Luna hardcase battery documentation

[paxtana]

Luna Hardcase Battery Documentation

ESSENTIAL READING FOR NEW EBIKERS: Charging brand new batteries Beginners guide to using your charger Long term storage of lithium batteries How to make lithium batteries last Ebike charging for long battery life Temperature effect on Li-ion battery Battery documentation master repository

Maintenance It is important to regularly check the discharge contacts between case and cradle to make sure nothing is bent out of shape or covered with debris or caked road salt, to ensure proper flow of power (see post 2 below for pics). Also check the charge port. If this is not done and they are not making good contact, the contacts may become damaged over time.

How do i know when it is fully charged? If your battery has a voltage display on it then you can tell that is fully charged based on the voltage readout, we have charts on this page for each type of battery pack showing what voltage equals what the charge percentage. You can also test the voltage with a multimeter directly from the discharge connector.

Why does my charger have a different voltage than the battery listed on the label? The voltage listed on your battery is just the nominal voltage, it actually goes higher and lower depending on the charge. The charger outputs at the highest voltage that the battery would reach when fully charged. See the chart on the listing for your particular battery and look at the 100% voltage level, that is about the voltage it should be charging at. When charging the Battery Management System (BMS) monitors the pack so individual cells do not go over 4.2 volt. (High voltage BMS cutoff is 4.25-4.3V) A fully charged 52 volt pack is 58.8 Volts. A fully charged 48 volt pack is 54.6 Volts A fully charged 36 volt pack is 42.0 volts A fully charged 60 volt pack is 67.2 volts A fully charged 72 volt pack is 84.0 volts Maximum charge current 4 amps or lower for the Shark packs (any model we sell), 6 amps or lower for any Wolf/DireWolf (5a recommended) 2 amps for the Wolf pup 10 amps for a Sur-Ron 60V pack.

Using multiple batteries in parallel? Parallel batteries means having two of the same battery joined together with an adapter to double your capacity. While useful it can be tricky. See this link for info.

What is the small white plug that is sometimes on the battery This is a plug for a voltmeter display. We don't always have the display in stock so it may not be included, when we do have it we include it.

Tips and tricks CRITICAL: Never ever attempt to charge a frozen Li-Ion battery that is under 32 deg F (or 0 deg Celcius) Below freezing permanent damage will occur if you try to charge your battery pack. If your pack is frozen bring it inside your house and let it sit for a few hours till the battery is over 50F (10C) If possible we recommend taking your keys to a local locksmith after you receive your battery and have a set of copied keys made from the original. This will help ensure that if you ever lose the original set of keys you have backups. We do not have replacement keys so doing this before you lose the original set is a good idea. A locksmith can probably make you a new set of keys by looking at the lock but it is probably more expensive and time-consuming for him to do so. Do not throw away the box and packing the battery came in, the one with the hazmat warnings. At least for the first month or two. Bench test your battery (and everything else) as soon as you get it! Like anything you buy, the level of support you receive is dependent on how long you have owned it. Do NOT leave the parts sitting in a box for many months on end and expect the same level of support you would get if you were just unboxing it. We have no way of knowing if something was DOA if it was never tested upon arrival. Always plug the charger in the AC outlet before connecting the charger to the battery.

Are there things I can do to best care for the battery and prolong its life? You can best care for the battery by not running it all the way down to zero, for the best care of it you really want to keep it above 20%. This is where having a large capacity battery is great because you will not be putting it through such a high depth of discharge, thus increasing its cycle life. Another way of caring for the battery is to make sure you use the right type of cell for your application, and if you are using a cell not designed for high amps, try not to pull too much amps from it. So if you are for example using a pack designed for range, if you want max cycle life maybe don't use it for a high performance application that would be better suited for a cell like 30Q. Ideally you also want to be storing your batteries at about 50% capacity, only charging to 80% of capacity and discharging to 10% of capacity, while taking time to sometimes charge all the way to 100% for 1 or 2 cycles every month in order to keep it balanced since it will only do balance charging when it is at 100%.

Why does my voltage drop after a full charge? All lithium batteries have a little voltage sag from where they are when fully charged. The amount of sag is proportional to the number of cycles and how much its been through (heat, repeated deep discharge, pulling more current than the stated continuous discharge rate, age). Other times you may see sag is when pulling a lot of power from the pack, especially when the charge is getting low on the pack. Please see this link for a more thorough explanation of voltage sag. Here is an explanation on why you can't charge to 100%

Storage? Store your batteries somewhere dry at room temperature. Storing at freezing cold temps will drain the pack of power. You may need to balance the pack a few times if you have kept it stored for an extended period of time. You can do this by draining the battery a small amount then charging to 100% until charger shuts off, do this a few times.

