Large forklift battery problems

[wmpy]

Hi all. I have a 12k lb capacity electric forklift. The local service company tells me the battery has a few dead cells and recommends replacement. Also, now my charger just started popping fuses as soon as it is connected to the battery. Would you reckon that the charger is popping fuses due to a faulty battery, or is that a separate issue? They lent me a small charger that I can get a bit of a charge into the battery with, but the charger eventually gives a battery error message.

I know very little about batteries, and the replacement batteries I'm being quoted are very expensive, so I wanted to ask here to make sure I'm not making any bad decisions. For reference, the battery is 48 V, weighs over 4k lbs, and measures about 45" square by 23" tall. Apparently they are a bit rare, and no one has been able to locate a refurbished battery or even a new one in stock. We paid less for this 2004 model year truck 10 years ago than what a new battery costs.

If anyone can offer suggestions on the best route to take, I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[johfoster]

See it as just needing to safely fit 4000lb worth of 48v battery in a 45 x 23 opening. Which could expand the search to include multiple batteries tied together if it is a rarity to find the big single pack.

I recently replaced 8 6volt cells in my boom lift with 4 giant 12v cells because I got them free in good condition when they get scheduled replacement. The lift doesn't know the difference.

 

[Rob F.]

If you look at the battery you will see that it is made up of "small" individual cells, aprox 2 volts each IIRC. If you have to it is possible to remove the bad cells and replace with others, I would use other used cells in your case. New ones would be quickly worn down by all the others in the pack.
You are learning that almost the entire value of an electric lift is the battery....

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

You can use a voltmeter to measure voltage of each cell, they should be approx 2.2 volts each. If the bad cells have swollen, they can be a real bear to remove. You might be better off shopping for a new lift, just make sure it has a good battery.

Edit: If only 1 or 2 cells are bad, you can delete them (wire around them) and possibly buy yourself more time. You can also try to charge each of the bad cells individually to see if they will come back to life.

 

[BT Fabrication]

Hi all. I have a 12k lb capacity electric forklift. The local service company tells me the battery has a few dead cells and recommends replacement. Also, now my charger just started popping fuses as soon as it is connected to the battery. Would you reckon that the charger is popping fuses due to a faulty battery, or is that a separate issue? They lent me a small charger that I can get a bit of a charge into the battery with, but the charger eventually gives a battery error message.

I know very little about batteries, and the replacement batteries I'm being quoted are very expensive, so I wanted to ask here to make sure I'm not making any bad decisions. For reference, the battery is 48 V, weighs over 4k lbs, and measures about 45" square by 23" tall. Apparently they are a bit rare, and no one has been able to locate a refurbished battery or even a new one in stock. We paid less for this 2004 model year truck 10 years ago than what a new battery costs.

If anyone can offer suggestions on the best route to take, I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!

yep, typical forklift batteries, they are thousands each, and yes a short inside will cause the charger to pop

 

[candeservices]

Hi all. I have a 12k lb capacity electric forklift. The local service company tells me the battery has a few dead cells and recommends replacement. Also, now my charger just started popping fuses as soon as it is connected to the battery. Would you reckon that the charger is popping fuses due to a faulty battery, or is that a separate issue? They lent me a small charger that I can get a bit of a charge into the battery with, but the charger eventually gives a battery error message.

I know very little about batteries, and the replacement batteries I'm being quoted are very expensive, so I wanted to ask here to make sure I'm not making any bad decisions. For reference, the battery is 48 V, weighs over 4k lbs, and measures about 45" square by 23" tall. Apparently they are a bit rare, and no one has been able to locate a refurbished battery or even a new one in stock. We paid less for this 2004 model year truck 10 years ago than what a new battery costs.

If anyone can offer suggestions on the best route to take, I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!

You can put ANY size 48v battery that fits in that spot in there, But the weight of the original battery IS figured in the weight of the forklift and determines the lifting capacity. If you put something too small you will have a tipping hazard at rated capacity.

 

[Bill D]

For seldom used lifts some here use truck batteries in series to get the needed voltage and add steel plates for more ballast weight. How long and hard do you use this lift? A used lift with. good battery may be cheaper then a new battery to fit an oddball.
Tesla replacement batteries run $10-15,000 plus installation.
Bill D

 

[RC Mech]

Do not jumper individual cells to bypass the dead sections. The overall voltage of the battery will be decreased past what a depleted battery would be. What happens when you decrease voltage? You increase amperage draw. This will wreak havoc on the steering pump/hydraulic/traction motors.

You can swap individual cells, but if it’s more than 3-4 cells it better to swap the battery. Other cells won’t be far behind. It’s like putting one new tire on your car because one corner has worn out control arm bushings. I just bought a refurb battery for my 6k lift. 3200 lb battery, 48V. Close to your size. They’re not cheap at $6500 CAD, but the rest of the lift is in great shape and I cannot stand propane lifts for moving things inside a closed shop.

You could charge each individual cell with a universal power supply set to 3.0 volts or so, but without a controller it wouldn’t shut off automatically. Yeah yeah I can hear guys saying “but it will stop charging at 3 volts anyways”. That ain’t how it works. Continual voltage monitoring is needed.

Your 48V battery charger is faulting because it’s trying to charge at a specific voltage and your pack isn’t getting near that value after the allotted time, as set by the parameter in the charger controller. You can modify that value but that’d be a stop-gap and dangerous to the pack and charger for the average bear.

If you’re handy, some flame cut plates and ePay Tesla batteries can make a suitable replacement. I don’t have the patience for that. Per above, I’d look for a battery with the closest dims to what’s there. If it happens to be the min bat weight per the truck specs, great. If not, flame cut drops it is.

 

[john.k]

never the less.....bridging out dead cells is standard practice in industrial traction battery maintenance ..........another true fact is an electric forklift is worth what the battery is worth in its present state ..............a small ride on can go from $7,000 with a new battery down to scrap price + a couple of hundred for the mast assy and forks to fit on a tractor.

 

[Bill D]

Tesla batteries break down into 22 volt units at 250 Ah. Cost 300-400 used on the bay.
Bill D

 

[Speedie]

There are many places that rebuild batteries.

 

[MwTech Inc]

Depending on your daily hour usage......used battery may serve you. I ran used for 20 years, then finally the hours per day went up and then bought a new one.

 

[604Pook]

If your lucky you can find a repair guy. We have had many forklift batteries over the years where we just replaced single cells. The guy would remove the bad cells, drop in new ones, then inspect all the other connections. Occasionally we'd have to replace the whole battery. Same guy typically had rebuilt battery packs for sale for half the cost of new.