7 Chargers in 6 Months! Is this sppose to Happpen?

[ClintBX]

Hi all,

I'm having a frustrating time with my ebike battery chargers. They keep conking out somehow despite following every rules of care I'm told.

The first 2 or 3 are understandable due to unsafe power conditions but the last few has me boggled.

I'm using a 42V 2A charger for a 36V 10Ah Li-Po battery.

Has anyone experienced this kind of problem?

 

[DAND214]

What type charger, Plastic or alloy?
From which supplier?

Any pics?

Dan

 

[dnmun]

we have never had you start a thread on any of your chargers so we know nothing about them.

how did you determine that they are defective and did you try to repair them or just throw them away?

why not start a thread about all of them and describe their failure and maybe we can help. post up pictures from inside the chargers close enuff to see any damage inside the case.

 

[cal3thousand]

I bet you carry them with you when you ride.

That's usually the killer. Unless you have been using a plug in sequence that your particular charger type does not like.

 

[ClintBX]

I bet you carry them with you when you ride.

That's usually the killer. Unless you have been using a plug in sequence that your particular charger type does not like.

Yeah, I do actually. Is that because the cable isn't designed to be coiled and uncoiled on a daily basis?

My last charger started having issues only 2 weeks in. Whenever I'd plug it in, I had to bend part of the cable until it started charging. I did it last night and I heard a lot of sparking followed by smoke. That's when it was game over for that one.

 

[r3volved]

They just rattle apart and aren't made for the vibration of riding. If you're going to carry a charger, keep it in your backpack or somewhere it won't shake itself to death.
I was going to mount my charger to my bike and was quickly talked out of it.

 

[e-beach]

Hey ClintBX!



As stated the reason battery chargers don't travel well is because the components aren't meant to get rattled around the way carrying them on a bike does. That is not to say they can't be made to sustain the pounding and vibration of travel, it just means they would need to be ensconced (potted) in expensive epoxy...and, not repairable after that. So, what do you have that you want repaired?

If you have a charger that you want repaired, maybe your most expensive and high amperage one, let us know a few thing about it.

Brand name
Input voltage
Output voltage
Rated output amps

Also, show us some clear and steady pictures of the unit inside and out......both sides of the circuit board.

So what do you say.....You want to fix one or more of them?

 

[ClintBX]

They just rattle apart and aren't made for the vibration of riding. If you're going to carry a charger, keep it in your backpack or somewhere it won't shake itself to death.
I was going to mount my charger to my bike and was quickly talked out of it.

Interesting. I don't keep my charger mounted on the battery but I do store in a small luggage that I've strapped onto the handlebar. That thing does bounce up and down a fair bit. So, if I backpack it, should it really deal with the situation?

 

[biohazardman]

Would definitely be my first try at ending the problem. I have always backpacked my charger, which I seldom carry, cuz bikes are harsh to anything electronic. Inexpensive chargers are usually not built for the vibration/stress and the better chargers weigh to much.

 

[ClintBX]

What type charger, Plastic or alloy?
From which supplier?

Any pics?

Dan

It's definitely plastic. As for the supplier, I get mine from ebikes r us. I'm not if that's what you mean by supplier. The brand is M&C electric power co.

 

[e-beach]

Interesting. I don't keep my charger mounted on the battery but I do store in a small luggage that I've strapped onto the handlebar. That thing does bounce up and down a fair bit. So, if I backpack it, should it really deal with the situation?

On the handlebars.... .... sounds like a mega pounding for a charger on every ride. Now I understand why your chargers break. The backpack helps but won't necessarily solve the problem because they will still get rattled around. The real answer is to have one charger at home and one at work (or where ever you are usually going.) Leaving a good one at home and putting an inexpensive one in the backpack is a better option then putting your only charger in the backpack.

Another option is to learn to fix them.

 

[dogman dan]

3 chargers in 6 months is not so unusual for the cheap 2 amps plastic ones. It's kind of like buying scratcher lotto tickets, a lot are losers, but a percentage large enough to keep you buying them are winners. 7 is worse than usual. A backpack will help a lot.

It took me about two years to accumulate a few chargers that actually lasted better. Eventually, getting a winner now and then.

