SpeedEBikes
100 W
I was charging 3 battery packs with their mains connected in parallel. I was doing a balance charge with the balance plug from a single pack connected to the charger. The pack are 7s and I don't have adapters to parallel connect all the balance plugs together, so I just balance one pack per charge.
I was doing a charge with logging enabled and about 80% of the way through the log filled and the charger beeped once, flashed the message log full and then reverted to the screen that appears before starting a charge. So I assumed the charger was not charging and was in a disconnected state from my packs.
I was balancing in "ALWAYS ON" mode and was monitoring process. I knew the first pack was essentially balanced and decided to switch to the second before resuming charging. I unplugged the first pack's balance connector and there was no beep or message about low voltage again reinforcing the idea that the charger was properly in the charge done state.
I don't remember the next bit clearly. I connected the second pack's balance plug. I was going to press/hold the start button to start a new charge cycle, but I don't remember if I did or not. The next thing I remember was that there was a rather loud pop/arc sounding and a visible flash emitted from the fan vent. As fast as I could I yanked one of the mains and one of the 12 volt power supply plugs and then disconnected the balance plug too.
There was no smoke. With no battery connected the charger powers up and appears normal. I haven't connected a battery and am afraid to do so. I don't want to operate a potentially damaged charger and either damage it further or possibly ignite a battery pack.
In summary the i208B clearly has a software flaw and doesn't do a full and proper reset of its operating state after an error condition such as the log filling. Personally, I don't think logs going full should interrupt the charging process, but merely sound an alarm.
It's possible this bug has recently been fixed. This charger was received about 1 month ago and it is running the factory firmware with no upgrade. Revision 3.11B.
I would strongly recommend to all users of all iChargers to assume their charger is in a dangerous state after any error condition terminates a charge and to turn it off and power it back up before resuming use. At least until you know your firmware is upgraded to a revision which corrects this problem.
BTW, anybody know the process for getting one of these chargers checked out / repaired? Do I go through Hobby King or try to contact Junsi directly for service?
I was doing a charge with logging enabled and about 80% of the way through the log filled and the charger beeped once, flashed the message log full and then reverted to the screen that appears before starting a charge. So I assumed the charger was not charging and was in a disconnected state from my packs.
I was balancing in "ALWAYS ON" mode and was monitoring process. I knew the first pack was essentially balanced and decided to switch to the second before resuming charging. I unplugged the first pack's balance connector and there was no beep or message about low voltage again reinforcing the idea that the charger was properly in the charge done state.
I don't remember the next bit clearly. I connected the second pack's balance plug. I was going to press/hold the start button to start a new charge cycle, but I don't remember if I did or not. The next thing I remember was that there was a rather loud pop/arc sounding and a visible flash emitted from the fan vent. As fast as I could I yanked one of the mains and one of the 12 volt power supply plugs and then disconnected the balance plug too.
There was no smoke. With no battery connected the charger powers up and appears normal. I haven't connected a battery and am afraid to do so. I don't want to operate a potentially damaged charger and either damage it further or possibly ignite a battery pack.
In summary the i208B clearly has a software flaw and doesn't do a full and proper reset of its operating state after an error condition such as the log filling. Personally, I don't think logs going full should interrupt the charging process, but merely sound an alarm.
It's possible this bug has recently been fixed. This charger was received about 1 month ago and it is running the factory firmware with no upgrade. Revision 3.11B.
I would strongly recommend to all users of all iChargers to assume their charger is in a dangerous state after any error condition terminates a charge and to turn it off and power it back up before resuming use. At least until you know your firmware is upgraded to a revision which corrects this problem.
BTW, anybody know the process for getting one of these chargers checked out / repaired? Do I go through Hobby King or try to contact Junsi directly for service?