Waterproofing? Water resistance varies depending on the pack but no battery is entirely waterproof. Waterproofing may be improved on by sealing with liquid tape, silicone, dielectric grease etc around the edges of the housing and other potential points of water entry. See this link for details. The most straightforward thing would be to simply cover your battery with a plastic bag if it is heavily raining, if you have concerns. Also see this link One point where you cannot cover with a bag is the point where the cradle contacts the battery, if you expect very heavy water exposure it is highly recommended at a minimum to use dielectric grease on these contacts. Also make sure to close the charge port on the pack. Do not expose your pack to ocean water or road salt, if you absolutely must do this make sure that at a minimum you are using dielectric grease on the discharge contacts and to check it and clean it regularly. Do not mount a stock shark or dolphin pack upside down, water will pool in the case and damage the cells. For an in-depth discussion on this topic please check out this link

How long should i leave the pack plugged in? You should leave it plugged in until it is charged or maybe a little bit before it is fully charged, optimally you want it to be within a range of voltage/charge percentage equaling something like 80 to 90%, perhaps a bit lower if storing for a long time such as over the winter. This will optimize it for the longest amount of cycle life. You can still charge to 100% right before a ride though as this does not negatively affect the cells much, it is more about not leaving the cell at 100% for a long period of time than about never letting it reach that charge level.

36V 48V 52V 60V 72V See above for a very rough estimate of how voltage relates to charge. These numbers are not a guarantee of real world performance but intended for educational use only

How to handle XT60 charger adapters? This is a standard xt60 barrel adapter. Replacements sold here. Treat it delicately and don't let it hang off the bike. For example keeping the battery on a surface where the cable can also rest.

Installation

When talking about installation of a hardcase pack what we are really focusing on is the cradle. We want it securely mounted and we want a good connection between the wires going from the cradle to the controller (or directly to the motor in the case of kits with integrated controllers like BBSHD and Magic pie) Sizing batteries for your frame First off think about how you want to mount this pack. Will it fit in your triangle, should you mount it upside down within the triangle, on a rear rack, or even on the underside of the downtube (but can't ride in rain or snow unless you seal the case, we recommend that you only use a potted battery, like a Luna Wolf pack, on any upside down installation ). Next look at the current position of the water bottle bosses (the holes for mounting a water bottle on your bike). Is this suitable? If not you can drill holes into the cradle to make it work, taking care to avoid any wires when doing so. You can also put new holes onto your bike if need be, either using a rivnut installation tool or simply letting your local bike shop do that for you. (NOTE: MEASURE AND CONFIRM THE BATTERY WILL FIT BEFORE ORDERING. EXCHANGING DUE TO A BATTERY NOT FITTING IS DISCOURAGED) It is important to ensure that you will be able to fit the battery into the frame before you buy it. It is recommended to create a cardboard mockup of the battery you are looking at ahead of time by taking the detailed dimensions available in the photographs of each battery listing, then putting that mockup within this space available on your frame and seeing if it fits. A hardcase battery also needs a bit of extra clearance for getting it in and out of the cradle, roughly 0.5-1" depending on the pack. Shark, Dolphin and Killer Whale require 1". Jumbo Shark requires 0.5". Shark unmounted from cradle then fully mounted into cradle

Connection Next is to connect the wiring to your controller. You can either put matching connectors on cradle/controller, or you can hardwire them together. Hardwiring them would take slightly less time but it would mean you would not be able to disconnect the cradle at that point ever. On the other hand it is one less point of failure if you do not have a connector there. Either way the methods are the same, to make the connection you either crimp or solder the connection, or use heat shrink solder sleeves. Tools needed may include heatshrink, soldering gun/solder, crimper, lighter, and butt splices or solder sleeves. We do not recommend soldering since it is the most difficult, the easiest (and cheapest) being solder sleeves, the next easiest is crimping. Once the connection is made please take care to ensure the connection is properly protected, both from rubbing against anything like the frame and from rubbing against eachother. You can use heatshrink, liquid electrical tape, self-fusing silicone tape or some combination of these. This will help ensure that your connection is safe and reliable for years to come. Further discussion on wiring: The big wiring thread By default the hardcase battery cradles come with no connector (with the exception of BBSHD package deals which are plug and play. If your kit is plug and play, verify the polarity before plugging in as each item comes from a different factory and the plugs are reversible) So let's say you want to put an XT90-S with pigtails onto the bare wires of your cradle, and you already have a crimper. You can use these crimps to match the XT-90S large 12 gauge wire to the hardcase cradle battery wire that is a bit thinner (about 14 gauge). These are known as step-down butt splices, and are specifically made for connecting different sizes of wire securely. It already has heat shrink tubing on as well, so afterwards just use a hair dryer and the connector will form a nice shrink seal on the wiring. For crimping the BBSHD motor to the XT-90s: use 12 gauge to 12 gauge crimps, because these are the same size wire. For crimping BBS02 wires to a shark pack cradle after cutting off the original connectors on both sides, you can use these 14-16 gauge heatshrink crimps. These also have shrink already on them, make sure to heat afterwards to seal it. See above for an example of default BBS02 bullet connectors you would remove for hardwiring or replacing with Anderson/XT90/etc connectors. When using butt splices or solder sleeves you need bare wires on both the cradle and the motor, so make sure to cut off the bullet connectors so you have bare wires. The same basic idea applies to wiring up all batteries and kits, just make sure you have the right splices for the right size wire. If one set of wires looks bigger than the other use a step-down butt splice, if equally sized use a regular one, and if possible use the heatshrink type that already has shrink on it for the best seal when heating it. If using a solder sleeve you do not need a step down connector, just carefully heat it until solder melts and connection is secure. In a pinch you could also use wire nuts and wrap in electrical tape but this is not a reliable long term solution and not recommended for anything except bench testing. The same is also true of other connectors like WAGO, which are good but not for high current applications. If buying a bottle battery the wires are often in the cradle

