Hey, not to fly off on a tangent or anything, but how are you liking your 2024 Mach One? I just placed an order for one the other day. Figured if I can’t get my board straightened out, might as well have a contingency plan.
2 Likes
Yea, this was one of the very first things I did. I pulled the enclosure off and checked everything from the battery to the motors. All is tight and secure, but there is something I may have forgotten to mention regarding this particular setup, the 12s4p Samsung 30q based battery pack is going on 9 years of use. I’ve gone through vesc’s, power switches, fuses, wheels, belts, you name it, but the battery pack is still the same. Charges to 50+ volts, but I’ve started questioning whether or not the battery may be the culprit here?
Design a few tests. First 2 -
- Hit the throttle when on the road
- Hit the throttle when it’s on “the bench”
Do you get the same results ? If yes, keep testing until the results are different. Change 1 parameter, or element of the test each time.
I also like to work from one end of the problem to another - meaning - if there’s a system, make 2 testpoints - select the “thing” farthest to the “beginning”, and the “end”. Start moving the “end” testpoint closer to the beginning , a step at a time until the testpoint throws the error.
I’ve got some useless info to add, because I never worked out why it happens, and with my currently munted hand I’m getting bored.
I have this old raptor 2.1, it’s a piece of shit to ride but was cheaper than than an ESC and the FOCbox made it worth buying.
After repairing the BMS, full throttle at high current settings and load would cause it reset but I think it threw a drv error. No idea what it did prior, BMS was dead when I got it.
Thing is, if I didn’t run the power switch though the OEM BMS, it wouldn’t happen. Tried all sorts of things. Replaced the BMS controller IC’s, checked all the other SMD components, added extra capacitors to lines, never worked it out.
It’s your thread dude! You can drive it wherever you like 
Its hard for me to talk about the mach 1 without sounding like a total shill, but i truly mean what i say…
Its the best! I’ve built and ridden MANY boards and it’s easily the most polished ride experience I’ve ever encountered.
Sure i’ve ridden more powerful boards, i’ve ridden more agile boards, but most boards will excel in some areas at the cost of others… the mach doesn’t really compromise much.
As an all-rounder board it really does excel at most things. You can pretty much use it for whatever you want. It’ll ride offroad, on road, fast, slow and it does it all really well.
I’ve always been a DIY guy because the market didn’t offer solutions that I would deem good enough, but these days with boards like the mach 1 and the mbs agent, there is really zero need to DIY outside the love for tinkering.
The mach is so versatile and offers an experience that no other board i’ve ridden has ever come close to. Its an absolute weapon, you won’t regret the purchase!
Could totally be the battery dude, would definitely explain the no faults on the esc.
9 years of use on a 30q pack is actually incredible.
Does the battery discharge through the bms? It could very well be the battery sagging too low because of one or more bad cells and the bms cutting the discharge
1 Like
Looks to be the sentiment from all whom have ridden or own one. Although I spent much of my childhood (will be tipping 50 in another year) on boards of one style and length to another, it wasn’t till right around 2015 that I got into the world of electric boards. Almost everything DIY was pretty much home grown or a collaboration of like minded enthusiasts. I ended up getting my hands dirty, and my knees bloody, building a few fun rides. Over the years I also picked up a few new and custom boards, but as you stated so perfectly, there was no one “unicorn board” that satisfied all my needs. Hence this is the reason I have a rack of boards, some of which have lasted the test of time. From what I can see on paper, and from the few reviews that I’ve watched, the Mach One does check many of the boxes that I would have, if I would build a custom board today. Yes it’s pricey, but one thing I’ve learned over the years, you can’t put a price tag on sanity!
1 Like
And yea I do believe the battery does in fact discharge through the BMS. It might just be time to revamp that battery pack. Hopefully getting replacement cells isn’t as bad as it was years ago when you were lucky if you could snag a dozen without having to wait weeks on end for more.
1 Like
I think your biggest issue getting cells right now is going to be cost… unsure what the situation is over there with stock that’s already in the country, but surely this tariff bullshit is gonna sting cell prices sooner or later
Prices have already gone up on most cells that I have my eyes on, and 18650 prices were already ridiculous, 3/5 the capacity and CDR, 5/3 the price.
My charge port shows battery voltage. I made a long wired voltmeter with 5.5x2.5 barrel plug ,with audible alarm, to hold in my hand. Drops from 4.2v to 3.65 volts per cell on first max acceleration before reaching 20mph.
Which is why I’m eyeballing cell prices often, and wish i bought them last week.
It’s always something! Any recommendations as to your “go to” sites for batteries?
I’ve purchased cells from Liionwholesaledotcom, and 18650batterystoredotcom before.
I will likely buy cells from Diy500amp dotcom next go, as he is only a few hundred miles away, has good prices, and furthers our knowledge by donating new cells to Mooch for testing. The latest being tabless EVE 50PL preproduction samples, which in Nelvick’s own testing has the least voltage sag and delivers the most mah of all the Tabless cells, at 40amps continuous.
I’m looking at BAK45D or EVE 40PL, which have gained about 80 cents per cell in the last week. He’s expecting more Ampace JP40 soon.
IMRbattery is supposedly a trusted vendor as well. No personal experience with them.
1 Like
I want to remind @jkoch - you still have not determined the cause of the problem. Purchasing a new battery may not solve the problem.
If you are into battery-land - then an o-scope, or some kind of discharge chart / logs are going to be helpful. If you suspect the batteries, and if your BMS supports it, connecting over bluetooth and pulling individual battery statistics will go a long way.
Barring that – check the temperature external to the battery – do you find the batteries getting very warm when this occurs ? and/or during recharge does the same thing occur ? This will help you diagnose the batteries, and explain the power cuts. Consider also that the configuration settings for battery temperature might be too low in VESC settings, causing a similar cut to power (check if it’s supposed to be deg C or deg F for those fields)
1 Like
Regrettably the BMS on this board does not have Bluetooth. There’s no easy way to monitor what each battery group is doing, but as of today, I am pretty confident it is the battery (and or a perhaps combination of the battery and BMS all together).
A friend of mine had a generic DIY type 44.4v 6ah battery pack he had pulled from an old project board he had built a while back. He stopped by with it earlier and although smaller in size and power to my 12s4p, we reconfigured the settings on the FOCBOX to accommodate for the smaller battery, rigged the enclosure and strapped the battery so we could temporarily test it on the board, and BAM! No more cutting out issues!
Considering the way everything was rigged, I didn’t want to push my luck and destroy anything, so I only got to test it briefly, but there was no cutting out or power delivery issues whatsoever. Changes in the settings had slightly affected how the board felt, but the issue at hand was 100% gone!
Could my battery still be good and perhaps an issue with the BMS, maybe, but once again considering its age (9 years old), I think it’s safe to say regardless of any further tests or conclusions, it’s time for a new battery (and not to mention, a BMS with Bluetooth).
Thank you all to that chimed in. I will report back once I get it all sorted out.
1 Like
Sounds awesome. Good luck with the next battery.
If you are in the market for a new one, I recommend the guys over at SKP ( https://skyartpower.com/ ). @Skyart built my last one, and it’s been a dream.