Fogstar Drift - Shutting down due to high temp.? (1 Viewer)

[Chossy]

Hello,

I have just bought a fogstar drift 280ah battery, charged it up last week, I was about to leave for the weekend today so turned on fridge popped some items in and the battery has stopped discharging... says high temp. Looking at the cells one of them is up at 75º see screen shots.

This battery is a straight replacement for the lead acid batteries, nothing has changed in terms of load or wiring. Faulty battery?

cheers,
Ross

 

[LithiumConvert]

This battery is a straight replacement for the lead acid batteries, nothing has changed in terms of load or wiring

Widely thought not to be a good idea. Better to change settings on EHU and Solar and to replace the split charge relay with a B2B

 

[Chossy]

Interestingly it cuts out when the fridge kicks in... typically when the fridge compressor kicks in the voltage drops a little and the draw increases to like 5/6a... that's nothing.

 

[Chossy]

Widely thought not to be a good idea. Better to change settings on EHU and Solar and to replace the split charge relay with a B2B

None of that is in place there is no charge going to it at all, it is hooked up to a mains charger which is off and not plugged into the mains and the charger is an OEM Fogstar charger specifically for this product. This battery has no active feed to it at all.

 

[Wissel]

Faulty temp sensor most likely.

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[Chossy]

Maybe!! I noticed an OTD message on one of the screen grabs, did a google search for fogstar OTD... and found a thread on here! with one post from another fogstar owner notifying people of a firmware update which may be required if you get OTD messages, he said it is affecting a small batch this post was in nov 2023 so maybe I am also part of that batch :E

 

[Gaston aires]

Charge and discharge must be on for it to work properly. I have a 230 ah drift with the same app on my phone..
Phil

 

[Guigsy]

If one cell was at 75C, the others wouldn't be 4C. So I also agree that the sensor (or config) is broken.

 

[Chossy]

Charge and discharge must be on for it to work properly. I have a 230 ah drift with the same app on my phone..
Phil

Hey, do you know the logic behind having charge and discharge both on when in use?

 

[Guigsy]

Hey, do you know the logic behind having charge and discharge both on when in use?

If you're using it, it's discharging. But if you're driving or on hookup or your solar is making more than you're using, it'll charge. It's how rechargeable batteries normally work. Just the BMS lets you switch some flows off.

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[Chossy]

I see but I am not charging it in any way at all, so why would I want to charge and discharge for it to work properly? I have 0 feed into this battery at all. I only want to draw from it.

 

[Lenny HB]

I see but I am not charging it in any way at all, so why would I want to charge and discharge for it to work properly? I have 0 feed into this battery at all. I only want to draw from it.

You just do, its quirk of that BMS.

 

[jwells]

The best thing for you to do is talk to Fogstar! They are usually very good with their customers!

 

[Chossy]

So errrr : / why have the option if they both need to be on in any use case? seems as though fogstar may have fudged that up if you need them both on regardless of what function you are actually using :E

 

[Chossy]

The best thing for you to do is talk to Fogstar! They are usually very good with their customers!

Indeed, I contacted them before making this post, however, they have not replied and sadly my weekend away is no more. Hopefully other people can read this thread though and it will be of use to them, if they have the same issue I am having, it's good to spread information.

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[Ray-Vic]

So errrr : / why have the option if they both need to be on in any use case? seems as though fogstar may have fudged that up if you need them both on regardless of what function you are actually using :E

Because the batteries and the BMS are not necessarily only used for this purpose. There may be other applications where these functions are relevant but, for what we are using them for, you need to have both switched on and it will work absolutely fine.

 

[Gaston aires]

Hey, do you know the logic behind having charge and discharge both on when in use?

I don’t know the logic but I had a conversation with Fogstar engineers who told me this was the case. I have had this system and it works for me. When not being used for any time both charge and discharge must be switched off.
Phil

 

[stevewagner]

If I’m not using the motorhome and it’s cold I switch off charge on the app because I don’t want a full charge in winter

 

[Chossy]

I appreciate all your responses. I will make sure when fogstar reply that they can address what you are all saying. I'll report back.

