Question about charging

[woody]

Hi All,

I am proud of you guys for the whole design and configuration of this machine. Great work!

First a short introduction. (I am Dutch so I am not a native English writer, so apologies in advance..)
Since a couple of weeks I am the proud owner of a "Black Sheep", the working title of my Mower..
As a non-technician I managed to build the Mower, assemble the board, and build the periwire-sender. With a fully charged battery my liddle darling cuts the grass with great precision. Bluetooth is up and running.


But..

I ran in to a problem that I am not able to solve, so any help would be greatly appreciated!
When I put my mower on my desk (wooden blocks underneath), and apply 29.3 volts to the "external charging pins" (screws on top, + / - appropriately!) the following things happen:
- I still can reach my Mower by Bluetooth => OK
- the mower senses the 29.3 volt => it is "in the charging dock" => OK
- the charging-LED on the front is turned ON => OK
- the Mower senses 29.3 Volts applied to the external pins => ...
- NO charging current => ..
- the relais starts to switch on / off with about 2-3 seconds interval. => ...


Does anybody have an idea what I am doing wrong?
- I installed the variable resistant (RV1). Do I have to turn it to a certain "value"?
- D3, D4, D10 are all in place
- as I have the newest board, D8 is installed as indicated on the board, (contrary to the "fehler" as described) => or wasn't this updated in the latest version of the board? (The LED is never switched on, though, and Bluetooth is working perfectly..)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kind Regards,

Bart

 

[megacue]

Hello Woody,

Depending on the kind of battery/charger you are using, the board configuration (as to which components are installed) will be different. I just say because it is not immediately clear from your post whether you are using Lithium batteries and external charger, or lead-acid batteries and the additional charging circuit.

 

[woody]

Hello Manuel,

Thank you for your fast reply.

Let my specify:

I use 2 Lead batteries (12 V) in series. They deliver about 25-26 volt.
The charger I use, is the one from marotronics (24 V => 29 V)
The charger is linked to the perimeter. From there, "24 V" is taken to the "charging station" (to be built, now just two wires.
Charger-connector is not used. I use the charging-area left/right. When 24 V is applied to charging area, 24 V is measured over the two poles of the Charger-connector (P42)

With JP 7 bridged (closed) the relais switches on / off at about 2 seconds intervals (2 sec ON, 2 sec OFF etc)
With JP 6 bridged (closed), and 7 open relais waits 2 seconds, makes a fast switch (ON/OFF), arduino is reset, and the relais waits 2 seconds again.


- About the INA 169s: I only connected 5 header-pins to the base of the module. (rest is "interconnected")
- R17 is left "blank"
- D19: bridged by wire (Drahtbrücke)
- D3: placed MBR 1045, as I want to use the "laderegelung" (charger) Correct?
- D7: placed 1N5059, as I want to use the "laderegelung" (charger) Correct?
- Below D4 (MBR 1045) are two holes, looks like jumper-pins can be placed there. Now left blank. Correct?

Perhaps, could anybody upload a picture of a completed PCB, without the modules?

Kind regards,

Bart

 

[woody]

Hi All,

short update.
In the wiki I found some alternative setting for the jumpers.
(http://wiki.ardumower.de/index.php?title=Ardumower_PCB#PCB_jumpers)

With charging via the "internal" system I have the following settings:
- D7: short-cut => done
- D3: short-cut => done
- D4: short-cut => done

- C1, C4, RV1 not used => applied (done)
- JP6 OPEN => done
- JP7 CLOSED => done
- C5 used => done

- U4 (I had to remove) => done

Now:
- Arduino boots
- LED => charging
- APP (PFOD): charge: 29.35 V, A: 0.0...
- relais in NOT switching ON/OFF, not even once..
- battery voltage: 25.4
- switch off if below: 23.8 (was 21.7, I Changed it for DEBUG-purposes)
- go home if below 23.7
- charging starts if V below 27, so should charge now..

Does U4 really needs to be left unused??

Any comments would be appreciated!

Kind regards,

Bart

 

[megacue]

Hello Bart,

Do you mean you have not installed R17? I would say it is needed in your case, since you are using the charger circuit for lead batteries.

EDIT: Or maybe not, as you are not using the charging circuit anymore

 

[woody]

Hello Manuel,

Thank you for your help / reply.