Reinforcement Since the pack is rather heavy it is recommended that you reinforce the pack in a variety of ways, especially if mounting in a nonstandard position such as upside down. There are many points on the cradle where you could potentially put new holes to run zipties around the downtube to increase rigidity, this is a good idea especially for the heavier packs. You could also use hot glue on the downtube (on both sides)to get a better platform to secure the cradle and battery, this will reduce the amount of side to side movement. Additionally on many packs (Shark) you will see that the pack itself is held to the cradle with a series of small plastic tabs. These tabs are exposed to a lot of stress over time. You may consider putting a light coat of epoxy over them to reinforce here. A great addition when riding is to use heavy duty velcro straps and wrap around both battery pack and downtube, effectively strapping the pack tight in place. This can be a good idea if your primary use is over rough terrain. Another approach is to make your mount through the metal on the cradle for a more rigid mounting:

Operation

The features of a hardcase pack varies depending on which one you get but all share some similarities. Often this includes a keyed lock which locks it on to the cradle, a button you can push which gives a vague indication of battery charge, a charge port that uses a barrel or XLR connector, and recessed contacts on the bottom which connect with the cradle to form the connection. Additionally on some of the newer designs you may find a USB port or even a small switch on the bottom which can turn the pack itself off. If your pack has a switch, follow the "Switched pack charging procedure" at the bottom of this first post WARNING: To avoid power surges do not leave a device plugged into USB while plugging and unplugging from charger/cradle as this may damage your device. While these features can be nice, please keep in mind that nonessential extras are a freebie and cannot be supported by Luna Support to the extent that the battery itself can. (if for example the USB module gets damaged this module is not repairable because no replacement module is available) You can test voltage on usb port with this guide. Please note all batteries should be charged by plugging charger into wall outlet BEFORE plugging into battery to avoid sparking, and that charger should be fully unplugged from both wall and battery before starting a new charge cycle.

Troubleshooting

What do I do if the battery is dead, multimeter shows no voltage at discharge contacts? Often if this happens it is due to the anti-spark feature built into the BMS. Say you did not properly make a connection somewhere and the wires sparked, the BMS would shut itself down to prevent damage to the system. If this happens the first thing you always want to do is to try resetting the BMS by using your charger to try charging through the discharge connector for a few seconds, maybe a minute. You just run a jumper (basically regular wires) from the charger's connector to the battery's discharge contact, making sure you go postive>positive and negative>negative. At Luna we call this jumpstarting it. Jumping your Luna Shark Battery Pack This link shows how the basic procedure is done. It is the same regardless of what type of pack you have, and which side is positive an negative is also the same regardless (assuming you have the pack facing the same position)

The contacts on my bottle battery cradle seem a bit loose, what do?

Cradle battery fix

My cradle is out of stock and I am having difficulty with the original, what do?

You can bypass the cradle and just run an XT 90 connector set from the case to the rest of the system. Still would be removable and you could still use the cradle, you would just have to unplug the XT 90 before removing it

More troubleshooting: How to change the case on a shark pack Troubleshooting a battery/charger How to replace a BMS How to test a BMS How to swap BMS on a frame pack lickity split

How to bypass battery system for troubleshooting by using charger to power the kit (if you have a standard charger you need a female barrel to xt60 adapter. if you have a Luna charger just go from the xt60 to the controller)

How to load test a battery to check if it cuts out. For hardcase compare both discharging from contacts and from cradle wiring

Shark pack charge port popped out: How to slot the charge port back into place

How to test charge port on a hardcase battery: If your pack is not taking a charge but is discharging fine then most of the time the issue is with the XT60 barrel adapter. You can test by using a different adapter and plugging it into the charge port then testing for voltage with a multimeter by putting your multimeter leads into the xt60 (do not do this directly into the charge port). If you see voltage then the charge port is working and the issue is either your previous adapter or the charger. If you do not see voltage when testing with a new adapter open up the battery and bypass the charge port by testing the wires going to the charge port, pushing your multimeter leads through the insulation. If you now see voltage then the charge port is broken. You can fix by either replacing if a replacement charge port exists, or bypassing by crimping an xt60 onto the wires that were going to the charge port. For pictures of how to bypass charge port see post#3 on this page. For further info in testing charge ports and other electrical troubleshooting see this link.

