Luna Charger dead after 10 uses.

I bought the Luna 72v Advanced charger 10 months ago. It was only used maybe 5 times before the winter came and sat for 5 months. I've used it twice this season and upon connecting it yesterday I heard a loud pop and the voltage on charger stated 0 volts. It appears the charger shorted out internally as the 15 amp fuse I wired into my charging leads also popped. It's a shame this charger was priced right and seemed to work well but to last only around 10 charges or around 25 hours of use is horrible. Luna did offer a $40 coupon for a replacement. I can only imagine what would of happened if I didn't incorporate and inline fuse to my charging leads

That's one reason I always shake any high current / high voltage power supply or charger like a psycho before I plug them in. All it takes is one little piece of random loose conductive material to make short work of a hundred dollar bill (or 3) . Especially well ventilated units with big airy grills and vents . It was likely a poor solder connection somewhere , but you never know when something has fallen into an opening .

Also, stress testing gear right when it's received, even using an old battery with light bulbs running, give it a few dozen cycles at least before the warranty / replacement window expires.

A good charger lasts many decades.

john61ct said:

Also, stress testing gear right when it's received, even using an old battery with light bulbs running, give it a few dozen cycles at least before the warranty / replacement window expires.

A good charger lasts many decades.

Click to expand...

Well who knew a US based company offers no warranty on their own branded charger. I figured at minimum it would have been 1 year like everyone else. This was their reply when I asked about the charger warranty.

"From a strictly legal standpoint nothing on the Luna website is sold with a warranty unless expressly stated on that listing. There is just too much that can go wrong that would be outside of our control and unrelated to quality of the product (i.e. how it was used or abused) for us to take on that kind of legally binding obligation."

Usually best to verify that before pulling the trigger.

Not to mention researching the vendor's reputation for customer service (or lack thereof) here

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aendless-sphere.com+luna+service

Live and learn, be grateful you bought this valuable knowledge so cheaply

Cheapness

Stealth_Chopper said:

Imagine
what?
A shorted high tension power line surge sending a jillion volts through ALL ' your stuff ' ?
__It Happens every day and 1,000 times a month.
Blow a fuse Mister $1/2$ off scoff
10 - 4

Click to expand...

First off you sound like you're *special*. I highly doubt the masses that build E-Bikes install inline fuses onto their charge wires. So if I didn't happen to install one it could have fried the wire leads going into my battery or even shorted my 200 cell battery pack. So for most people if this happened it wouldn't have been a $1 fuse.

FWIW, when things go "bang" or "pop" inside power supplies, it usually means a capacitor failed. Those usually fail dramatically from being isntalled backwards, though that typically happens immediately, it doesn't always.

It can also just be a defective capacitor, or a counterfeit one, both of which are fairly common in the supply chain of assorted chinese factories where all this stuff is made.

Either way, if you open up the charger, and attach good clear well-lit pictures of the insides especially the end with the AC cord, we might be able to help you determine what failed so you can fix it. (if you attach the pics directly to the post with the Attachements tab, Upload button, then anyone that can see the post can see the pics).

cmacclel said:

"From a strictly legal standpoint nothing on the Luna website is sold with a warranty unless expressly stated on that listing. There is just too much that can go wrong that would be outside of our control and unrelated to quality of the product (i.e. how it was used or abused) for us to take on that kind of legally binding obligation."

Click to expand...

That sounds like Luna. :/

It is how you keep those prices down. I remember starting out on this, I had a good kingpan type charger from Pingbattery, that ultimately lasted about 8 years. But cheap chargers I bought to carry around, or keep at work for the daytime charge kept blowing one after another. They'd last a month, or 4, then die. After about 4 of them, I finally got one that lasted longer.

Cheap is cheap, you get what you get.

amberwolf said:

FWIW, when things go "bang" or "pop" inside power supplies, it usually means a capacitor failed. Those usually fail dramatically from being isntalled backwards, though that typically happens immediately, it doesn't always.

It can also just be a defective capacitor, or a counterfeit one, both of which are fairly common in the supply chain of assorted chinese factories where all this stuff is made.

Either way, if you open up the charger, and attach good clear well-lit pictures of the insides especially the end with the AC cord, we might be able to help you determine what failed so you can fix it. (if you attach the pics directly to the post with the Attachements tab, Upload button, then anyone that can see the post can see the pics).

cmacclel said:

"From a strictly legal standpoint nothing on the Luna website is sold with a warranty unless expressly stated on that listing. There is just too much that can go wrong that would be outside of our control and unrelated to quality of the product (i.e. how it was used or abused) for us to take on that kind of legally binding obligation."

Click to expand...

That sounds like Luna. :/

Click to expand...

