Copenhagen Wheel charger
- Thread starter BikeDan16
- Start date
General thoughts applicable to any system:
If it's proprietary, most likely it would need to come from wherever the system did originally, or dealers for that system.
To know if it is proprietary, we'd need to know more about the charger and system. Do you have pictures of the charger's system-side connector, and any labelling on the charger?
If it's proprietary, most likely it would need to come from wherever the system did originally, or dealers for that system.
To know if it is proprietary, we'd need to know more about the charger and system. Do you have pictures of the charger's system-side connector, and any labelling on the charger?
-If you were trying to reply, it didn't work. All I see in your post is three repeated quotes of my post...
Chalo
100 TW
In my limited experience of those things, I expect that you could transplant the magnetic charge cable end onto a generic charger. To verify that, I'd open up the charger and see how many wires run down the wire on the charging side. If it's two, then yes you can surely transplant the Copenhagen Wheel connector onto a nothing-special charger. If there are more than two (and if the extras are connected to the charger PCB), then there may well be a hardware handshake or some kind of closed loop function that would require a special charger.
Thanks for the quick reply. There are six wires in the cable that connects to the wheel, so it will probably require a Copenhagen Wheel charger exclusively. I wanted to post on Endless Sphere hoping someone had a dead wheel, but good charger they wanted to sell and I thought this would be a good place to do that.
In that case, suggest you post a WTB request in the Items Wanted forum.
endless-sphere.com
Items Wanted
endless-sphere.com
Looks like they've conveniently labelled the charger connector wires on the charger label. That will make it easier to transplant the connector to a generic charger (assuming the unlabelled pins don't have any function--if they are communications, then that won't work...but I suspect they are completely unused on the charger, and instead are used for programming the wheel via a special cable at dealer or factory locations).
But first: What symptoms do you see that lead you to the charger being the problem? I ask because depending on what they are, it could be the battery inside the wheel that has a problem and is refusing to charge to protect against cell damage that can lead to a fire. A different charger wouldn't change that, but we might be able to help you test and fix the problem.
nicobie
100 MW
LarryJ
1 µW
Hello. I have an issue with my Copenhagen wheel charging, and I’m wondering what the upshot of this discussion was. Is it possible to use a generic 6V charger? My issue is that it will charge for a time and then begin flashing red indicating an abnormal condition. Cycling the charger allows the charging to begin again. With patience I’m able to get the wheel charged. Of course, it may be a problem with the wheel. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Hard to say, since questions from us to the person with the problem weren't answered, so we really couldn't help much.
Otherwise, everything else we know is right there in the thread.
I guess that depends on what charger you already have. I don't know of any of these that use a 6v charger, so my guess is probably not. You'll need to check the labelling on your actual equipment, and preferably use a voltmeter / multimeter to verify the actual output of that equipment to make sure it is doing what it should be.
Is this a problem that began suddenly? Or has ti been growing over time? Are there any other issues that started aroudn the same time, before, or after this? What specifically happened or was done before the problem began?
Is the flashing a specific code that the manual / etc tells you what it means? If so, providing that flash code / pattern along with the informaiton the manual says it's for would be hepful. Or is it just a simple on/off at some even rate, used for all error conditions with no extra information available?
Personally, with no other information provided, I would guess that as old as these are, and given that the heat of the motor and controller are pushed into the battery (aging it faster than normal) the problem is the cells have aged to the point that they're not working as intended anymore, and need to be replaced. They probably don't provide as much assistance as they used to, or for as long a distance, in addition to the charging issue, if this is the case.
LarryJ
1 µW
Thanks for the responses. I incorrectly indicated the charger output at 6 VDC. It’s actually 54.6 VDC, consistent with a 48 V battery pack.
The issue seems to be getting worse In that reaching full charge w/o repeatedly disconnecting and re=connecting the charger is not possible. I don’t recall any incident that preceded the isssue. As you can see from the charger nameplate, a flashing red light simply indicates an abnormal condition - no coded info.
The issue seems to be getting worse In that reaching full charge w/o repeatedly disconnecting and re=connecting the charger is not possible. I don’t recall any incident that preceded the isssue. As you can see from the charger nameplate, a flashing red light simply indicates an abnormal condition - no coded info.