But you are making it worse, carrying the charger the way you do. Carry it in a knapsack or even more comfy, a messenger bag. Fanny pack would work, anything that will help soften the bumps and vibration. The vibration can break stuff inside, or just loosen where wires solder to the board.

But even that won't fix another common problem with the chargers. The AC in wire is generally fairly good wire and plug. But on the DC side, they will use the cheapest crap wire and plug they can lay hands on, and then solder on the plug using the cheapest possible workers. The result is, I came to make replacing the wire and the plug immediately a standard procedure on the cheap chargers. You can get better wire by buying a cheap AC extension cord, then put andersons, or 4mm bullets on it, and your battery, for the plug. Or go for the gold standard, some silicone covered RC wire.

Your recent problem is exactly that, the cheap wire or the shoddily assembled plug started shorting. it could be, that all you really need on that one is to replace the wire and plug.

FWIW, I never had any of those kind of problems with the more rugged, 5 amps chargers that come in a metal box. If you have the cash, EM3ev has some very nice ones.

If you can stash a charger at work, it will help a lot. I kept my cheaper chargers at work for years, but still had to put good wire and plugs on them first.

 

[r3volved]

They just rattle apart and aren't made for the vibration of riding. If you're going to carry a charger, keep it in your backpack or somewhere it won't shake itself to death.
I was going to mount my charger to my bike and was quickly talked out of it.

Interesting. I don't keep my charger mounted on the battery but I do store in a small luggage that I've strapped onto the handlebar. That thing does bounce up and down a fair bit. So, if I backpack it, should it really deal with the situation?

Backpack doesn't mean that you'll never ever bust a charger again...but your body is the least vibrating thing on the bike and you're mitigating as much risk as possible keeping it close to you.
I only carry mine with me on rare occasions when I know I'm travelling beyond my capacity but most of my commutes are within 60km round-trip and not necessary to charge at any point (I actually had my first LVC last night a couple blocks from my apartment...yay for peddles).
When I do carry it, I pack it in a plastic 'dry bag' for boating to keep the moisture out and then keep it snug in my osprey backpack (straps good and tight to me).

Good luck!
With all the broken units you have now, I would definitely be tearing them all apart and trying to salvage what I could...never know...you might end up with 4 good chargers again after a few dabs of solder

 

[dnmun]

i think there is a lotta stuff assumed here. the guy never even showed a picture of a single charger so there is no way to know what failed on even one much less all 7.

if you wanna fix them then post up a picture of each charger and how it failed. do you know how to check the fuses to see if they burned out when you shorted the wires together?

 

[cal3thousand]

i think there is a lotta stuff assumed here. the guy never even showed a picture of a single charger so there is no way to know what failed on even one much less all 7.

if you wanna fix them then post up a picture of each charger and how it failed. do you know how to check the fuses to see if they burned out when you shorted the wires together?

Sure, much assumption going on here. But that assumptive hypothesis was somewhat corroborated by his admission of carrying his charger on the front of his bike. :wink:

Coupled with the fairly common knowledge (for us regulars) that these chargers were not designed/produced with vibration in mind, you can see how we came to this end.

I, like others that have posted above, rarely take my chargers anywhere. In fact, I always have one at work and one at home. I'm planning on an extended day of riding in a couple weeks and have already planned out how to secure my charger in my backpack. I treat them like fragile little babies when I handle them too. No dropping them or hastily setting them down on the floor with a plunk... ever! They get placed down gently like if they were made from glass. It doesn't take much more effort and I'm proud to say I've never had a single charger fail and all my bulk chargers from from BMSBattery

 

[999zip999]

Can one of these China doll chargers be potted for ruff service. What is a good potting material ?

 

[cal3thousand]

Can one of these China doll chargers be potted for ruff service. What is a good potting material ?

I would think the problem with potting is cooling as well as future repair difficulty.

If we want to travel with chargers, we need to demand chargers (unfortunately with our wallets) that have been designed and produced to handle it. I know that Justin has one in the works (I've been patiently waiting too) that he teased us with called the Satiator. It's made with components that can handle the vibration (lots of SMD parts instead of through-hole, I presume) and also has passive heat sinking features.

