Issue with Ancheer power plus battery or controller

[jentlesoal]

Hello, I own an Ancheer power plus that I purchased 2 years ago. Unfortunately, I have only been able to ride the bike less than 12 times over the past 2 years. Recently when I went to ride even though the battery was fully charged when I was going up a hill in 1 pedal assist, the LED indicators immediately dropped down from 5 to 3! Once I crested the hill the indicator lights went back to 5. So, dopes anyone have the same product line and have experienced this type of issue and dose it seem like the issue is with the led display, the controller, the battery or the motor? My desire is to determine if this is symptom is caused by battery failing under load, an issue with the controller, the LED or the motor and thereby address the issue according.

Also, is there any “shade tree” way of diagnosing the issue?

One concern I have, is by not riding often and thereby not depleting and recharging the battery (I always store charged) can this lead to premature battery failure.

Thanks ahead for any feedback!

 

[harryS]

First time riding up this hill on the Ancheer? What you're looking at is voltage sag.

To a large extent, the gradient of the hill, and how how hard the motor was working is a factor in voltage sag. If you've ridden this hill in the past on a fresh charge and didn't see this, it could be evidence of an ageing battery. Then again. maybe it's cold where you are riding. Cold temperatures create more sag.,

And on the other hand, it could be normal for your Ancheer 250W bike with its 36V 8AH battery, Maybe the hill was steep. The good thing is that your LED's recovered as soon as you cleared the hill. Shade tree diagnostics requires a buying meters and gauges. Not expensive, maybe $30-40, but not something most people want to do.

 

[tstillman]

I'm dealing with my own battery issue, but have discovered that per this manufacturer when place in for long time storage it should be charged to about 80% capacity, and then recharged every 90 days. Otherwise, the life of the battery will be diminished.

Having said that I have also noted on several Youtube videos that show unboxing and first test ride the indicators did just you described with the charge level indicator dropping when under a heavy load and returning when the load is reduced. It may be reflecting the more rapid drain on the battery reserves when under heavy loads. I'm not very knowledgeable here but these are my amateur opinions. Good luck, I'll be watching for other opinions as well. -Tom

 

[jentlesoal]

Did you store your bike fully charged?

I'm not an engineer, but I was told that it's very hard on battery chemistry.

Hi Timpo, I did store fully charged

 

[jentlesoal]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the great feedback, and please excuse the delay in replying.

The battery was manufactured n March 2017, so its almost 4 years old. Even though I have only placed the battery through approx 12 deplete/recharge cycles, and most of the time the battery was stored inside, I'm now wondering if the battery is starting to fail. As far as the riding conidiations the hill was approx. 30 degrees and about 500 feet long, so it was a pretty good size hill. The ambient temperature was about 40 degrees. I also wonder if the controller was limiting the deliverable power to avoid overheating the battery and this was reflected on the LED display.

If I had a way to (bench testing) place a load on the battery and test the battery under load (using a variable resistor perhaps) I can then see if the battery is failing under load. And this is interesting, when I tested the battery's voltage, even though its a 36 volt 8 amp hr battery its putting out 42 volts. I can only surmise that that battery technology is not an exact technology and you will find these types of values among different batteries, and I don't think its a voltage regulator issue, because I would imagine the voltage regulator would be managed by the controller.

My concern is if the battery is failing that it may be unreliable for long excursions. I've also seen some batteries on EBAY that are 36 volts 10hr, which is 25% more power! So if I cant resolve what the issue is and restore confidence in the battery I may just invest in a new battery and keep the old one as a spare. Any feedback is appreciated!

 

[harryS]

A 36V battery at full charge is 42.0 volts. Nominal charge is 37V so it's less than half charged at 36V. WIth the smaller packs, 8AH and less, there's not much pep left under 34V, but the bike will run down to about 30-32V. Your battery metter is a load test. It's showing the voltage dropping momentarily down to under 34 volts.

Really? 30 degrees. This one on the Legacy Trail in Sarasota, FL, is 10 degrees as indicated by the sign, and it induces some non-ebikers to walk. We were riding 36V 250W ebikes, and after stoppibg to take the picture, we passed the front trike/flag before the top.

I'd suggest to keep riding. If you find your range unacceptable, like it's now under 10 miles when you used to do 20 miles, or if the motor cuts out on you on hills you used to climb, then it's worth replacing the battery or maybe the bike,

 

[Handlebars]

Harry S, thank you for your always-informative support posts. I've never used the "follow" button before - just did.

