A battery pack consists of a number of cells (cells are the individual batteries). When the battery pack is charged or discharged, the voltage on each cell will change at different rates. Cells can be damaged if their voltage is too high or too low. To prevent this from happening, we use a battery management system.
We use the Elithion Lite Battery Management System. The battery management system (BMS) records the current, voltage, and temperature of the cells. The BMS is responsible for protecting the battery by controlling the rate that each cell charges and discharges. Additionally, if the battery voltage becomes too low, the BMS is responsible activating the shutdown circuit to prevent damaging the cells. Our BMS consists of a number of cell boards and a master board. One cell board is connected to each cell of the battery and all cell boards are connected to the master board.
Currently, our BMS is functional; however, some parts are broken and need replacement. Cell boards seem to be particularly fragile for some reason and we have a large collection of broken cell boards. Replacement parts are being ordered and will arrive soon.