Maxwell Start Module

[JimT]

So the fantastic Maxwell Start Module (Ultra-capacitor) (Ultra 31/1800 to be exact) that I installed last year decided to up and die on me a few weeks back. Gave me about 2 days notice where it worked all day then, at some point (i think it was the massive potholes I hit on I-84 in NY) it developed an internal error and stopped charging. 2 mornings in a row I discovered it with a weak start and was able to reset it. The third morning however the unit would no longer reset and as far as I can tell after following all the troubleshooting it's an unrecoverable fault. Luckily when I redesigned my battery setup I had this possibility in mind so it was a simple cable swap from one terminal stud to another.

Now, the real reason I'm posting this is, it appears these units have been discontinued. Very hard to find any definitive info, but it appears to have happened somewhere between when Tesla bought the company and when they were later sold off to some other overseas company. If I'm wrong, please correct me and point me in the right direction.

So where does that leave everyone who has one of these units and an electrical system set up for them. They were available on some trucks from the factory with the dealers being the primary distributors for the modules. Durring my searches I discovered another company that makes similar modules. They were mainly in European markets (if I remember correctly) but recently expanded (I think earlier this year) to add North American distribution.

https://www.skeletontech.com/skelstart-u...art-module

Being unknown to me and still somewhat new, I'm hesitant to jump in and try it without more information. Has anyone on here heard of and/or used these?

[Rawze]

Thats sad indeed. I had hope for those units. Maybe they were designed to only last so long?.

[JimT]

(08-01-2023 )Rawze Wrote:  Thats sad indeed. I had hope for those units. Maybe they were designed to only last so long?.

I don't know. I suspect, based on the symptoms, that mine developed an internal short somewhere as my batteries drained down to 10.5 volts overnight while I was home just prior to disconnecting the unit. Supposedly they are not user serviceable, which is reasonable, given the shock danger. But once I get some free time I might safely discharge the unit and open it up to see what I can find. Electrical engineering was never my strong point, software is more my thing, but I'm not totally clueless about circuits.

The unit worked really well, right up to the point of failure. I think the electronic controllers are really the weakest point and probably weren't up to the harsh environment that is today's highways... like the potholes that are so bad the rip the steering wheel out of your hands (I'm looking at YOU NY state).

[Nilao]

That sucks. My ultrastart module is over 5 years old now. They are servicable...sorta. They're just a bank of 3 volt super capacitors soldered to a circuit board. Not much to the at all.

[pgls651]

(08-01-2023 )JimT Wrote:  So the fantastic Maxwell Start Module (Ultra-capacitor) (Ultra 31/1800 to be exact) that I installed last year decided to up and die on me a few weeks back. Gave me about 2 days notice where it worked all day then, at some point (i think it was the massive potholes I hit on I-84 in NY) it developed an internal error and stopped charging. 2 mornings in a row I discovered it with a weak start and was able to reset it. The third morning however the unit would no longer reset and as far as I can tell after following all the troubleshooting it's an unrecoverable fault. Luckily when I redesigned my battery setup I had this possibility in mind so it was a simple cable swap from one terminal stud to another.

Now, the real reason I'm posting this is, it appears these units have been discontinued. Very hard to find any definitive info, but it appears to have happened somewhere between when Tesla bought the company and when they were later sold off to some other overseas company. If I'm wrong, please correct me and point me in the right direction.

So where does that leave everyone who has one of these units and an electrical system set up for them. They were available on some trucks from the factory with the dealers being the primary distributors for the modules. Durring my searches I discovered another company that makes similar modules. They were mainly in European markets (if I remember correctly) but recently expanded (I think earlier this year) to add North American distribution.

https://www.skeletontech.com/skelstart-u...art-module

Being unknown to me and still somewhat new, I'm hesitant to jump in and try it without more information. Has anyone on here heard of and/or used these?

I had the maxwell esm 2+ years ago, purchased from amazon about $700. it worked great for a while, nice clean start ups and in cold weather. Then I parked the truck for a bit and the f thing was totally dead. Wasn't accepting charge from batteries. Conclusion is that despite claims of durability they are electrically sensitive I think. Anyhow, Im now on 4 AGM duracells from sams club, about $200 each. Pricey but high cca and hold charge pretty well, and so far better than any system Ive had. Haven't heard of skeleton tech but after maxwell, plus their lack of support and business viability, its a risk.

[JimT]

(08-02-2023 )pgls651 Wrote:  I had the maxwell esm 2+ years ago, purchased from amazon about $700. it worked great for a while, nice clean start ups and in cold weather. Then I parked the truck for a bit and the f thing was totally dead. Wasn't accepting charge from batteries. Conclusion is that despite claims of durability they are electrically sensitive I think. Anyhow, Im now on 4 AGM duracells from sams club, about $200 each. Pricey but high cca and hold charge pretty well, and so far better than any system Ive had. Haven't heard of skeleton tech but after maxwell, plus their lack of support and business viability, its a risk.

I bought mine off Amazon too, then it sat in the box for almost a year before I got around to installing it. worked perfect from install right up to the point of failure. As to what caused the failure I can only speculate and won't waste anyone's time with it. The one thing I do know is that bumps and potholes have been brutal around PA/NY/CT/MA lately, especially in all the construction zones. So if it's not a big stretch to think that might have contributed to it, especially since the same roads blew out 2 front shocks (seal leaking oil) in the past month. I've been going through front shocks every 12-18 months for the past 3 years now that I've settled into a local/regional routine.