 

[Handlebars]

Hello, I own an Ancheer power plus that I purchased 2 years ago. Unfortunately, I have only been able to ride the bike less than 12 times over the past 2 years. Recently when I went to ride even though the battery was fully charged when I was going up a hill in 1 pedal assist, the LED indicators immediately dropped down from 5 to 3! Once I crested the hill the indicator lights went back to 5. So, dopes anyone have the same product line and have experienced this type of issue and dose it seem like the issue is with the led display, the controller, the battery or the motor? My desire is to determine if this is symptom is caused by battery failing under load, an issue with the controller, the LED or the motor and thereby address the issue according.

Also, is there any “shade tree” way of diagnosing the issue?

One concern I have, is by not riding often and thereby not depleting and recharging the battery (I always store charged) can this lead to premature battery failure.

Thanks ahead for any feedback!

I observe the battery % indicator and LEDs dip down a bit, rarely even up to 20%, under conditions of climbing hills with throttle.

After reducing the power drain when the hill levels off, the indicator doesn't immediately return to normal level until the power drain activity is stopped, as in letting off the throttle or stopping pedalling in PAS. Then it bounces back up.

Recently I persistently slowly drained the battery all the way to shut off, 0% power indicated and then charged to 100% in stages allowing battery to cool and settle 4 or 5 times during charging. I've carefully avoided going below about 20 % until now. after draining and full charging, I found the overall performance was still good and I'm getting respectable mileage. I had been worried a bit because from 100% charge I was seeing a drop on the indicator begin immediately from 100% to 98% after the first pedal movements.

I'm still kind of in the dark because I realize that even though I'm riding an everyday ride route, my riding actions differ significantly and additionally there is the wind differences.
To observe more, I could use throttle only, held at a certain position, and avoid windy days when calculating, but buying some meters and learning a bit looks to be something I need for any further inquiries.

It looks to me as if the battery will be good for some more years.

 

[jentlesoal]

Harry S, what a great reply and suggestions! When compared to the hill in the photo, my hill is certainly not 30 degrees and probably around 10 degrees! I will follow your suggestions will keep everyone updated. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[harryS]

And then he will only have a 10 mile range, so let's see what is going on. Ancjeer 250W is not known for climbing hills.

Court loaned one out to some forum member to start a fledgling test service and the guy melts it. I blame the tester, not the bike,

 

[jentlesoal]

Hmmmmm, thanks handlebar for the comprehensive reply. I may try that experiment myself.

 

[Handlebars]

Hmmmmm, thanks handlebar for the comprehensive reply. I may try that experiment myself.

I'm still not really if the indicators behave exactly like that or the same way all the time. Another thing I've seen is that the % indicator can bounce DOWN after letting up on the power consumption. That is, the % is lower after the constant power drain than it was when the power drain began and that sometimes shows up only after I stop using the power.
A long time looking at it and I'm still not sure of how the critter actually behaves as it does.

 

[jentlesoal]

yhea that's my concern is it reliable? I wonder if I can invest in a generic digital meter. But then again its not just a meter it also controls functionality.

 

[Murray Huntaway]

Hello, I own an Ancheer power plus that I purchased 2 years ago. Unfortunately, I have only been able to ride the bike less than 12 times over the past 2 years. Recently when I went to ride even though the battery was fully charged when I was going up a hill in 1 pedal assist, the LED indicators immediately dropped down from 5 to 3! Once I crested the hill the indicator lights went back to 5. So, dopes anyone have the same product line and have experienced this type of issue and dose it seem like the issue is with the led display, the controller, the battery or the motor? My desire is to determine if this is symptom is caused by battery failing under load, an issue with the controller, the LED or the motor and thereby address the issue according.

Also, is there any “shade tree” way of diagnosing the issue?

One concern I have, is by not riding often and thereby not depleting and recharging the battery (I always store charged) can this lead to premature battery failure.

Thanks ahead for any feedback!

Don't worry this is normal. I have two Ancheer bikes and when you go uphill there is more strain on the motor and it will drop down from 5 to 3 then bounce back when on level pavement again. You will notice it more on throttle control rather than pedal assist. Perfectly normal Also try a much lower gear to ease the stress on the motor.