Tips on Rebuilding an Electric Lithium Battery

Electric lithium batteries are commonly used for lawn equipment, e-bikes and other types of electric vehicles or tools. Over time, the power cells in these batteries will begin to lose their capacity. The more charging cycles the battery goes through, the more it loses its ability to maintain a charge.

There are a variety of other factors beyond age that can cause this, including overheating, overcharging, high voltage, a high discharge/charge current or deep discharge. Any of these conditions can result in deteriorating operation of the battery over an extended period of time.

The good news is that there are steps you can take to rebuild an electric lithium battery in Houston, TX to get the most life possible out of your battery, so long as the battery is still working but just isn’t giving enough run time. Here is a quick overview of the steps you can take to do so:

• Gather your equipment: You’ll need a wire cutter, some electrical tape and an old battery from a repair shop.
• Open the battery: Open the old lithium battery, making sure you do not cause any damage to the battery box inside.
• Remove cells: Remove six individual cells from the old lithium battery. You’ll find them connected parallel in a 2-2 setup. During removal, do not cut the links that keep those cells parallel—simply cut the connections in the series.
• Voltage check: Using a multimeter, check the voltage of the old battery. A voltage reading of 10.8 or above means the batteries are in good condition, and you can proceed with the repairs. If they do not have enough voltage, you may need to get lithium cell replacements from a dealer.
• Connect: Use a piece of wire to connect the cells. Check the voltage once they’re connected again, and it should be somewhere between 36 and 42 for the whole pack.
• Open the damaged battery: Open up the damaged battery to remove the old cells, making sure not to destroy the battery box.
• Attach: Attach the replacement circuit you’ve created to the lithium battery pack with copper wires.
• Check the connection: Before you push the battery back into the housing, make sure you carefully check the connection of the circuit. Attach the battery circuit to the equipment that it will be running and turn on the power to make sure the battery is operational. If there’s not an electrical reaction, you might simply need to connect the charger to the equipment for a brief period of time before removing and trying again—this usually will resolve the problem.
• Replace: Put the battery and circuit back into the battery box, using some tape or super glue to make sure all the joints fit snugly inside the box.

Keep in mind that if the battery was not working at all, you will not be able to rebuild it. The cells might be okay, but the Battery Management System (BMS) might be the problem, and individually repairing those components can be difficult or impossible due to the epoxy encasement.

Staying on top of your battery maintenance will help the battery last for a longer period of time while also helping your equipment get the best, safest operation possible. To learn more about how an electric battery can be rebuilt in Houston, TX, we encourage you to contact the team at Texford Battery Co. today with any questions you have.

Categorised in: Lithium Batteries

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