 

[e-beach]

I would think the problem with potting is cooling as well as future repair difficulty........

Once encapsulated, the circuit board and all it's components would be in a block of resin. If something went wrong with the circuit board, it would be next to imposable to fix. If someone wanted to sit with it with a dremel tool and, like a micro micro-surgeon, take off paper thin layers at a time, then yea, you might be able to fix a potted circuit board, it would take you 100's of hours to get it right.

As for cooling, a fan would probably do it in most cases so don't encapsulate the fan.........an aluminum shell would be helpful as the heat is transferred into the aluminum and then dissipated off of it like a heat heatsink.

Original JB Weld (white tubes with black and red labels) becomes an electrical insulating material after it dries and can take more then 500°F before burning. So if you wanted to do a encapsulation on the cheap, mix up some JB weld and drizzle it on anything that might rattle out if it's place. Just remember, once it is dry there is probably no going back to fix the electronics if they break.

 

[cal3thousand]

With all of the brainiacs running around here on ES is there someone interested enough in figuring out a bulk charger DIY solution? Is that something feasible? I see people trying to make controllers and much more difficult items (or so it seems to me).

Am I nuts? Or should we continue to await "the coming of the satiator"?

 

[ClintBX]

i think there is a lotta stuff assumed here. the guy never even showed a picture of a single charger so there is no way to know what failed on even one much less all 7.

if you wanna fix them then post up a picture of each charger and how it failed. do you know how to check the fuses to see if they burned out when you shorted the wires together?

Ah, the reason I haven't posted any pics of the chargers is because each time I went to pick up a new from my retailer, they have been taking the dud one from me including the last one. I'm just lucky that I've only had to pay for 2 of them. I'm surprised that I keep getting replacement chargers free of charge.

Anyway, I'm more interested in prevention than cure and this info I'm getting from you guys has been great.

 

[999zip999]

if he's buying cheap ass Lohan Chinese chargers cheap. Buy a paying aluminum shell 5 a.m. Charger one. But bouncing is hard. Plus potting is heat

 

[Punx0r]

I doubt it needs potting - just treating like a controller. Some use adhesive to support electrolytic caps, ferrites, transformers etc so they're not supported by their legs.

 

[ClintBX]

Hey all,

So, I've been backpacking the charger instead of using my previous storage strategy and for a while it was looking good until I arrived home from my mother's place. This charger is not working at all now.

I'm curious, do surge boxes effect chargers? When I go to my mum's place, I usually plug into this large surge box she has in her home office. Today, it must have been plugged in for 7 hours.

Also, I took a few shots of the insides of this charger (I'll have to post them on a seller are post. I'm getting file size limitation issues. ) Thought it might help me I I could some feedback on what exactly is going wrong.

Thanks

Clinton

 

[e-beach]

..... I'm getting file size limitation issues. ......

500kb file limit around here. Photoshop to 640x480 and set to under 500kb or Gimp to 640x480 then crop to get rid of the extra white stuff left behind. Then export to jpg file. Then post away.

 

[alsmith]

Hey all,

So, I've been backpacking the charger instead of using my previous storage strategy and for a while it was looking good until I arrived home from my mother's place. This charger is not working at all now.

I'm curious, do surge boxes effect chargers? When I go to my mum's place, I usually plug into this large surge box she has in her home office. Today, it must have been plugged in for 7 hours.

Also, I took a few shots of the insides of this charger (I'll have to post them on a seller are post. I'm getting file size limitation issues. ) Thought it might help me I I could some feedback on what exactly is going wrong.

Thanks

Clinton

2 solutions-

Best is a using a choice or combination of both methods depending on the situation- you don't want to piss people off by tying up bandwidth by posting lots of similar pictures.

- join a free picture hosting site, upload your pics, post the links. It means only those interested look at the pics. Some allow you to show a thumbnail of the picture, clicking on it brings up the full sized pic. I use photobucket but there are others.

- resize your pic to a sensible size- it would be lower than the forum limit- and fit onto a screen so important bits don't disappear off screen. something aound 250 to 500 pixels horizontally should be on.

Don't forget to crop your picture before posting too, otherwise most of the picture may be irrelevent to what you want to show. The free Irfanview is good for this and viewing pics.