Service Bulletin BPA28x Lithium Battery (Li-Ion)

Holmatro Greenline – EVO – EVO3 tools

To help clarify some of the questions regarding battery diagnostics, here is information regarding
codes and performance of 28 volt batteries and chargers. As of July 2018 the battery software
has been updated. Updated 5.0Ah batteries start with batch code 3218G and will store 4 fault codes in the
Battery Management System (BMS). As of October 2018 the software is updated again. Updated batteries
start with batch code 4318G and will reset the State Of Charge (SOC) when the battery is fully charged. In
previous versions the SOC only resets when fully discharged. Old/new software versions will be described
separately in the instructions below where applicable.

Manufacturing batch code

On the underside of the battery, you will find either a five digit number embossed in the battery case; or a
small data matrix code sticker. The embossed number is the two digit week; followed by the two digit year;
followed by a factory code. The data matrix code will give the same information when read by any standard
barcode reader.

Battery LED indicator

RED, GREEN, ORANGE LED is blinking

RED, GREEN, ORANGE LED is lighting
No LED is lighting or blinking

Battery contains only red and green LEDs, the orange LED is a combination of both, red and green colors.
The LED indicator contains 3 green LEDs and 1 multicolored LED as follows:
State of Charge

The state of charge (SOC) is displayed for 5sec. after pushing the button.
The SOC is not a direct battery power measurement, but rather a calculated display created by the
BMS (Battery Management System). The SOC display is derived from several variables within
the battery.

Important remark on batteries before 4318G > State of Charge

Common problem on batteries (only before 4318G): A battery just shows 1 (or 2) green LEDs and
doesn’t show more LEDs after charging on a battery charger.

Explanation: The 28v batteries are considered to be “learning” batteries. This means the Min/Max
parameters of the SOC are maintained over time through recalculation. When a battery is fully cycled
(discharged down to the last LED light, and then allowed to go through a full uninterrupted charging cycle)
the SOC calculation becomes more accurate with each discharge/charge cycle.
The BMS can accommodate partial discharge/charge cycles (a.k.a. short cycles) when it performs SOC
recalculations, as long as full cycles are still performed periodically. When these “short” cycles become the
more frequent form of operation; and/or are of extremely short duration the SOC calculation can become
inaccurate. Meaning the battery will display inaccurate LED readings compared to the battery’s actual
capacity. Basically, the battery doesn’t know how much power it has anymore. This display inaccuracy
does not affect the battery’s true performance. This inaccurate LED reading can happen because in the
batteries before 4318G the SOC is reset only when the battery is fully discharged. The software update
makes sure the SOC will be reset when the battery is fully charged.

How to deal with this: To solve this you have to reset the SOC calculation by putting the battery through a
“relearning” process. Completely discharge the battery; e.g. by using it on a tool. The tool needs to stop
running, after that you may assume the battery is completely empty. The battery then needs to be allowed
to go through a full uninterrupted charging cycle. Usually, after 1-3 of these relearning cycles the battery
BMS will reset the SOC calculation. The battery should then show all LEDs again and indicate correctly.

Remark: Batteries need to be exercised to maintain the accuracy of their SOC calculation. This means a
battery should be discharged a minimum of 25% then allowed to go through an uninterrupted charging
cycle. Discharging a battery can take a while. Please advise customers to discharge batteries for longer
periods, before “topping off” so the BMS can recalculate the SOC accurately.
Checking the number of cycles completed for a 28v battery

Push and hold the button. First the LEDs will show the State of Charge (SOC) as normal. Then the

LEDs will go out. Continue holding the button, the LEDs will start to flash. Count the flashes for the
appropriate value. The number of charging cycles is shown when the button is pressed for at least 5sec.

Cycle Counts

The cycle counter is incremented when the battery is charged at least 10 minutes (10 minutes in a charger
with current higher than 0.5A and when the previous end of charge has not been detected, i.e., voltage
higher than 28V)

Error Codes - Battery

Most battery errors are temporary conditions and the BMS will reset and clear the error if left disconnected
within its normal operating temperature range for a period of (approx.) a couple of hours. If the error does
not clear, or reoccurs upon reuse; the battery is probably faulty and needs to be replaced. (after
troubleshooting steps have been taken)
If this occurs to a battery older than one year from the batch code on the battery case (see above) this is
not a warranty issue.

After the cycle count indication is finished, see above, the last error will be shown.

Only applicable for batteries from batch code 3518G and higher + 6.0Ah > the last 4 faults stored in the
memory are shown separated by a separator.

LED Description
combination
Separator between cycle count and fault memory indicator
No (further) fault stored in the memory

More explanation error codes battery. What can you do?

See next pages.
Battery charger

Error Codes - Charger