 

[headlight]

Chossy I have a 230AH Fogstar and being able to turn charge and discharge on and off in certain instances can be handy.
For instance when my van is not being used I turn charge off as I don't want my solar keeping the battery fully charged all the time when it's not being used.
Then when I go to use the van I turn charge on so when I reach my destination the battery has been fully charged by my B2B.
Also being able to turn charge/discharge off is handy if you are working on the electrics.
I am about to replace my inverter, when I do I will turn charge and discharge off so I don't have to worry about any current whilst disconnecting the old inverter and connecting the new one.

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[Just smiffy]

Whenever I hear a problem now about lithium batteries it’s usually fogstar bms that’s the problem…..

 

[headlight]

Whenever I hear a problem now about lithium batteries it’s usually fogstar bms that’s the problem…..

I've had no problems with mine since changing from 2 x 105AH Fogstars to 1 x 230AH Fogstar.

 

[PeterCarole29]

Whenever I hear a problem now about lithium batteries it’s usually fogstar bms that’s the problem…..

They are very popular reasonably priced and good customer service .
I bet theres a lot more fogstar batteries in vans than other makes. And me included dont get on with computers but when i have a problem it often because i dont understand how to use something.
I havent heard a a fogstar glitch not ever been sort out

 

[headlight]

Just smiffy a lot of the problems reported are user error and installation problems not problems with the batteries themselves.
Also more problems are reported with twin battery installations as unlike lead acids, where when you connect 2 in parallel you have one big battery, with lithiums when you connect 2 in parallel really you still have 2 batteries as there are 2 separate BMS's.

 

[autorouter]

I have just bought a fogstar drift 280ah battery, charged it up last week, I was about to leave for the weekend today so turned on fridge popped some items in and the battery has stopped discharging... says high temp. Looking at the cells one of them is up at 75º see screen shots.

Have you seen this thread? The batteries may need a firmware update to the BMS.

Fogstar 105Ah firmware update

If anyone is seeing a lot of high temperature charging (OTC) and high temperature discharging (OTD) alerts in the app then you may need a BMS firmware update from Fogstar. Apparently it only affects a recent small batch of 105Ah batteries. I’ve had to update my pair of batteries. In the app...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

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[bigtwin]

with lithiums when you connect 2 in parallel really you still have 2 batteries as there are 2 separate BMS's.

What problems does that cause?

Many folks advocate a twin LiFePO4 bank rather than a single LiFePO4.

Ian

 

[autorouter]

What problems does that cause?

Many folks advocate a twin LiFePO4 bank rather than a single LiFePO4.

You have to read the small print. Most batteries are OK, but some specifically say not to connect them in parallel. And most have a limit to the number. Could be 2, or up to 10.

I think those advocating twin battery banks are just used to lead-acid batteries. I don't think two separate batteries is more reliable than one big battery. How many people advocate twin starter batteries?

 

[PeterCarole29]

You have to read the small print. Most batteries are OK, but some specifically say not to connect them in parallel. And most have a limit to the number. Could be 2, or up to 10.

I think those advocating twin battery banks are just used to lead-acid batteries. I don't think two separate batteries is more reliable than one big battery. How many people advocate twin starter batteries?

For clarification Fogstar confirmed theres are good for twin set up

 

[headlight]

What problems does that cause?

Many folks advocate a twin LiFePO4 bank rather than a single LiFePO4.

Ian

After having problems with my 2 in parallel lithium set up, and speaking to several knowledgeable installers their concensus of opinion was to go for a single battery set up, which I did, and other than the fact that the BMS cannot detect low amp drains ie under 1 amp I have had no problems.
The installers I spoke to said that in a parallel set up, even when correctly installed, that the 2 batteries won't discharge/charge the same with one generally discharging more than the other and one charging before the other and therefore the 2 separate BMS's behaving differently.

 

[headlight]

For clarification Fogstar confirmed theres are good for twin set up

Yes they do but they suggested to me that I swapped from a parallel set up to one big battery to solve my issues which it did.

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