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Ryobi RM480e not operational after winter storage.

#1

F

Fourdoor

Hey guys, this is a long story.

I went to use my Ryobi electric riding mower for the first time this spring and found it DOA... initial investigation found that the outlet it was plugged into had failed and was providing no power, no idea how long the outlet was dead... may have been all winter based on the battery being flat dead. I moved the mower to the garage and pulled the battery pack, disconnecting the cells from each other and charging each one individually on a slow (2 amp) 12 V charger under the assumption that a slow charge was better after a really deep discharge. This took forever, and after complete I reassembled the pack. Pack voltage shows 50 Volts so I figured I was good to go! NOPE! Put in the key and turn it and get nothing. No solenoid click, no lights, no results at all. All plugs (main battery plug, seat safety switch, and the little plug at the back end of the battery) disconnected when I pulled the pack and the interconnections between cells are re-installed and have solid connections. Just to cover the owners manual troubleshooting, the battery pack is at 50 volts, the battery cables are all tight, the key is in and turned on, and the charger is not plugged into the mower.

I have a good set of tools and a good volt meter... now I just need troubleshooting advice other than the owners manual "is the key on?" :)

I know the official rating is 48 volts, but the pack voltage being 50ish (50 point something, not sure) wouldn't be the problem would it?

It may just be a worn out component unrelated the the battery being dead and revived, or it may have been something damaged when the outlet that the mower was plugged into (outdoor GFCI plug) failed.

Thanks for any advice. I purchased it almost 4 years ago, so I am out of warranty.

Keith


#2

sgkent

sgkent

turn the headlights on and see if they hold up or dim when you turn the key. It is also possible something on it shorted out during storage and popped the outlet breaker or GCFI. Just because a battery shows 50V doesn't mean it will hold that under load. I've seen lots of batteries, both lead acid, Ni-Cad, and Lithium that show full charge but die the minute a load is put on them.


#3

F

Fourdoor

sgkent said:
turn the headlights on and see if they hold up or dim when you turn the key. It is also possible something on it shorted out during storage and popped the outlet breaker or GCFI. Just because a battery shows 50V doesn't mean it will hold that under load. I've seen lots of batteries, both lead acid, Ni-Cad, and Lithium that show full charge but die the minute a load is put on them.
Click to expand...
This isn't a "it wont move" or "the blades wont turn" situation, when the key is turned nothing happens. No relay click, no meter response, no nothing. I load tested the batteries when I had them separated for charging. My bad for not mentioning that I had load tested the cells.

Keith


#4

sgkent

sgkent

my advice stands. If you turn the key and the voltage drops you will know it is either a battery, connection or starter problem. If there is no drop in voltage then you will know that the key, switches, module or relay are involved. Tell me, why do people ask for help then argue with the people who offer to help them?


#5

F

Fourdoor

sgkent said:
my advice stands. If you turn the key and the voltage drops you will know it is either a battery, connection or starter problem. If there is no drop in voltage then you will know that the key, switches, module or relay are involved. Tell me, why do people ask for help then argue with the people who offer to help them?
Click to expand...

And I wonder why people don't read a post before they reply to it.

I am pretty sure you are giving generic advice most of which was covered in my original post, and some of the advice seems directed at a gasoline or Diesel powered mower rather than an Electric riding mower. The lights (that don't come on at all as stated in the original post) are not going to dim when I try to crank the nonexistent gasoline engine.

Keith


#6

sgkent

sgkent

Electric or gas there is no difference. I would put a voltmeter on the battery and watch it when I turn the key to see if the voltage drops. If it does then try another battery pack. If it does not then I would follow the voltage to connections, fuses/circuit breakers, switches, and relays. No one can troubleshoot your mower via the Internet by putting their forehead to their computer screen. Get a wiring diagram and manual for it because that will help you follow the test points to see where the voltage is disappearing. It may be as simple as a mouse or rat chewed the wiring harness somewhere. This is the same approach that I suggested in the beginning. I have worked on many electrical problems on many different type items, and would not approach it any other way. Unless you can see a blown fuse or chewed wire, you will have to use a voltmeter to determine why sufficient current and voltage is not getting to the electric motor - unless your mower throws codes to tell you what is wrong, in which case you will need manufacturer literature to know what the code means.


#7

B

bertsmobile1

People fail to understand that the voltage & the capacity are two totally different things
If the battery only had 1 molecule of paste left on each plate it would still charge fully to 13 V
But it would not have enough capacity to run a torch globe for more than 0.5 seconds .
Now back to your mower
Some where there is a main fuse , usually near the battery so that is where I would start
I would also like to know why the wall socket went bad
Like sgkent I would put mu money on a short in the charger or mower
When you find the fuse check it for resistance to ground which should be infinate ( open circuit ) on both sides with everything turned off
If you get any resistance then that signals a short .
Other than that I have nothing else to offer as I am not an electrician and do not fix any battery or mains powered tools


#8

D

davidy

Fourdoor said:
Hey guys, this is a long story.

