Moving Battery Temp. Sensor to new battery.

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

I finally received my NiFe batteries, have hooked them up, and charging.

I'd like to remove the sensor from the old AGM and put it on a new one.

How do I do that?

I tried twisting it (slightly), in either direction, but it didn't unstick.

I noticed after I had tried that, and when I turn the Classic on I got a:

BAT: Sensor Not Installed

message in Local App. Hope I haven't broken it!

Assuming the best, and when I do remove it, how do I attach it to the new battery?

Thanks,

dRdoS7

[Vic]

Hi dRd..,

If you have a thin, flexible  Putty Knife,  you should be able to carefully work the knife under an edge of the BTS.   Do not torque or pull on the cable.

Personally,  just use a good quality Painter's tape to attach these sensors to batteries ...  have never needed to use the provided double-sided tape.

If there has been very much pulling on the cable,   the sensor may have been damaged,  and might need to be replaced.

Good Luck,   Vic

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

Hi dRd..,

If you have a thin, flexible  Putty Knife,  you should be able to carefully work the knife under an edge of the BTS.   Do not torque or pull on the cable.

Personally,  just use a good quality Painter's tape to attach these sensors to batteries ...  have never needed to use the provided double-sided tape.

If there has been very much pulling on the cable,   the sensor may have been damaged,  and might need to be replaced.

Good Luck,   Vic

No pulling of cable, just twisting the sensor.

I'll try to remove it as you suggested, and re-attach with some duct tape (RIP Mythbusters).

Thanks,

dRdoS7.

[ClassicCrazy]

My way with the sensor has been if there is room between some cells  to slide it in the middle and lightly  pinch it in there . No tape needed. But depends on your set up.

Yeah as Vic said with that double sided tape a shape putty knife or razor blade if needed.

Larry

[TomW]

dRdoS7;

Gorilla [duct] tape works well for attaching a sensor with dried up tape.

If you have no luck removing the sensor, or it is damaged,  message me your address and I will send you one of my spares. Having gone batteryless grid tie I will not need the extras I have. New in factory bag even.

Tom

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

dRdoS7;

Gorilla [duct] tape works well for attaching a sensor with dried up tape.

If you have no luck removing the sensor, or it is damaged,  message me your address and I will send you one of my spares. Having gone batteryless grid tie I will not need the extras I have. New in factory bag even.

Tom

Appreciate the offer. You realise I'm in Australia?

I priced a BTS on line, AU$45 which is about US$1000 on current exchange rate!

I removed the sensor with a knife last night, it still shows "Sensor Not Installed". I've unplugged it, plugged it back in, no good.

I can't see how I could have broken it, but obviously I did.

I'll message you when I get back home this afternoon.

Just out of interest, anybody make their own sensor?

Thanks,

dRdoS7

[TomW]

Hi,

dRdoS7;

Gorilla [duct] tape works well for attaching a sensor with dried up tape.

If you have no luck removing the sensor, or it is damaged,  message me your address and I will send you one of my spares. Having gone batteryless grid tie I will not need the extras I have. New in factory bag even.

Tom

Appreciate the offer. You realise I'm in Australia?

I priced a BTS on line, AU$45 which is about US$1000 on current exchange rate!

I removed the sensor with a knife last night, it still shows "Sensor Not Installed". I've unplugged it, plugged it back in, no good.

I can't see how I could have broken it, but obviously I did.

I'll message you when I get back home this afternoon.

Just out of interest, anybody make their own sensor?

Thanks,

dRdoS7

Oh, golly, guess I didn't know that bit.  Would be $5 anywhere in the US by Priority mail. US mail says $35 to ship 2 ounces there.
If I recall correctly, the Outback sensor is identical. Maybe others, as well.

[laszlo]

The BTS is just a thermistor, so it's not that easy to break it,  and I doubt you would have hurt the thermistor itself while trying to peel the plastic encapsulation off the battery -- quite possibly your wiring may be shorted or chafed. You could try to diagnose it as follows:  do a continuity test across the  sensor leads it should not have continuity. If it does have continuity trace down and locate the short. Then,  measure resistance and it should have around 20-50 ohms, probably closer to 20 as it's summertime in AUS.  As the other person said, the BTS is the same part used across many of the products from the Pacific Northwest-- Magnum, Outback, and Midnite so you may be able to obtain one of these brands locally.

