John, I'm puzzled about why you have this problem now rather than a month or two ago when the weather was warmer.
My guess is the batteries are beginning to show signs of advancing age. Internal resistance increases with age and more heating will occur during discharge and recharge. Another sign of age is higher current and lower voltage at the end of charge. I recall from earlier posts of yours that your commute is 26.5 miles each way with some serious hill climbing. That's very severe duty for a Sparrow and its Optimas. I wouldn't be surprised if your batteries soon reach the point where they won't be able to go 26.5 miles between charges. I hope I'm wrong about your batteries. Tom Shay ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Lussmyer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "EV List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 2:41 PM Subject: Thermal Runaway (walkaway?) again... > Ok, after 6.5 hours I went out to the car to find the charger still > running. (Zivan NG3 into 13 Optima YT's) 190v at 1.8A. So I checked all > the batt voltages, most were about 14.7, with one 14.5, a couple of 14.6 > and a 14.8. Batts were quite warm (of course). > It's cold (mid 50's I think) and wet outside today. > The charger has NOT done it's hi-volt equalization phase, as the the MKII > with the low-bat light (from accelerating up the hill just before I parked) > hasn't turned off yet. > > So, are my batteries having problems, or is my Zivan screwing up? > > (I unplugged it, and I'll plug it back in (in 4 hours) for an hour before I > go home.) > -- > John G. Lussmyer mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Dragons soar and Tigers prowl while I dream.... > http://www.CasaDelGato.Com > >
