T.E.C pack no indication that’s it’s plugged in

[Killswitch73]

I’ve just had a jam2 delivered and for the tec pack with it and when the tec pack is connected and switch the tec pack on it goes back off after 15 seconds even when the bike is turned on .
Is there no indication that the battery is actually connected ? When it is connected and bike is on unplugging the cable does turn the bike off .. maybe this is the only indication that’s it’s connected .
Sorry for strange post as I’m so used to the Levo sl and the extender with both having indications .

 

[steve_sordy]

That concerned me for a while.

Start off with the bike "off". Connect the TEC pack. Switch on the TEC pack and then immediately switch on the bike before the 15 secs have elapsed.
That should do it. I think it's in the instructions, but I can't recall exactly now.

TBH, I'm not certain that you need to have the bike switched off before connecting/disconnecting the TEC pack. But it is good electrical practice, so I never tested it.

One way to confirm that the display is reading the TEC pack and not the frame battery is the charge status. If your frame battery had only one bar lit up and now you have all of them, then you know its reading the TEC pack. As an alternative, you could also use range in miles to illustrate the difference.

 

[Killswitch73]

Hi thanks for the reply . Both Batteries are fully charged . I’m about to go out for small spin around my block with the tec pack plugged in and drain one of the bars . Then unplug and then turn it back on . If it goes back to full battery on the display then I know the tec pack is working as it should . Shame there is no real way of knowing as the lights in the tec pack go off anyway .

 

[stiv674]

In theory, when the TEC battery is plugged in it automatically overrides the internal battery. It is a bit annoying that there's no indication anywhere though...

 

[Killswitch73]

Tested is last night and drained 1
Bar .. unplugged the tec pack , turned bike back on using internal and back to full battery .

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

That concerned me for a while.

Start off with the bike "off". Connect the TEC pack. Switch on the TEC pack and then immediately switch on the bike before the 15 secs have elapsed.
That should do it. I think it's in the instructions, but I can't recall exactly now.

TBH, I'm not certain that you need to have the bike switched off before connecting/disconnecting the TEC pack. But it is good electrical practice, so I never tested it.

One way to confirm that the display is reading the TEC pack and not the frame battery is the charge status. If your frame battery had only one bar lit up and now you have all of them, then you know its reading the TEC pack. As an alternative, you could also use range in miles to illustrate the difference.

So with the TEC pack on and connected you still have to switch the bike on? I have not been doing that with my DIY TEC pack. I just plug it in and the bike comes on but the display continues to read the SOC of the native battery but runs off of the TEC pack. Maybe if I tried to switch the bike on within those 15 sec the display might read the TEC pack?

I also wondered if it's OK to use the native pack first and run it down to maybe one bar and then switch over to the TEC pack? I've been using my DIY pack first but once in a while I'd like to run the native battery down most of the way to let the BMS balance the cells better than it can with just a quick partial charge.

So far with many rides now no real issues with my DIY tec pack except as noted above. I put an inexpensive display on my pack so I know it's SOC since my display isn't registering that. But it doesn't really have anything to base the SOC on except voltage so it might instantly lose a couple of bars on a steep climb only to see them come right back when the climb is over and most of the voltage recovers. I've even seen it drop to 0% as the battery gets lower on a climb only to see 20% when the load is reduced.

 

[steve_sordy]

So with the TEC pack on and connected you still have to switch the bike on? I have not been doing that with my DIY TEC pack. I just plug it in and the bike comes on but the display continues to read the SOC of the native battery but runs off of the TEC pack. Maybe if I tried to switch the bike on within those 15 sec the display might read the TEC pack?

I also wondered if it's OK to use the native pack first and run it down to maybe one bar and then switch over to the TEC pack? I've been using my DIY pack first but once in a while I'd like to run the native battery down most of the way to let the BMS balance the cells better than it can with just a quick partial charge.

So far with many rides now no real issues with my DIY tec pack except as noted above. I put an inexpensive display on my pack so I know it's SOC since my display isn't registering that. But it doesn't really have anything to base the SOC on except voltage so it might instantly lose a couple of bars on a steep climb only to see them come right back when the climb is over and most of the voltage recovers. I've even seen it drop to 0% as the battery gets lower on a climb only to see 20% when the load is reduced.

First para, yes that works for me. What is SOC? When I switch between the frame battery and the TEC pack in the way I describe, the display screen always shows the battery I'm interested in. I agree, it can be hard to tell if both batteries are fully charged.
Second para, as far as I know you can switch back and forth as many times as you like.
Third para, I don't believe that I understand what you are talking about.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

First para, yes that works for me. What is SOC? When I switch between the frame battery and the TEC pack in the way I describe, the display screen always shows the battery I'm interested in. I agree, it can be hard to tell if both batteries are fully charged.
Second para, as far as I know you can switch back and forth as many times as you like.
Third para, I don't believe that I understand what you are talking about.

State of Charge and used commonly for EV vehicles and li ion battery health. 3rd paragraph just describing my DIY pack with it's display behavior. It really doesn't have the smarts of the shimano display and only looks at battery voltage which normally will droop under load and then recover afterwards. My display doesn't have a way of ignoring this and can lead you to believe the battery is running out when under high climbing loads.

 

[steve_sordy]

Ah, I see. third para makes sense now.