must add, i am thinking the same, what is different with your c5 to need the fuse/s ?
Retro Andy
make a shortcut (direct connection of + and - ) in your wiring without a fuse :o
it will burn down all your cabling ;D
that's why ???
if you like to test it
take an electric wire firmly in your hands and connect is to the + AND -
keep both your hands on the wire
of you able to reach the burns unit give me a call ,if you still manage
do not try this at home !!! it is dangerous and will harm you
the only fuses on a c5 should be in the control box but if its bean modified then god knows
..I'm confused by this entire thread ... :-\
Me too, and it dont take a lot to confuse me.
Retro Andy
Well very simple, if you connect the battery wires the wrong way it's bye bye control box!
Quote from: Umpa on 02, April, 2009 - 07:20:30
I have to ask - why are you even fitting a fuse ?
Because of the time delay on the fuse blowing you will still fry the Pod and Control Box.
The only way to be safe is to use a C5ALIVE power Wiring Kit.
The Stall Current of a C5 is over 100Amps which the electrics are designed to cut out.
Good old Sinclair another safety feature.
Go with the safe option, i connected mine the wrong way when i was restoring it and messed up the control box, Martin fixed this for me and i then changed to the c5 alive wiring kit, its the only way if you are going to use your c5.
Retro Andy.
True - and worth every penny.
Quote from: Umpa on 05, April, 2009 - 19:45:00
True - and worth every penny.
..they must be good, we've sold out twice :P
We're busy working on re-stocking ! ;)
i know this is an old thread just though i'd throw in my 2 pence worth.
i seen many an aarm sysem burst into flames due to a short on the battery leads caused by so called 'engineers' being inexperienced, careless or just plain stupid
a fuse is to protect the wiring to, not the device it supplies - a common misconception because wire is relatively cheap in comparison to the device, so why protect it people think?, hence a fuse in a 13amp plug top as well as fuse/s inside you telly/radio would sem over kill to the uninitiated.
trust me it makes very sound sense safety wise to have fuses/breaers at the earliest point of power take off, or you risk sitting on the equivalent of a naked toaster should a short occur in the wiring prior to the fused control box ;D
if want to prove a point? drop some coins in your pocket then drop Duracel PP3 in on top, count how long before your hopping about and dropping your strides in sheer panic ::) and thats only a few amps @ 9volts
earlier it stated the Sinclair Motor can draw 100 amps on stall, if the battery is shorted it can deliver several hundreds of amps, easily more than enough to start a fire, not a good thing to happen in a mainly plastic vehicle, especially if traveling in traffic.
a simple standard wired fuse may well blow regularly, so perhaps anti surge or slow blow could be used, the resettable thermal type as used on washing machines could employed but getting such a high amperage might be an issue.
thought i'd just clear that up for future readers
regs
alan
///puts soap box back in cupboard
There are fuses in in the C5 control box Alan, the problem is not about it shorting and catching fire, its about cross wiring it and blowing the diode and other parts in the box.
The C5 was never designed to be able to be cross wired so no protection was included, in fact as I think about it I don't think any car has a battery short protection either, the largest fuse on my car is 30 amp, which is not enough. It uses relays to start the car just as the C5 wiring kit does.
Can you imagine the bang from a 100 amp fuse ? the shock is more likely to kill you more than the hot wire..... ;D
lol! Umpa,
i was being 'led' by others comments about their being fuses in the control box ::), must admit i'm amazed there are none and a bit of an oversight imo not expecting owners to modify.
the C5 wiring mod kit stops reversals causing damage which is good as no matter what size fuse is installed, no fuse is ever going to be faster than a base of a transistor or diode in a race to destruction.
my honest aim was to iexplain the generally sound principals applied to fuses so those less experienced/trained can appreciate in plain English (with full emphasis on ish! ;D),
as it happens on my piagio X9 500 scooter has a fuse in the battery lead, but your right about most cars. i ould counter the leads from car battery to ground and car battery to solenoid, from solenoid to starter tend to be far thicker than the C5 loom, and thus more substantial. being so thick they will take a fair bit of abuse before bursting into flames, whatever shorts them wil likely blow before the leads are badly damaged.
got to emphasis here i'm not knocking the C5Wiring kit in any way, my concern is the cables are while possibly adequate for normal use, imo would soon burst into flame in a shorted battery situation.
i should also point out its law to have the battery properly secured in a motor vehicle, but i observed at Brighton Run many just rely on a angle piece of metal that stops it sliding forward under breaking (which did not work very well on 'DAVE' the lone machine at Brighton).
i appreciate the body will likely prevent the battery from leaving the bay if it rolled, but of it can be fitted without removing any clamp/stop, then it can come out again without removing any clamp/stop. Granted. Might be a very low risk but potentially catastrophic in an accident, so my advice is to at least fit a securing strap, a heavy duty cable strap or leather belt would do.
i've not had the time to look closely at the wiring kit mod yet, mine was ready fitted by C5 Clive, but my service engineers/designers instincts say there is room for now designing an upgraded Mk2 version, especially with heavier leads.
other mods would be as i had trouble with DAVE's battery quick release clamp covers coming off, and on my C5 they also fell off easily. i think that's an easy enough fixed by drilling some small holes in the covers and retaining with a couple of thin cable ties.
i don't know if anyone has checked the 'voltage drop' over these very extended leads, but under duress if the extra resistance is high enough, i suspect the diameter of cable used coupled with the length, could cause the motor to get hotter than it would with original battery setup, might even cause the control box to malfunction intermittently, with spurious results.
but now i digress from th simple fuse and why they get fitted ???
regs
alan
Quote from: techytype on 03, December, 2009 - 21:49:37
..got to emphasis here i'm not knocking the C5Wiring kit in any way, my concern is the cables are while possibly adequate for normal use, imo would soon burst into flame in a shorted battery situation.
..mate , the c5alive wiring kit is an improved version of a similar kit that has been used since c5alive was first set up many years ago. I'm guessing the original kit was produced back then because people were getting fed up with the original temperamental keyswitch assemblies.
C5martin introduced the latest version about 18months ago in response to the number of control box and pod repairs coming his way caused by people connecting their batteries up the wrong way round. It has since been well tried and tested over the years with none of the catastrophic problems you fear may develop . Although you may not be intentionally knocking the kit - unfortunately that's exactly how its coming across, which I think is a little unfair.
There is always room for improvement in everything, but a balance has to be struck between time/cost/effort. The c5alive kit is very capable of the job it was designed for and good value for the price it is sold at. It is easy to overlook the amount of time and effort each kit takes to produce, as well as the cost of the raw materials.
There's nothing stopping someone making their own kits that are better/worse/cheaper/more expensive but the number of control box and pod repairs might well increase. The c5martin developed kit is the only one I trust.
"Dave" was loaned to you in good faith having only recently emerged from major "surgery" so a few snags were expected to surface - which have been identified and on the list to be sorted. The battery used on the day was an extra large one that I wanted to experiment with so the "foot" to hold it in place was a bit rushed & simply wasn't up to the job - I agree with the need to keep the batteries securely in place hence mine usually all have webbing straps.
Not having a rant but I do think your comments needed to be answered.
Karl - gonna need a wiring kit for pimping project - any idea on restocking (understanding the C5Martin retirement)
Quote from: radiomarty on 04, December, 2009 - 16:46:51
Karl - gonna need a wiring kit for pimping project - any idea on restocking (understanding the C5Martin retirement)
I'm hoping to have some ready for January, I've got most of the raw materials - just need to put some time aside to assemble the bits.