Blown Charger w/bms 48 volt, need repair or replacement

[mvadventure]

I'm BACK! Now that the frigid FL weather is breaking I took my bike out today and upon returning and plugging the charger in I discovered it has taken seriously ill and may in fact be dead. The charger is, according to the label, a BCO Lithium Charger BCO 4808B that was manufactured in December of 07. Another number on it is HZ0716510G and I can't find anything on Google about it. It was a replacement charger I got from Zane at Aten Energy about two years ago and I can't get hold of them.

I do have, I think, another 48 volt LiPo charger but the BCO one has a built in BMS and I don't have a seperate BMS for my 48 volt 20 AH LiPo4 FOXX (Aten Energy) pack.

I am fixing, in the next day or two, to take this one apart hoping that a leprachaun climbed in there and disconnected a wire 'cause it is close to St. Patricks day and leprachauns can be persnicikity but the odds on that are slim but still better than my charger repair skills.

I need a repair/replacement source. Can ANYONE help? A point of interest may be that the connecters are pin type and the male/female part where it plugs into the batteries are 24 pin. I've already wired the batteries a couple of time and while the aluminum connectors are showing wear from the various attempts I would have no problem putting a BMS on if I could find one so I could use my old charger. (That's hoping I can either find it or haven't sold it cause I remember selling one and the spare one I have may be a SLA charger)

Oh well, I'm anxiously awaiting help.
Mike
Palm Coast, FL

 

[dnmun]

do you have a voltmeter and a digital camera? not much we can do for you otherwise.

 

[mvadventure]

got voltmeters, digital camera, will take some pics of the charger now and post ASAP.
Mike

 

[DAND214]

mvadventure,
Zane is always hard to get ahold of. Keep sending emails till he gets back to you. He is out of the country a lot,so he tild me.
Good product, just slow or no customer service.
Dan

 

[mvadventure]

Got a little problem with pictures, probably have to shoot them with my phone as file size is too big, will try later this afternoon after I pick grandchild up from school.
Mike

 

[dogman dan]

You can make the files small using windows paint.

 

[mvadventure]

OK, using windows paint and reducing by 75% works just fine. I'll try and get it taken apart this evening and post those pics.
Mike

 

[dnmun]

can you look at the battery and compare where the negative terminal of the battery connects to which pin on that plug then use that as the spot for your black voltmeter probe and measure all the other spots on that plug to see if they are all working.

make sense?

 

[mvadventure]

I think so. You're talking about going to the battery, not the charger, determine which pin is negative and then check the cells? I can do that, I think. I'll have to take the charger back downstairs and determine which pin is one on the female and work from there (there are 24 pins) I did check the battery however and all cells showed the same with the voltmeter but don't remember what the cells measured. They have been consistent since the battery was new almost 2 1/2 years ago.

The charger started acting up last winter but if I merely unplugged it and plugged it back in again it worked fine but alas, I haven't been using it. I did drop it however and will check for something loose when I take it apart. The red and green charging lights both come on at the same time but the batteries are not fully charged. I rode the bike about a mile just to make sure but I didn't charge the batteries the last time I did ride it.

Hopefully I'll get some time this evening because tomorrow is full.
Mike

 

[dnmun]

i thought the charger was what you said was bad. so if you can check the output on that plug, you will learn something.

 

[mvadventure]

It is, now I"m less confused. I have the thing in three pieces now and will take pics.
Mike

 

[mvadventure]

OK, here we are with pics of the innards of the charger. I have to put it back together to perform the previously mentioned test but the problem will be the charger doesn't run unless there is a load on it. So....I know not what to do.
Mike

 

[fechter]

What happens when you try to charge the batteries? No lights at all?

I was looking for something like a fuse, but don't see one. If you follow the wires from the main AC cord, there should be a fuse somewhere in line.

There could also be a fuse on the output side.

Other than fuses, you can look closely at the board for blackened components, and look on the solder side for any connections that may be cracked or cold-soldered. I've seen a lot of failures caused by bad solder connections.

 

[mvadventure]

When I connect it to the battery pack the red and green charging lights come on but the fan does not. What should happen is the fan kicks on, the red light comes on and when it's close to being done each individual cell light comes on followed by the green light.

I don't see anything wrong internally but my magnifying glass is downstairs and I'll look closely in the daylight.

Mike

 

[dnmun]

it looks like it is a shunt balancing type after all. check the voltage on those paired red and black wires. plug it into your battery if you have to. there should be a spot on the pcb where you can put the voltmeter probes at the point where the red and black wires leave that one pcb with the big transformer on it.

 

[mvadventure]

OK, it's a good thing I don't have to pretend to know what you're talking about 'cause I dont'. Shunt type? PCB? Red & Black I do know, I'll put it back together and figure out how to do that, oh I just looked again. I'll have to leave it apart but that should not be a problem, there are two red and two black but there is room for a probe if I'm careful. It'll be tomorrow afternoon as I gotta take my bride to the Dr. in mid afternoon and the morning is committed which is where I feel I need to be somedays (committed that is).

I can't thank you enough for your help and knowledge. I'm sure I don't know what the transformer looks like unless it's the big round thing with copper wire wrapped around it but there is a square box with another round thing with wires wrapped around it that actually looks like a transformer but there is no access to the red & black wires. This thing is COMPLICATED. If it was a gas or diesel engine it'd be a lot easier.

Mike

 

[dnmun]

richard can explain shunt balancing to you since he designs them. but the red wire should have your pack charging voltage on it, 58-60V, and black is the ground. all the other wires are connected to the battery between each of the cells in series and the electronic looking stuff you see on the other board just allows the current to bypass the cell when the cell charges up, or is shunted around the cell by those transistors with the aluminum tabs on them. 16 in all. for 16 cells in series, 16S.

i disagree, this stuff is easier than diesel or carburetors. it really is.