I went to use my Ryobi electric riding mower for the first time this spring and found it DOA... initial investigation found that the outlet it was plugged into had failed and was providing no power, no idea how long the outlet was dead... may have been all winter based on the battery being flat dead. I moved the mower to the garage and pulled the battery pack, disconnecting the cells from each other and charging each one individually on a slow (2 amp) 12 V charger under the assumption that a slow charge was better after a really deep discharge. This took forever, and after complete I reassembled the pack. Pack voltage shows 50 Volts so I figured I was good to go! NOPE! Put in the key and turn it and get nothing. No solenoid click, no lights, no results at all. All plugs (main battery plug, seat safety switch, and the little plug at the back end of the battery) disconnected when I pulled the pack and the interconnections between cells are re-installed and have solid connections. Just to cover the owners manual troubleshooting, the battery pack is at 50 volts, the battery cables are all tight, the key is in and turned on, and the charger is not plugged into the mower.

I have a good set of tools and a good volt meter... now I just need troubleshooting advice other than the owners manual "is the key on?" :)

I know the official rating is 48 volts, but the pack voltage being 50ish (50 point something, not sure) wouldn't be the problem would it?

It may just be a worn out component unrelated the the battery being dead and revived, or it may have been something damaged when the outlet that the mower was plugged into (outdoor GFCI plug) failed.

Thanks for any advice. I purchased it almost 4 years ago, so I am out of warranty.

Keith
Click to expand...
Is your mower fixed yet? I am having almost the exact same problem now. I did not plug in the power core during the entire winter. I had it fully charged before my first test use, the mower however did not move much, I somehow got it started by turning on the blade. Then I put it back to the shed. Now it would not start at all, just like what you have described. The batteries are showing 50V.
I also did what other people suggested, try to turn on, and observed the voltage went down to 16V immediately. The voltage went back to 50v slower after I stopped the key turning.
I decided to charge the battery individually, and found 1 battery is full, and 3 other batteries are pretty empty. I think that explains why I got 16V, that’s probably 12V + very low amount from other 3 together.

Well, I am charging 1 overnight, hope I can bring the batteries back.


#9

sgkent

sgkent

sulfated. $200 each from what I have read in other forums.


#10

D

davidy

Keith, it looks like i have fixed my RM480ex. I had 3 batteries drained, and the charging able was unable to charge (no light). So I used a car charger to charge each battery individually to 100% full. Reconnected the wires, I saw the lights but mower still could not move. the mower was moving a little bit and stooped. I turned the blades on, the blades worked normally, then the wheels also moved. Took a short ride, all normal, now the charging via charging cable looks good.

Just finished one complete cut, so far so good.


#11

F

Fourdoor

davidy said:
Is your mower fixed yet? I am having almost the exact same problem now. I did not plug in the power core during the entire winter. I had it fully charged before my first test use, the mower however did not move much, I somehow got it started by turning on the blade. Then I put it back to the shed. Now it would not start at all, just like what you have described. The batteries are showing 50V.
I also did what other people suggested, try to turn on, and observed the voltage went down to 16V immediately. The voltage went back to 50v slower after I stopped the key turning.
I decided to charge the battery individually, and found 1 battery is full, and 3 other batteries are pretty empty. I think that explains why I got 16V, that’s probably 12V + very low amount from other 3 together.

Well, I am charging 1 overnight, hope I can bring the batteries back.
Click to expand...
I found my problem, either when I pulled the battery tray out, or slid it in after individually charging each cell I snagged one of the cables that goes above the battery pack and un-plugged it. After plugging that in the mower worked and mowed!!!

But it still had pathetic run time :( Less than half an acre of run time when mulching dry, not too tall grass, not enough to do my 2/3 acre lawn on one charge. I bought a "real" (non-harbor freight) battery tester and 1 cell had 297 CCA, one had 275 CCA, one had 240 CCA, and the last one had 237 CCA. Since I needed to replace at least two of the cells (and the third is "iffy") I decided to upgrade to 100 ah pack from the 75 ah pack I originally had.

With the new pack installed I was able to do my entire lawn and only used about 1/4 of the battery!

I purchased a desulfator/charger and will attempt to restore the old 75 ah cells to health... if they are revived I can make a home energy storage pack that will run a fridge and freezer though a power outage... or sell them on e-bay. If they don't revive, I will sell the old cells as scrap. I didn't learn about desulfators until after I had purchased my new 100 ah battery cells... my recommendation to you would be after charging each cell full, to purchase a good battery tester OR take the cells to one of the chain parts stores that offers free battery testing. If one or more of the cells are bad I recommend trying restore those cells with a battery desulfator before spending the money on new cells.

Good luck,

Keith


#12

Tony120

Tony120

Same problem here, only worse: smoking.

Last year, we had a problem with the mower not being able to cut our whole half-acre lawn. After a trip to the local service center, they replaced one battery and that seemed to do the trick.

However, this spring, the mower was dead, completely, no lights, nothing. And it wouldn't charge using the port. I pulled the battery pack and disconnected all the batteries from each other. (I took photos first so that I could put it back together right.) I charged each to full and then let them sit overnight. The three old ones all dropped to 10v or lower overnight.

So, I ordered three new batteries and installed them. I tested the battery pack and it was putting out 50v. I connected everything and took a test run. The mower was running great for about three minutes and then it went completely dead. I looked at the wiring diagram and found the 125A fuse location. It was blown. I ordered a new fuse from Ryobi which just arrived. I installed the new fuse and turned the mower on. It looked OK for a minute and then I noticed smoke (electrical from the smell) coming from the left rear hear the height adjustment lever. I quickly shut it off and disconnected the battery pack.

I know this is going to be a trip to the service center and probably $$$. Does anyone have any ideas what might be wrong?


#13

sgkent

sgkent

EX batteries, chewed and chaffed wires eh? someday they will figure how to make them last.


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