Jump Bike Battery Replacement (Beginners Guide)
Batteries are one of the most important components of an electric bike. They do a lot of work but weaken during usage.
With a few tools, you can replace a deteriorated or spoilt battery. This article will explain how.
You can replace the jump bike battery when it stops charging or if the BMS fails. As you use the bike, the battery charge slowly declines. Jump bikes use lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have a limit to their charge cycles. Thus, you’ll need to replace them after exhausting these cycles.
Can You Replace the Battery on a Jump Bike Battery?
You can replace jump bike batteries. Don’t waste money getting a new bike when the battery isn’t working.
It is normal for lithium-ion batteries to lose their charge because they are designed with limited charge cycles. Cycles are the number of times you can recharge the battery.
When you exhaust these cycles, the battery won’t charge again and will require a replacement.
Suppose a jump bike battery’s charge cycle is 500; when it charges about 600 times, you may experience superfast drainage where your battery drains from 100 to 0 within minutes.
The battery’s capacity declines to about 80% after this number of charging cycles. This reduction will happen over time, dropping from 60% to 40% until it dies.
The battery will need replacing after exhausting the charge cycles. Battery life, therefore, depends on how often you use your bike.
How to Replace a Jump Bike Battery?
To replace a jump bike battery, follow the steps below.
- Open the battery compartment with the key or unscrew the bolts to access the battery. Pay attention as you unscrew because the bolts at the top of the compartment have different sizes.
- Once you’ve opened the compartment, pull out the charger. The battery might glue to the compartment with latex or silicone glue. Use a knife to carefully slice through the edges so the battery can detach from the compartment.
- After tearing through the glue, remove the battery from the compartment. What you’ll see are two wires connected to the charger. There’ll also be a positive and negative wire going into the switch. Cut off the wires to separate them from the charging point.
- The new battery has two connectors. There’s the charge port and the positive and negative wires. Another set of wire harnesses comes separate from the battery. Connect this wire harness to the negative and positive wires.
- Connect the charge port to the charger. You can solder the wires to ensure proper connection. Ensure to wrap guerilla tape over the connections. Plug the negative and positive into the wire harness and push on the power button.
- If a light comes up on the charger, it means the connections are well done. Put the battery into the compartment. Use guerilla tape or glue to secure the battery, then cover it and screw in the bolts.
How Much Does It Cost to Replace a Jump Bike Battery?
Replacing hump bike batteries can cost anywhere between $500 and $800. However, it depends on the type of battery you’re replacing.
Jump bikes can use either lithium batteries or lead-acid batteries. Lithium batteries are one of the best batteries.
They have a long-lasting capability and produce more energy than any other cells. They are efficient, supplying just the power required by the bike.
Lithium batteries also complete charging within 2 to 3 hours. These attributes are why lithium batteries tend to cost higher than the others.
Their quality is the best. On the other hand, lead-acid batteries are recyclable batteries. They don’t have a long lifespan, especially when used frequently.
It is not advisable for bikers who ride regularly to use this battery. One thing about lead-acid batteries, though, is that they are cheap.
Furthermore, they are three times as heavy as lithium batteries. Lead-acid batteries also take more time to charge than lithium batteries.
Jump Bike Battery Replacement Chart
The table below shows the watt-hours and estimated distance you can travel with a particular battery.
This table will help you choose when replacing a bike’s battery.
Battery | Watt-hours | Estimate Range |
---|---|---|
36V 17.5Ah | 630 Watt-hours | 45.0 – 52.5 miles |
48V 14.0Ah | 672 Watt-hours | 48.0 – 56.0 miles |
36V 24 24.5Ah | 882 Watt-hours | 63.0 – 73.5 miles |
48V 17.5Ah | 840 Watt-hours | 60.0 – 73.5 miles |
36V 17.5Ah | 630 Watt-hours | 45.0 – 52.5 miles |
48V 14.0Ah | 672 Watt-hours | 48.0 – 56.0 miles |
36V 25.0Ah | 900 Watt-hours | 64.3 – 75.0 miles |
48V 20.0Ah | 960 Watt-hours | 68.6 – 80.0 miles |
Before replacing a battery, you must look at the type of battery the bike uses. Jump bikes mainly use lithium batteries, and there are three major types.
- Ternary lithium battery
- Lithium iron phosphate
- Lithium manganite battery
Ternary lithium battery is a secondary battery that combines various features of other batteries.
One attribute is that it has lithium cobaltate’s excellent cycle performance. Another feature is lithium nickeltate’s great specific capacity.
The last feature is lithium manganates low price and high safety. A lithium manganite battery is a battery that has lithium manganite-positive electrodes.
The battery operates at a low temperature and has reasonable safety. The price is low, but the battery has issues with swelling, flatulence, and the discharge of electrolytes.
Lithium iron phosphate battery offers good efficiency output. Even with high temperatures, it operates well.
The battery’s life cycle is around 800 to 2000 cycles. When it exceeds 500 cycles, the discharge rate remains higher than 95%.
A battery’s major function in an electric bike is to offer the highest riding range. This riding range has a capacity in Amp-hours (Ah).
Amp-hour is the amount of capacity in a battery. The more the amp-hour in a battery, the more distance you can cover.
Every battery has a voltage grade and Amp-hour grade. Multiplying both of them will result in watt-hours.
Watt-hour measures the correct energy the battery stores. It is represented mathematically as;
Volt x Amp-hours = Watt-hours.
The above equation helps calculate the estimated distance covered on the e-bike. However, divide whatever result you get by 12-14 Watt-hours to get the accurate miles.
The reason is that factors like riding on hills, carrying extra load, and pedal-assist setting affect traveling distance.
How Do I Know If My Jump Battery Is Bad?
Various signs come up when your jump battery is getting bad. Some of them are;
#1. Lower Range
Batteries have an average life of about 3 to 5 years. This average life varies depending on the battery’s maintenance through the bike usage.
However, even with the best maintenance, the battery will still deteriorate, and you’ll notice declining mileage.
Even a full charge won’t give you the mileage you traveled before when the battery starts weakening. When this happens, it means the battery will need replacing soon.
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#2. Failed Charge
If your battery refuses to charge, you must replace it. The failed charge might result from broken connector wiring or a weakened battery.
Sometimes it would need plugging in for a long time before completing charging. In addition, your battery will need replacing when you notice it has swelled.
A swollen battery will stop working at any time. Also, a battery needs replacing if it perceives a bad odor or feels it overheating.
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Conclusion
You can replace jump bike batteries when you exhaust the charge cycle, or it gets weakened.
Replacing batteries can cost anywhere between $500 to $800. A battery needs replacing when it fails to charge, overheats, or swells.
The battery also needs replacing if your bike can’t travel distances on a full charge as it used to.