Hoover Lynx Vacuum 18V Lithium Power Battery Teardown

[@DK-pr9ny]

Unfortunately the 36Wh will not work as a replacement for the 30Wh in my Linx. Wish you would have showed how to replace the batteries.

[@jssamp4442]

6:29 The cells are not connected in parallel. You must be mistaken. If you take the protective covering off of the ends of the cells you can verify that they are all five in series.

[@zorgatron8998]

I just picked up a more recent model of this LiNX battery. Its label reads 18.0V 36Wh. Model BH50000. Inside, it contains 5 Samsung INR18650-20Q which are 2000 mAh. Fully charged, each cell is 4.125 v. The entire series circuit measured at the batteries is 20.62 v. The external terminals of the pack measure 17.67 v. The circuit board does not have the two discrete silicon devices on a heatsink, however there appear to be two MOSFETs, "050N03L" soldered to a large power plane on the PCB which may be for heat sinking. What is curious is that on the board there is a PIC16F1509 microcontroller along with five pads on the PCB that are clearly silkscreened "PROG_PADS". This has me wondering if this battery might need to be reprogrammed to handle a higher capacity cell, such as a Samsung INR18650-35E, Sanyo NCR18650GA, LG 18650HG2, or other batteries at 3000+ mAh? That might be way over my head, I don't really understand how to disassemble code..

[@markborrmannjr]

You can test the the terminals on the charger to verify.. simple circuit in the charger.. it only supply power to the battery..

[@barryrcflyer]

My Linx Hoover battery - all 5 cells are in series and the output tabs measure about 18v when charged. Yours has to be mis-wired???

[@bramskahoon4072]

Nominal is rated 3.6v each so 5 cells equal 18v....so when fully charged its 4.2.. so 18v is correct to what it says on the pack

[@jssamp4442]

@@bramskahoon4072 In fact 18V and 20V power tools run on the same power. The difference is some manufacturers use nominal voltage and some use full voltage in their labeling.

[@markborrmannjr]

3 terminals on that pack, positive, negative and turn on... On my hover battery I need to connect - to the center terminal and then it will output 20 volts on the 2 outer connections.. on mine they are labeled + and - and they use - for the trigger or to turn the battery on.. they do that for safety because you could set the battery on something to cause it to short.. if you test+ to center terminal on mine I get 12 volts.. again it's a trigger.. the 2 terminal you connect your meter to and get no power are the power terminals once the battery is turned on

[@mikeminici4956]

There seems to be a discovery that when the battery voltage falls below a limit the charger won’t recognize it, thereby making the battery useless. Can I use a 12V auto charger to bring the voltage up to where it can be recognized? Which terminal is positive and which is negative on the Hoover battery so that I can attach the positive clip to the correct side?

[@lhpfla]

Is it possible to charge the battery pack without using the Hoover charger?

[@bigelile07]

I bought a charger off of eBay for $28.00

[@wegder]

I suppose that someone has already pointed out that fully draining a pack is not really necessary on lithium pack,

[@roscored1000]

can you charge this without the charger? Positive and negative to a lithium charger? Not sure about the middle terminal?

[@poseman13]

could you post a picture of the circuit board? thanks in advance

[@alstevens44]

Did you check the charger output voltage

[@jimmywilliams8684]

Thanks for the teardown and analysis. We love our Lynx appliances, but these batteries suck! And the chargers are always flashing - probably due to the age of the packs. It's too bad. The packs make me want to try another brand.

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

they are all in series yeah?

[@DJ_Megahertz]

Anyone been able to find a source for the replacement cells? Or a way to use single flat tops? I don't have a way to spot weld wires to these.

[@KmanAuto]

luvencl I can sell you the cells. You can just solder them. Or if you’d like, you can ship me the battery, I do have a spot welder into battery repair. I can also increase the capacity

[@DonaldRumsfailed]

I found a few places, including Battery Store and even Amazon.

[@zrt600guy]

@@KmanAuto I'm interested in having you rebuild my battery, how much? And how much to increase capacity?

[@lynntober1456]

KmanAuto how much if I ship you my ‘dead’ battery to have you put in new cells?

[@bitcoinfoot6101]

Didn't anybody notice he is using the multimeter incorrectly? Black probe should be in the COM connector socket (bottom connector socket) and Red probe in the next connector socket (correct) for voltage reading. 🤣🤣🤣 Batteries are labelled 3.7 volts each and are in series. 5x3.7=18.5 volts

[@bradatherton9369]

While you are 'technically' correct that he has the probe leads misconnected, the voltage measurements were in the ballpark of an 18650 NMC li ion cell. Why? Because the ammeter inside the DMM is accomplished by a strip of wire (milliohms of resistance, verrry negligible effect) between the COM terminal and the Ammeter banana jack connector. So effectively it is near equivalent to being connected properly. Maybe get off the guy's case...he provided a free video that you can choose to benefit from. No need to be a snarky Mr know it all and be a d-bag to the guy. Technically maybe he knows more than you about why he chose to connect his DMM the way he did. ;) And yes, he definitely miscomprehended the series-parallel part. It is most definitely a '5s' pack. If you really want to get into it you can dig for the datasheet of the cell. Typical NMC cells are 4.2v @ Top of Charge and 2 5v at bottom. 3.7v is nominal rating.