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Info specific to particular models

Switched pack charging Often this will work as normal depending on BMS used, but if you are having issue getting it to take a charge please follow these guidelines. Ideally you just plug charger into the wall outlet then plug charger into pack with the pack switched in the ON position but there was a revision to the design so you may need to cycle the switch first. Also, after the battery is finished charging we recommend putting the switch into the off position or it will slowly drain the battery due to being in standby mode. This is not an issue, the BMS is made like this. Applies to Jumbo, some Dolphins and bottle battery models Some switched models need to be in the "off" position to be able to charge normally, it's due that some have a different BMS. Try this first: Unplug everything (charger from wall, charger from pack, pack from cradle, and charger adapter if you have one). Give the charger 30 seconds or so before proceeding. Select the % you want. Plug the AC male connector on the charger in the wall outlet. Unplug the battery from the bike, turn off the switch on the battery. Plug your charging adaptor to the battery (if you have one) if not just plug the charger in the battery Plug the XT-60 front the charger to the XT-60 of the adaptor. (again if you have a charging adaptor) Turn the power switch "on" for the charge (important) Once done unplug the charger and turn the switch off. Specific to version 1 of the Jumbo shark pack only: If no joy and you have never charged it before, check the pins on charge port. pin 1 supposed to be positive, pin 2 negative, pin 3 unused. You can verify the power is on the correct pins by testing with a multimeter. Also note that with Jumbo, the switch controls the usb port. If switch is off so is USB.

Carbon shark notes: There is a hidden charge port on the bottom of carbon shark, if you run into any issues you can try charging from this port. The switch on carbon shark is on underside of the pack rather than the side like other switched packs.

Shark pack notes: Many of the latest shark packs (2018) have been modified for greater connection between case>cradle and more durable mounting tabs on the case itself. It is not interchangeable with previous cradles. We cannot guarantee one type or the other as we have several assemblers with different parts but if you need a particular style feel free to contact us to confirm stock. Please note the indicator light on shark gives a indication of state of charge it is not an on/off switch.

[Sebz]

Troubleshooting random issues



Shutdowns and contact maintenance
Sometimes a shark battery's contacts may bend back far enough to not provide a stable connection to the cradle, resulting in cutouts and/or a causing the contacts to overheat. This may be more prone to happening if the shark is not reinforced to frame with a velcro strap. We recommend periodically checking this area to make sure the contacts are in the proper place. If they are not you can bend them back into place using a screwdriver. Please take care not to short out the terminals against each other or anything metal nearby.

NOTE: this image is for reference only, it's possible that your battery has more terminals or looks slightly different, if you are unsure, be safe and email support.

For the newer generations of sharks with 4 or 5 pins:


If this issue does come up, in order to prevent it from happening again keep this in mind:

• Would be good to clean any carbon buildup off of the pins with a wire brush if possible (just the pins, not the contacts). This will help power flow better.
• If being used near ocean we recommend a light coating of dielectric grease on the pins such as Permatex 22058.
• If you have soldering skills and the cradle is only using one set of pins to run wiring to, then it would be useful to run the wiring to multiple pins in the cradle, the neighboring pin on both side is same polarity as the closest wire. Both pins on either side are capable of delivering power and if soldering the same wire to both pins it cuts the current in half for each pin. As such it is less likely to heat up since there is less bottlenecking of power.
• You need to start reinforcing the pack to the frame, this is critical. Maybe that means velcro, or even just using bungees. Checking to see if you can improve how you have the cradle mounted to frame to make it more sturdy can also help.

For a video on how to adjust contacts see below

Repairing burnt out discharge contacts*
If the contacts between case and cradle are destroyed you have 3 options depending on availability and model.

• Replace case and/or cradle (if it can be sourced)
• Replace just the contacts, perhaps with upgrade bullet kit (currently only usable with Shark)

A picture of what the retrofit connector assembly looks like (connector available here)


* opening the battery and repairing it would void any warranty and it's at your own risks.

Intermittent shutdown
If you need to check internal wiring, take care to inspect that the BMS wiring harness is fully plugged in. Here's a couple instances where the plug came loose and caused intermittent problems until plugged in further:



Another thing to look at is any connectors inside the pack. In the picture attached there is a bullet connector, this is a good example of a connector that needs to be checked. This connector and any other internal wiring may vary depending on the battery type but this is definitely something to have a look at if the battery is opened for inspection.