[CDN-VT]

Some are a 20 ohm (blue stick )& some as one of my classics are a 100 ohm style (bolt one battery stud) from Magnum type .

JFI

VT

[dRdoS7]

Hi,

Oh, golly, guess I didn't know that bit.  Would be $5 anywhere in the US by Priority mail. US mail says $35 to ship 2 ounces there.
If I recall correctly, the Outback sensor is identical. Maybe others, as well.

Yes, and I had that very discussion today with my brother-in-law, found it was more expensive (but not always: Amazon were reasonable for DVDs) to ship from US. BIL reckoned UK were the best, I thought China.

The BTS is just a thermistor, so it's not that easy to break it,  and I doubt you would have hurt the thermistor itself while trying to peel the plastic encapsulation off the battery -- quite possibly your wiring may be shorted or chafed.

Batteries are 70kg, so I wasn't watching as I lifted/slid it to one side, but I moved away from any walls, not towards. Got me.

You could try to diagnose it as follows:  do a continuity test across the  sensor leads it should not have continuity. If it does have continuity trace down and locate the short. Then,  measure resistance and it should have around 20-50 ohms, probably closer to 20 as it's summertime in AUS.

I'll test it.

As the other person said, the BTS is the same part used across many of the products from the Pacific Northwest-- Magnum, Outback, and Midnite so you may be able to obtain one of these brands locally.

Yes, I have a price: $45. Lot of money for a thermistor, a blob of plastic (nice blue though), a length of cable, and a connector. It didn't matter when it was supplied with the Classic, but that's always the way with any spare parts (cars, washing machines, etc.). I think printers and boats are the worst.

I hope not to have to move my new batteries for >10 years, and I won't stick it on this time!

Thanks,

dRdoS7

[ralph day]

Only $45?  Ludky you.  I had mice chew through a thermistor wire (couldn;'t repair it) on my Mitsubishi mini-split.  Just the thermistor, which bolted to an aluminum heat sink, was not a "part" (no part number).  The "part" was the thermistor and heat sink.  So, a couple of dollars worth of aluminum and electronics...Mitsubishi wanted over $800 for it!

Luckily, the north american parts and service peo[le had warranty returned parts around and sent just the thermistor, for free.  I just paid shipping costs.  So $45 looks like a bargain (unless you can get one for free )

Ralph

[dRdoS7]

You could try to diagnose it as follows:  do a continuity test across the  sensor leads it should not have continuity. If it does have continuity trace down and locate the short.

Using an RJ11 socket, I found there was a short. Cut the cable in half, connector end had no short.

Assuming the short is right at the sensor, I'll see if I can source another thermistor, no way will I be able to solder the 2 wires from the good half of the cable onto the sensor. Local electronics store only has choice between 15 and 100 ohm.

Thanks,

dRdoS7

[Vic]

Hi drd..,

First,  according to my on-line calculator,  AU 45 = 34-ish USD.

The BTS IS a Thermistor.  It has a nominal resistance of 10 K Ohms at 25 C,  with a Negative Temperature Coefficient.

Believe that for the MN,  and probably for the Outback sensors,  just measuring across the two outside contacts on the four-pin telephone connector should suffice for measuring its resistance.

I have found a sufficiently close substitute Thermistor  --  there are several different curves for 10 K NTC Thermistors,  and it is possible that MN specifies one with a tight tolerance.  The one that I did find,  had a 2% accuracy.

Most of the BTS/RTSes are potted in silicone sealant,  inside a cavity formed in the plastic BTS case,  as noted above,  it could be,  that just one of the cable connections is not connected,  or,  perhaps shorted together.

If one is careful,  the pottant could probably be removed,  to reveal the possible issue with your BTS.

Later,   Vic

[Vic]

drd..,

Our Posts crossed.

Here is some more info on BTSes for MN and Outback systems,  several photos are revealing:

http://forum.solar-electric.com/discussion/350389/need-more-info-on-making-a-bts-from-earlier-info

http://forum.solar-electric.com/discussion/350340/building-a-battery-cap-temperature-sensor/p1

FWIW,  also,  perhaps a neighbor has an unused or retired MN or OB BTS/RTS.
Good Luck,  Vic

[australsolarier]

hello,
i have got an unused temp sensor and i am based in australia. ready to send it to you if you want it.