[@domnick8806]

where do you get a security bit to replace the battery's in the power pack?

[@KmanAuto]

dom nick harbor Freight is good locatio

[@pinkythebrain3715]

Nothing wrong with the battery pack. The connector nearest to edge is +ve terminal, the other is -ve. The central connector is charge/discharge control. The heat sink house 2 charge discharge Power FETs.Short run time is the result of worn out cells just like old laptop battery behaves. Thanks for the video that I managed to measured the capacity of the battery.

[@tbsmith77]

I just disassembled and rebuilt my Linx battery with new cells. The output voltage of yours is way too low, it should be 18-20V as you surmise since each cell is in series. The intermediate connections you see (one at each cell) are to balance each cell. That fancy controller board makes sure each cell is at the same voltage. check the voltage at the extreme ends of the battery pack, if each cell is ~4 volts, you should read 20 volts. If not something is wrong with your HF meter.

[@holulu777]

what kind and size bit did you use to open the screws in the pack?

[@aubullion]

Any chance you could do a video walkthrough of the rebuild? I dont want to spend $75 CDN on a new linx battery pack, and I dont want to buy another vacuum just for a fresh battery pack.

[@nithiananthamramya6618]

I dont want to spend 60$ just for battery, and Since the vaccum is good, can you put video, how to change the cells

[@humidbeing]

This is a battery + motor controller unit. The MOSFETS drive the two motors. It's PWM output, generated by the PIC micro. You will not be able to read it with a standard volt meter.

[@ntag411]

No wonder the circuitry looks so complex. But why have a inverter build on the battery? Fixed speed, why use a inverter at all? A brushless motor is not cheap.

[@arnoldfinkelstein7156]

Can I just replace those 18650's?

[@bigelile07]

I have one of those vacuum cleaners with that battery. It died a couple of weeks ago and it was only 1.5 years old. I took it to Batteries Plus and the guy (kid) working there said they couldn't repair those type of batteries. He was very short with me so I wasn't even able to ask him why. Been looking on eBay for a replacement, but I don't want a used Hoover battery and the aftermarket batteries are around $37.00. I really don't want to pay that much for an aftermarket. I'm going to call Batteries Plus and ask them if it can be repaired. I see no reason why it can't be.

[@zerstreut1996]

Do you plan to fix it somehow?

[@DanFrederiksen]

4.14V is so intentional that there can't be any significant production error. The controlling electronics is super important. That can easily explain the 10volt. Are you sure it's not wired all 5 in series? it could just be the electronics only giving the full 20V when it runs. 2-2-1 makes no sense.

[@humidbeing]

+Dan Frederiksen The motors are driven using PWM. PWM is generated by the PIC microcontroller and drives the gates of the two N-channel mosfets. Duty cycle determines output. This does not waste power like manipulating voltage. Google DC motor control with PWM. Standard way of doing things.

[@megafrenzy]

+Dan Frederiksen My 18V old pack is putting out 18.36V on outer pins/blades. Now I also get 20.52V from battery outer pin and center pin, so this could be the direct contact to the cells for charging. In any case, they are wired in series.+KmanAuto needs to get a clue.

[@guygordon2780]

Oh for Pete's Sake! Will you just measure the voltage to the OTHER TERMINAL!!! You can see all 3 terminals at 2:20s. One will read 11v, the other 21v fully charged. The 11v line is how the battery communicates with the charger and sweeper. The voltage doesn't tell you the health of the battery. For that you need to measure the Amp-Hour capacity. Your meter won't do that.

[@bdoft9252]

can anyone tell me how to get the battery open...what male 'screwdriver' end can be used, and where do you get it. thanks

[@KmanAuto]

I do rebuilds of these if you need. but the screw driver can be picked up at Home Depot or electronics stores. I've seen variants so can't tell you which specifically without seeing it

[@pinkythebrain3715]

Interesting indeed. Would like to know how much is total cost and how good (run time) are the rebuilds? could they be better than 20 minutes with brushes on?

[@blautens]

Go to Harbor Freight and buy their cheapest "security bit" set. I think it was 6 bucks, less on sale. It will have the bit (that's what I used).

[@dvanallen3]

@@KmanAuto my charger is flashing, multimeter reads 10v. Time for a rebuild?

[@tbug6969]

What size security bit open the battery??

[@AndrewContrasto]

Tommy Tate T10 torx security

[@ntag411]

T10 torx, non security. Driver bit does not have a hole although a security bit with hole can be used.

[@kjosr1]

them red cell 18650 batteries are junk, made by sanyo mfg. green cells are made by LG mfg. blue cells are made by samsung.. the (BMS) is probably the problem...

[@EVunedited]

Can you refer me for a model S? Tesla is testing a referral program...

[@KmanAuto]

Xcube720 ts.la/christopher5460 GRAZIE! If I get 10 Referrals before anyone else, I get a Fully Loaded Model X! That means, a INSANE number of more tech and detail videos!!!!! :) GRAZIE!

[@KmanAuto]

Yep, Saturday. He got the Europe one. North America and Asia are still up for grabs.