Attachments
Chalo
100 TW
To me it sounds like the problem is more likely battery pack condition than charger condition. Leave the thing plugged in after it turns green for as long as you can stand, like a week if possible. If you need to run it intermittently, let it stay on the charger whenever you're not running it. The objective is to let the BMS's balancing function bring the cell groups to the same voltage.
If that doesn't fix the errant behavior, then either the pack can't be brought into balance, or else there is some other problem we don't have enough data to identify.
If that doesn't fix the errant behavior, then either the pack can't be brought into balance, or else there is some other problem we don't have enough data to identify.
docw009
1 MW
The last Copenhagen wheel came out in 2020? I did some background reading and found it was originally controlled by an App that is no longer supported on new phones, You have to buy a old enough used phone to support it and their server is dead., so you need a stand alone? Yikes! That's why I'm wary of ebike battery apps.,
If they used good quality 18650 battery cells, they should still work after 6 years. . Bit maybe those MIT guys didn't understand regen well enough and the cells are beaten up. Then you get strings of cells with unequal voltages. Ideally, 13 strings at 4.2V each gives you 54.6V. That gets tougher to achieve as older cells lose their ability to discharge/charge in sync. SOme may just refuse to get to the max voltage or do it very slow.
You could always try another 54.6V 2A charger. As you get close to full charge, a good battery control systems tries to cut the charging current while draining voltage on the higher voltage cells, so that all can equalize. I've watched one of my chargers internal relay click on/off and chatter away during this, Other chargers just ramp up silently, Be advised there are many warnings about mixing chargers. I have to mix mine, I don't have any chargers from 2015 when I started ebiking that still work, but I have batteries that do,
If they used good quality 18650 battery cells, they should still work after 6 years. . Bit maybe those MIT guys didn't understand regen well enough and the cells are beaten up. Then you get strings of cells with unequal voltages. Ideally, 13 strings at 4.2V each gives you 54.6V. That gets tougher to achieve as older cells lose their ability to discharge/charge in sync. SOme may just refuse to get to the max voltage or do it very slow.
You could always try another 54.6V 2A charger. As you get close to full charge, a good battery control systems tries to cut the charging current while draining voltage on the higher voltage cells, so that all can equalize. I've watched one of my chargers internal relay click on/off and chatter away during this, Other chargers just ramp up silently, Be advised there are many warnings about mixing chargers. I have to mix mine, I don't have any chargers from 2015 when I started ebiking that still work, but I have batteries that do,
afaicr the cells are in ther with the motor and the controller so that heat is added to any other environmental heat to hlep the cells age faster
aside from any potential issues with cell matching--even if they use good quality cells if they don't match tme so all their characteristics are identical--not just similar but identical---the cells will start unmatched and will drift further as they age
thats another thing, if hte bms is not well designed and made, it might not keep cells that are unmatched or drifted apart in characteristics at the same full voltage, or it might have too small a balaincing current capabilities to keep up with the differences in the aged cells druing the charge and have to keep shutting the charge process off or it might even not restart the process because there is too great a voltage difference during charge when curent is flowing..
docw009
1 MW
Basically, if a different charger or a long balance attempt don't work, you have to have a guy take it apart and test the cell voltages. He'll probably tell you to get a new motor. The battery could likely be fitted with new cells by an expert, but now you are into the dreaded battery repair stuff. I'll shut up.
Electric Bike Review lists the Copenhagen battery as 48V-6.1Ah. That would be 26 18650 cells. Rated at 300 Wh. and if you get 15 miles. that's 20Wh/mile. Pretty high consumption, Doesn't seem like a very good motor by todays standards.
Electric Bike Review lists the Copenhagen battery as 48V-6.1Ah. That would be 26 18650 cells. Rated at 300 Wh. and if you get 15 miles. that's 20Wh/mile. Pretty high consumption, Doesn't seem like a very good motor by todays standards.
which, in this case, means a completely new ebike system (battery, motor, controller, display, user controls, etc)
Similar threads