I installed the 240 Ohm resistor in R17 as you mentioned but the ardumower is still not charging.
I read your post of about 2 months ago about R17, but where did you get that info from?
I could not find it in the PDF or on the website..

Could it be that I have to change the variables in the PFOD-app? I am a bit reluctant to change these parameters.

Could you upload a picture of your installed PCB?
Kind regards,

Bart

 

[megacue]

Hello Manuel,

Thank you for your help / reply.

I installed the 240 Ohm resistor in R17 as you mentioned but the ardumower is still not charging.

Well, what I meant was that R17 is needed (or so I think) if you are using the additional charging circuit. Since you seem to have taken out of the board the other circuit components, then R17 should not be needed as well.

I read your post of about 2 months ago about R17, but where did you get that info from?
I could not find it in the PDF or on the website..

Sorry, what info exactly are we talking about? As far as I can remember, the only thing I know about R17 is what is written in the assembly instructions, namely: R17 | 240 Ohm | Ladereglung | | Unbestück.

Could it be that I have to change the variables in the PFOD-app? I am a bit reluctant to change these parameters.

Could you upload a picture of your installed PCB?
Kind regards,

Bart

I shall certainly post a pic of my board and I hope it will help, though I am using the proposed LiMn Akkupack + the pedelec charger, don't know if the board configuration should be the same por lead batteries.

Regards

Manuel

 

[megacue]

The promised picture. If there is anything you are not seeing there by all means let me know.

Regards

Manuel

P.S.: INA169 module removed for clarity's sake.
Attachment: https://forum.ardumower.de/data/media/kunena/attachments/2364/board.jpg/

 

[woody]

Hi Manuel,

Thank you for your fast reply and the attached picture! Very helpfull!

What kind of charging-solution do you have for your mower? What type of battery (a LIPO?)

Kind regards,

Bart

 

[megacue]

Hi Bart,

The battery I am using is the one described at the first post in this thread: http://www.ardumower.de/index.php/d...400-faq-rund-um-die-ardumower-pakete-und-kits

The charger is the one from the shop: https://www.marotronics.de/Ladegera...s-24V-mit-Status-LED-auch-fuer-Li-Ion-Akkus_1
Whenever the mower needs charging I take it indoors and connect the charger to the charge connector in the back.
Currently I do not have a charging station since, when the mower is in operation, I need to be physically present due to, hmm ..., neighbourhood circumstances.

Hope this helps.

Manuel
Attachment: https://forum.ardumower.de/data/media/kunena/attachments/2364/Battery_pack.jpg/

 

[woody]

Hi All,

Manuel, thank you for the picture. Helpfull.

Everything seems to be going fine!
when I attach my charger (from the shop):
- the mower shows it's in the charging station
- It is loading (!)
- It shows a current of 3.14 A (...). Fortunately, when I test the current with my multi-meter it shows about 1.5A, like the specs from the charger.

Most important question I have for the moment:
Do you have any idea if it will go terribly wrong when I use the loader from the shop for my lead-batteries??
(or "just" reduced lifespan of my battery?)

I am a bit reluctant to use LIPO batteries, as they are also called "LIPO-bombs". Besides, they break down easily due to imbalanced loading..

I tried to charge the mower with a 24-V lead-battery-charger, but due to it's "intelligence", it does not charge: under normal circumstances there is no 24V on the charging pins. THerefore the charger "thinks" it is not connected to a battery. Bypassing the "relais" would be an option (charger stops by itself when charging is complete).
But: then 24 V is applied to the external charging pins.. Hope the mower does not hit the bottom of my car..

Any Idea how to charge the lead-batteries?

Kind regards,

Bart

 

[megacue]

Hello Bart,

Sorry, I don't really know if lead batteries can be charged with the charger from the shop, I am no expert and have not studied the subject (i.e.: have not googled it ).

Regarding the batteries, these are not LiPo but LiMn. This is a somewhat different technology, safer than LiPo, and individual cells do not suffer from voltage drift, or so they say. Other than that, I am quite satisfied with my pack's performance: this morning the ardumower has been working for two hours straight, until the battery voltage reached the "go home" level. That is: there was still room for quite a few minutes of working time until the "switch off" level.

Regards

Manuel