Discharging battery

[ncwoman]

I fully charged my Himiway Rambler battery and have not been able to get out and ride it. Is there anyway to discharge it enough to be good to store until Spring?

 

[6zfshdb]

Welcome to the forum!

Not sure about Himiway, but with some bikes, you can leave the headlight on. It can take many hours to get the charge down to the 40 - 60% level for storage.

Another possibility is to prop up the bike with the rear wheel off the ground and use some tape to hold the throttle on. If you do this, make sure the bike is stable and secure!

If you have DIY skills, and can tap into the battery output connector, you can use a lamp with a 100W incandescent light bulb as a dummy load.

Hopefully, someone with better knowledge of the Himiway battery connector will offer better advice.

 

[PCeBiker]

If your battery has a USB port, you can plug something into it to drain down the battery, but that will take a LONG time as well.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

I was also going to suggest taping the throttle open with the rear tire off the ground. That's what I would do. Might want to turn the lights on as well, but I have no clue how long it would take to run the battery down to the state you'd like it to be stored in.

 

[Dorkyman]

I don't think you need to bother doing anything. I think what will shorten life is to keep the charge at the top continuously, for years.

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

Personally I’d just leave it be. May not be the best thing for battery but can’t believe it’s that big of a deal long term.

 

[PedalUma]

USB port,

Your bike has a USB port under the display. To safely and slowly take it down, use a laptop cooling pad with USB fans overnight. I advise not running the motor with a zip tie, if the cat bumps it, an earthquake, a downed tree, or whatever, who knows, you are screwed. In the Spring you might consider taking it down this way all the way until the fans stop, before immediately charging to 100% to load level the cells and cell groups and then ride it a few miles to take it down to 90%. Never take it down all the way and leave it there. Never charge to 100% and leave it there because the ions will get jammed to one side or the other. They need to move freely back and forth with a moderate space or 'pressure' and not like a rush to the exits at a White Snake concert.

 

[Aushiker]

Battery University has a series of articles on discharging. Might be worth a read.

 

[6zfshdb]

Your bike has a USB port under the display. To safely and slowly take it down, use a laptop cooling pad with USB fans overnight. I advise not running the motor with a zip tie, if the cat bumps it, an earthquake, a downed tree, or whatever, who knows, you are screwed. In the Spring you might consider taking it down this way all the way until the fans stop, before immediately charging to 100% to load level the cells and cell groups and then ride it a few miles to take it down to 90%. Never take it down all the way and leave it there. Never charge to 100% and leave it there because the ions will get jammed to one side or the other. They need to move freely back and forth with a moderate space or 'pressure' and not like a rush to the exits at a White Snake concert.

View attachment 170016

A USB port is definitely an option for discharging a battery on many bikes. On some however, including mine, the controller has a timeout feature which shuts down after 30 minutes of inactivity. I had to resort to tapping the battery discharge connector and using light bulbs. A twist timer allows me to adjust the discharge time.

 

[PCeBiker]

I decided to do a charge/drain cycle on my batteries.
They say every 3 months for best maintenance,..

 

[PCeBiker]

 

[PedalUma]

On many bikes, not all, the USB port will not time out while discharging because the system is actively engaged in the process and not just idle. It can run some fans all night. It is true that some have more fans than others.