I worked for 15 year in the robotic semi conductor field and have done my share of PCB repairs. I opened the charger up and nothing looked out of the ordinary. I may give it a closer look later today. I have a Xantrex 100v 10amp variable power supply I will just use from now on. I'll post some pictures shortly. Thanks

If the 15A fuse burned it's indeed likely the charger output got shorted and the battery voltage burned the fuse.
I assume you can measure battery voltage on the charge port?
I don't get why they don't prevent this as usually charge current isn't that high and all you need is a diode.

Here are pictures of the charger as you can it's looks brand spanking new Let me know if you guys can see these please.

https://public.fotki.com/cmacclel/luna-charger/

Hi Mac. Long time, no see over at CPF. I still have my Green body'd, Quad Cyan that I got from you years ago and it's still the best looking light I have.

BVH said:

Hi Mac. Long time, no see over at CPF. I still have my Green body'd, Quad Cyan that I got from you years ago and it's still the best looking light I have.

Click to expand...

Hey the good ole days I hope you're doing well.

over many years

6qty 300w chargers from many sources

currently no working alloy chargers

ironically several cheap kit plastics still working

instead 300w alloy better off meanwell cv cc led supply

or pay up for satiator

"Pop" and "bang" sounds inside power supplies are generally either capacitor or power transistor/diode failures, and are usually quite dramatic and obvious...but not always.

Also, sometimes it can just be the sound of a fuse blowing as the plasma arc extinguishes, but there's still always a cause for the fuse to blow....

Regarding the pics:

The two input-side caps both appear to have mechanical defects, though they might not be electrically damaged.

The one closer to the end appears to have part of it's plastic wrap at the top end separating as a ring. This could indicate failure of the cap and an attempt to vent. Check under it's black plastic "lid" for the status of it's top vent (if it has one; if not then you'd have to desolder it and check the rubber vent at the bottom for separation).

The one farther from the end appears to be mashed down a bit on the top on one edge, but this could be an illusion from the camera. I'd still remove the top plastic cover to verify.


The largest output cap, between the shunt and the power resistor and large ring inductor, appears to be slightly swollen but it hasn't vented at the top. I can't see it's base clearly, but it could have vented at the rubber cap at the base.


I can't clearly see the power transistors and diodes, but sometiems when they fail dramatically with sound, their casing is separated from the backing as the die vaporizes, sometimes leaving a soot mark all over making it obvious, and sometimes not. But it's still usually easy enough to see if you can see where they meet the heatsinks.

Never use 'em? or
don't know not-in 'bout no electrical surge toward infinite alternating voltages

Cure. $2.02 surge protector
_fuse

kcuf said:

over many years

6qty 300w chargers from many sources

currently no working alloy chargers

ironically several cheap kit plastics still working

instead 300w alloy better off meanwell cv cc led supply

or pay up for satiator

Click to expand...

I have a Xantrex 100v 10amp Variable power supply I'll just use from now on. I used to drive my bike to my store daily so the small Luna charger was perfect as I left it there.

Beware if that PSU does not terminate charging automatically.

Can set a HVC to protect the pack in case you forget.

Luna chargers smoke and mirrors. They work, and when they don’t it’s tough Sh/t.

I have the 52V version and have used without issue for hundreds of charge cycles. Might just be bad luck?

Happy to open mine up if you need anything compared.

You do know that Luna just rebadges their controllers from off the shelf products. They might even put on a fancy voltage display from an existing product. Either way you need to contact Luna Cycle and see what kind of return/refund/exchange policy they have.

markz said:

You do know that Luna just rebadges their controllers from off the shelf products. They might even put on a fancy voltage display from an existing product. Either way you need to contact Luna Cycle and see what kind of return/refund/exchange policy they have.

Click to expand...

Post 1 and post 4 both state what Luna said about the warranty.

cmacclel said:

markz said:

You do know that Luna just rebadges their controllers from off the shelf products. They might even put on a fancy voltage display from an existing product. Either way you need to contact Luna Cycle and see what kind of return/refund/exchange policy they have.

Click to expand...

Post 1 and post 4 both state what Luna said about the warranty.

Click to expand...

Reiteration doesn't hurt.

Relabelers can - and often do - swap out the OEM supplier over months and years, completely different products underneath.

Same with battery brands, unless the company actually makes the chemical slurry and rolls their own cells, their is no assurance of consistent quality.

Even if you trust the company to be around and honor the world's longest and tightest NQAMB guarantee

to me that is no substitute for a well-respected brand with a top-notch reputation over many years' reports by expert members.

Worth paying double, triple or more, and disregard any warranty BS, just don't even take that aspect into account.