Well another 20hours into the second charge, the peak voltage is just not going that high.

I notice that it likely will go over 190 if I let the car get cold, but at 20*C or more its difficult to get far above 186, this might be down to the supplies, but I have noticed that the supply current has been much more stable.

It may not have gotten a perfect balance but probably good enough for now. I'll let it run for 2-4 more hours and take it for a spin. See charging data till now below.

 

Hmmm... perhaps you have a lot of capacity loss from voltage depression and/or the voltmeter is 1-2% off. Once you are able to do a discharge to 106V, you should see voltages peak higher.

Again, if you can access the exit duct in the trunk (passenger side) and measure the output air at > 35°C, you can be sure it's fully charged.

Repeating... The 12V disconnect/idle charges that terminated at 3 bars are a very good sign that you are likely to restore function and eliminate recalibrations.

 

Just testing the outlet temperature it shows 27*C, while the cabin temperature is 20*C. So 7*C increase at 50% duty cycle on the fan.

Ill not get to do another discharge this week but will plan one soon.

 

Please confirm 50% duty cycle is moving a lot of air... my 35°C number is likely with the expectation of a 10-20% duty cycle flow.

Dial it back to 25% and check in 15 minutes... report the increase.

 

It's for sure at 50% duty cycle, and it is moving a lot of air.

Im not easily able to get to the pwm controller, will see if I can work it without removing the seat back.

 

You can restrict the inlet as well.. cover it until you perceive notably less air.

 

Was able to adjust it by removing just one seat back bolt, didn't even need to remove the seat base.

Set it to 15% duty cycle and continued the charge. Will report back in 15 mins

 

The temperature did not raise any further. Still ~7*C offset from the cabin temp.

I cut the charge off after 22 hours and took it for a spin.
Happy to say that the SOC indicator was behaving as it should. The drive went on a short run up the motorway and where normally flooring it till 100kmph would result in a recal now it just dropped 2-3 bars. After two runs up the stretch of road under some hard acceleration I was able to drain it to 5 bars, never seen that SOC before in 4 months that I own the car.

Once I get the meanwell supplies I'll redo with maybe even better results.

 

those fans move a lot of air, and the cell stagger results in poor heat transfer. You likely still have a ways to go on the charge.

8800/290 = 30 hrs of charging (from empty) to ensure each cell is full. Given that you didn't start from zero, it's still probably full after 22*290=6380mAh vs. 5500mAh rated (though efficiency gets much worse as SoC approaches 100%).

The performance is very encouraging. Another logged discharge to 106V with time, voltage and current recorded should give significant insight into the battery's potential.

 

Thanks again for your help Steve, I'll report back on my next charge with an update.

I'll also consolidate more of the details for the build on the first posts