Charger failed... Need 48v Charger Recommendation..

[majornelson]

I have an LTX LT250-14M-3S charger from em3ev. I've dropped Paul a note but want to get a backup quickly (going on vacation next Wednesday and planned to take the bike).

I would appreciate any recommendations for a backup charger... I have a cell_man 48v triangle battery pack.

I've searched for the same model but can't find it. Not certain what a reasonable substitute would be.

 

[majornelson]

Here is the description from the EM3EV site of my battery pack:
- 14S 9P, 50V 18.5Ah Samsung SDI Battery Pack
- SDI ICR18650-22P 4.5C rated cell

Charger Recommendation:
14S Li Ion type Charger
58.8V charge voltage
Charge Voltage of 58.8V for 100% charger, 57.4V for 90% Charge

I found this charger.
http://headway-headquarters.com/48v-4a-lifepo4-battery-charger/

Looks like it will work but won't complete a full charge... shipping is expensive to the east coast. Love to find one closer.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[dnmun]

how did it fail? do you wanna fix it? do any of the leds turn on when you plug in and can you find the fuses and check them?

if you post up pictures of the charger insides so we know how it works we might be able to help you fix it.

 

[majornelson]

It started acting a little flakey this past week. Lights would just turn off. If I tapped it, they would turn back on. I could also hear a clicking sound right before the lights would fade. No smoke or smell.

I tried to take it apart but one end sticks and doesn't want to come off. Didn't want to butcher it...

I also just found this charger, which looks like a better fit for my battery pack:
http://www.batteryspace.com/smartcharger6afor518v14cellsli-ionbatterypack110vstandardfemaletamiyaplug.aspx

it would be great to get this one working again. Relieve the time pressure... but I will look for a backup, just prefer not to have to air ship it and pay full retail!

Thanks.

 

[dnmun]

can you take a VGA size picture of the charger so we can help you get it open? no idea what it looks like but they all open in one way or another.

 

[majornelson]

Well, I did get the cover off... just a little bit of glue. Looks like a weak solder for the wire for the socket for the wall cord. Or at least that wire is broken (don't know if I did it trying to remove things or not).

Now just need to find the soldering iron and try a repair.

Thanks for the inspiration! If that doesn't do it, I'll post photos.

 

[dnmun]

cold or incomplete solder joints is common. the manufacturers use no lead solder now too so it takes more heat to melt it. so try to find some 60/40 solder too.

 

[majornelson]

dnmun,

Thanks for the encouragement. They say that the path to enlightenment is many times obvious, it just needs to be shown. In my case, that path was " post up pictures of the charger insides so we know how it works we might be able to help you fix it."

I re-soldered the hot wire coming from the plug receptacle and it works! Very, very happy.

I'd still like to find a backup charger and am a little confused as to what would be an inexpensive way to go...

Again thanks!

 

[bowlofsalad]

The ebike world is still surprisingly small, very few have ebikes it seems, so there isn't really a ebike shop you can go to to buy new parts and so on. If you are going to buy a second charger, it would be extremely wise to buy a second of anything you can afford to. Swapping a motor because of a broken spoke or a swapping a throttle because you dropped the bike would certainly be ideal. Lots of things can be fixed, but that often takes time. Maybe swapping things enables us not to fix things and in your situation, you'd have tossed the charger in the trash instead of cracking it open to find the broken solder joint, who knows.

As for where to get your charger from, it sounds like you already have that figured out, where you got the first charger from. Maybe there are other options that might be slightly cheaper. The big issue with that is, buying from some likely random place is a whole lot more risky then buying from some place with a good reputation and an already positive purchase history.

 

[majornelson]

Agreed. I'm putting together a shopping list for purchase from cell_man.

Thanks!

 

[dogman dan]

I'm not surprised it was just a flaky connection. Sounded just like it to me. Another charger from cellman is not a bad idea. But as a backup, just about any 48v lithium charger will work to put a charge back in, even if it ends up a slight undercharge. So if you don't want to spend a lot after fixing your old one, might see what's there on ebay, in the cheapo 48v ballpark. My cheap backup spare was less than $30 shipped. That was a USA located ebay vendor too.

 

[RLD70]

I know that my 48v 3A backup I got from sunthing back in April gave out on me sometime between the time the old pack was charged for the final time and charging the new pack that came today. And when I took it apart, the bottom and top of the board was partially burned and the bottom portion of the case had melted a bit so its not an easy fix. The good thing is that I seen that Tenergy, which is based in Cali, makes a 48v 2A charger for roughly the same price I paid for sunthings 3A charger plus its also on eBay too. So if I dont hear back from sunthing about a replacement for that charger the probability that Ill get the Tenergy charger instead of any Chinese made charger will definately happen.