Electrical help please

[Enlighten]

Hey,

I have zero electrical experience and am trying to replace the batteries on my electric dirt bike. I've put the new batteries in and wired them, but when i charged the bike the batteries (SLA) heated up and became quite hot, so I halted the charging for fear of damaging them. Ive got some pictures so hopefully people can spot any issues.

I think ive attached them, photos of the charger, battery and wiring.

Help appreciated.

 

[Marvo]

Are the batteries wired in series? How many batteries are there? Were the original batteries SLA or were they NiCad or NiMh?

 

[Richard Burns]

Your battery charger is supplying 36V which would only be suitable for charging a 36V system.
This might be OK for three 12V batteries connected in series positive to negative, positive to negative, to give 36V but would be difficult to control as if one battery fails the other batteries will suffer.

 

[Enlighten]

Two batteries only. Connected as shown in the picture.

And the two previous batteries were 12v aswell and came with the bike & charger from the manufacturer (Razor), So it'd be odd for the voltage to be the issue.

Im pretty sure they were SLA aswell, the previous.

does AMP hours mean anything?

or would the duct tape between the wires (original pics) make a difference?

and how hot are these batteries meant to get? Maybe i overeacted?

 

[shanky887614]

Two batteries only. Connected as shown in the picture.

And the two previous batteries were 12v aswell and came with the bike & charger from the manufacturer (Razor), So it'd be odd for the voltage to be the issue.

Im pretty sure they were SLA aswell, the previous.

does AMP hours mean anything?

or would the duct tape between the wires (original pics) make a difference?

and how hot are these batteries meant to get? Maybe i overeacted?

you shouldnt be charging 12v or 24v if using two batteries in series with a 36v charger end of.

you will only cause problems if you do and will limit the life of the batteries.

get a charger rated for 24v batteries and that will be better and it wont run as hot (a trickle charger would be best)

 

[Marvo]

If they're lead acid then they shouldn't get hotter than your body temperature unless they're in close confinement with no air circulation. If they were hot to the touch you may well have already damaged them I'm afraid. A 12v battery is usually charged at around 13.5 - 14v so two in series would usually use a 26-28v charger. I'd suggest you check the literature that came with the charger or email the guys who sold it to you to find out if it's compatible with the battery set up you have.

 

[PEG]

Hi dude,as long as your battery lucar connectors have not been swapped about,your bike will probably be 24v to the motor. The fact that the charger is 36v,does not necessarily mean the batteries are charged at that voltage. There may be a control unit,the charger output feeds,and its' output may be nearer to what is required. Have you measured the voltage at the batteries whilst charging?