As for this other ESM, well that's why I posted, to see if anyone has any knowledge or experience with it. Supposedly they're pretty well established in Europe, but all I know about them comes from internet sites that all seem to have been reporting on the same press release earlier this year. And we all know just how trustworthy the internet is...

I do miss the faster starting that came from the ESM and the slightly different sound from the starter. On the flip side, this Mitsubishi PC1479 starter and the Prestolite Leece Neville BLP4002H 325 alternator have been fantastic. Installed them both the same time as the ESM. The alternator is marketed as Idle Pro so it will increase the output to match the demand while your idling. What this means is I can run the microwave OR coffee pod brewer, each pulling about 1.1kW according to my inverter, and the voltage reading will stay steady around 14 volts. My old alternator couldn't do that unless I jacked up the engine rpm. It should help prolong the effective life of my batteries.

In other news I've gotten really good and fast at replacing my fan clutch. Just replaced my fan clutch for the 3rd time in 2 years. I'd be concerned about a bigger issue if it wasn't for the fact that all 3 failed for different reasons. All K32/Kysor style rear air. The first one blew the air seal. It was pretty old, couldn't tell which brand it was. 1st replacement was Borg Warner, that only lasted a month (I've since read that they had a lot of problems with those clutches, often right out of the box. Used some of their parts on my dodge, never did like that brand). Right from day one it was leaking some kind of oil all over the fan blades. Don't remember exactly what failed but i do remember the o-ring on the air connection was destroyed and no, I was very careful when I greased and installed it. 2nd replacement was Horton K32. It was great until heavy AC usage and high engine RPM wore down the friction material. Would have just rebuilt it but no one locally had the kit in stock and I didn't want to wait or cancel any loads so I just replaced it instead. Figure I can rebuild the old one when I have some free time and keep it as a spare. -- yes, the AC calls for fan operation a lot when driving under about 40-45mph and the clutch complains when it engages at 1700 and 1800 rpm. The pressure sensor got replaced a year ago and then I filled the system myself so I probably screwed that part up somehow. Not gonna screw around with it right now, the system still blows nice and cold and the compressor shows signs of faint oil leak around the front. Hot season is almost over for me so I'll wait until next spring and maybe replace the compressor and let some shop fill the system with their fancy machine instead of myself.

Anyway, now that I've thoroughly hijacked my own thread with off-topic blabbering, I'll run off to my latest hobby, finally learning to play guitar at 41. I've only had the guitars for 20 years, so now seems like the perfect time.

[JimT]

Oh, Rawze, didn't think of this before, but if you're interested in tinkering around with the ESM I could ship it to you. Your knowledge of electronics far surpasses mine and, considering it took me 20 years to get around to learning guitar, it'll probably be years before i get around to tinkering with the ESM.

Figured I'd offer, let me know if your interested.

[Rawze]

(08-04-2023 )JimT Wrote:  Oh, Rawze, didn't think of this before, but if you're interested in tinkering around with the ESM I could ship it to you. Your knowledge of electronics far surpasses mine and, considering it took me 20 years to get around to learning guitar, it'll probably be years before i get around to tinkering with the ESM.

Figured I'd offer, let me know if your interested.

Just some thoughts...
The plates inside super-capacitors is only microns thin. That and graphine does not like vibration so much .. so Knowing how dangerous super-capacitors are when they explode ... I would say don't bother sending it to me.

[JimT]

Just wanted to provide an update for future reference and others.

After nearly 8 months since the Maxwell ESM died I've been starting from batteries again without issue. Overnight usage on my setup usually drops the voltage down to 12.4v, sometimes 12.3 or 12.2v. Overall starting the truck has been acceptable.

Also in this time I've been watching for availability for a replacement solution to the Maxwell. That would be the Skelstart ESM I mentioned in the first post. A simple search turned up 2 online retailers selling the unit in the US, though you can clearly see the labeling is only aimed at the metric using world. So recently instead of trying one of these online shops I directly contacted C8 Energy, the Official North American distributor, looking for official retail locations. The first response was within a few hours and after 24 hours and a handleful of emails they sent me a Paypal invoice and directly shipped me a unit from their warehouse in PA. This was last thursday and friday. I recieved the new unit around noon today (the following monday), before I could even request a tracking number.

So far the installation looks nearly identical to the Maxwell unit. I'm off for a couple weeks so I'll get around to installing this thing soon and will report back. The only real difference I see so far is the Maxwell ESM claimed to output 16v to the starter while this Skelstart ESM claims to output 14.1v max. As such I need to check the size of the cables from the ESM to the starter to make sure they are sized correctly for this new product. Both products have cable sizing charts in their installation manuals, though the Skelstart is written in metric so I'll need to convert to AWG.

For now I'm pleased enough with the customer service to recommend their business.
C8Energy: https://c8energy.com/skelstart/
Use the form at the bottom to contact someone if your looking for a retail solution. I dealt directly with Mike, but there may be other people, so use the form for initial contact.

There are 2 online retailers I found on EBay (I don't shop on EBay), Unviversal Truck Parts and Driveline America, both CONFIRMED to be official distributors for C8Energy. As for price, Universal's own website (NOT ebay) matches my cost direct from C8. I have not dealt with those sellers, so I'm only including this note so others know they are legit distributors, nothing more.