question

paul-connolly avatar image
paul-connolly asked

LifePO4 Battery

Hello, I have damaged one of the jack plugs on my LifePO4 Battery. I made a temporary fix with electrical tape, however this was several months ago and now I need to address.

Can this cable be replaced and is it something I can do myself.?

Thanks!

Edit: I believe I may have to change the circuit board to obtain a new jack plug. However, looking at the information on the Victron website, my battery model circuit board is not stated. BAT512120410. Yes this is a discontinued model.

Lithium BatteryBMSHelpsupport
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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly commented ·

I have purchased the BMS extension cable and have remove the jack plug from the battery cable with the intentions of joining the 2 cables together, saves me from pulling the battery out of situe.


The cables contain 3 wires, although different colours on the 2 cables.


Battery = Black, brown, red

Extension = Black, brown, blue


Q: Does anyone know the correct colour to colour connection?


Thanks!

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pwfarnell avatar image pwfarnell paul-connolly commented ·

No, but since the plugs and sockets can only fit together in one orientation then you should be able to work this out using a multimeter on continuity.

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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly pwfarnell commented ·
Thanks for the reply. As I don't have a multimeter to hand, I tested different combinations of connections. I have ended up with Battery Black to Cable Blue, Battery Brown to cable Brown and Battery Red to cable Black. I have made temporary joins with tape. I am finding works fine when changing from solar and from van alternator when stationary, however when the van starts moving, even slightly, the approx. 40amps pull drops off. Sometimes around 10 amps, if lucky, then 0 or minus amps and occasionally jumps to 80-90amps (like when ignition is first started before settling down). Although the connections are taped, they seem secure, so I am not sure why this is happening. Thanks.
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pwfarnell avatar image pwfarnell paul-connolly commented ·

Taped connections are not ideal on signal wires where you are looking at small voltage and current pulses as data, any noise or poor contact can easily corrupt the signal.

2 questions, has the system ever worked or did you damage it during installation and what BMS do you have in case it is nothing to do with the repair.

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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly pwfarnell commented ·

My system was installed by a Victron dealer/installer (I do not wish to go back to them), in 2018. Where I have the set up in the 'garage' of my camper van, the jack plug got knocked and damaged. This happened 6 months or so ago, I taped it and it still worked okay, but what with all the pot holes and bumps in the roads, time had come to make a fix. I have the old style BMS 120/200a. I was planning on soldering the wires, once I have established the correct colour confections.



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pwfarnell avatar image pwfarnell paul-connolly commented ·
If it was am new install that had never worked I would have raised questions about a smart alternator, but as you have had it working for years then that is not the case. The only thing is getting the cables right.
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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly pwfarnell commented ·
Correct. Could you kindly explain the process of how to test the wires using a multimeter. Than you muchly!
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pwfarnell avatar image pwfarnell paul-connolly commented ·
You have a cable coming out of the battery that you have removed, hopefully you still have a section of that cable on the plug so you can see which colour goes to which pin. If need be you can strip back all the insulation to find out. You also have half of an extension cable with 3 exposed wires and 3 pins. Put your multimeter on resistance or continuity, put one probe on a pin in the plug, note which one and then touch the other probe to the 3 bare wires in turn until one beeps if on continuity or shows zero resistance. Repeat for the other 2 pins. You should now have 2 maps of pin position to colour.
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5 Answers
klim8skeptic avatar image
klim8skeptic answered ·

@Paul Connolly If you are handy with a soldering iron, you could obtain a BMS / BTV extension cable and solder it on to your existing balance board.

Do be careful though, a mistake could damage your batteries, or worse.... (fire, explosion, loss of property or loss of life)

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paul-connolly avatar image
paul-connolly answered ·

@klim8skeptic Thanks for the suggestion, sounds straight forward.

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klim8skeptic avatar image
klim8skeptic answered ·

@Paul Connolly Could you kindly explain the process of how to test the wires using a multimeter.

It would seem that I forgot to mention in my initial answer that, improper repairs could destroy your battery, or lead to an unhappy experience.

Really truly there are thousands of videos on youtube to learn how to use a multimeter.

If you are not competent, find some one else.

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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly commented ·

No, you did already mention that. I am a competent person and your input is not useful. Thank you.

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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ paul-connolly commented ·
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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·

Er, no. There is nothing wrong with my BMS. Lucky I didn't open the battery, I would have been in proper trouble. How can Victron not standardise wire colours, and none of the 'experts' even know what colours are what? Bizarre....Victron support sucks.

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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ paul-connolly commented ·
@Paul Connolly You could sign up to Victron Professional and look at the videos regarding lithium batteries and BMS's.

The color coding of the extension BTV cables and pinout of the plug/socket is clearly shown.

I suspect that you are correct. The batt cable, and the extension cable might have different colors.

Your ability to match cable color to plug/socket pinout needs to be exact.

Brush up on your multimeter skills.


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paul-connolly avatar image
paul-connolly answered ·

Thanks. I have had a look, lots of youtubers videos, I can't find anything to help me out. Unless you could provide a link to the youtube video you are referring to.

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paul-connolly avatar image paul-connolly commented ·

To be honest, I am getting by with how things are working, as I am not moving at present. I may get anther B2B installed in the near future, before another winter. Then I shall get them guys to look at it. This should have been so simple, if the wire colouring was standardised. Like I said before surely someone at Victron would know the answer, however it seems the Victron business model is to let youtubers promote products, answer questions and if they are good enough, do a course and become a retaile£ and in$taller....Thanks anyway


edit: I have found more videos under training. Silly me looking under videos...

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paul-connolly avatar image
paul-connolly answered ·

Testing for continuity with a multimeter looks very straight forward. I shall try this, when I can. Still didn't find your video. All of this wasted time and effort for a simple design flaw.

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klim8skeptic avatar image klim8skeptic ♦ commented ·

@Paul Connolly You are going to have to match the wires to the plug pinout.

Testing a TRRS Cable using a Multimeter

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