generic charger on old BD36 kit

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needWheels
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generic charger on old BD36 kit

I've been examining this charger that came from a 2006 BD36 kit and this is definitely not a Soneil.

It only comes with a single sheet written completely in Chinese (I will try to get a friend to translate next week).

I have to assume these chargers were replaced by the Soneil? Is that a bad sign? Can I trust this charger or is it going to burst into flames (or make my batteries do so).

The box is 6.5 x 2.5 x 3.5 inches (roughly).
The wires are fixed and cannot detach.
The battery side uses an RCA connector.
There is a small exhaust fan on one side.
There is a single led, no buttons/switches.

Can I safely test the voltage output of the charger with a multimeter?
I'll never know the true amp out, it's super generic and the data sheet in all Chinese lists 4 models (1.8A 2.2A 3A 3.5A) but no indication which one it is.

dogman
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

The provider may have run out of soneils a long time ago by sending out replacements. My first kit came with one that worked one time only. They replaced it with a non soneil one that lasted almost 2 weeks. The soneil has a desulphinating cycle that has to be good for battery life, but apparently this is not needed so much if you allways recharge immediately. If you drive to work, don't charge and then drive home 8 hours later you will need that feature a whole lot more. My second kit came with a soneil that is one model up in quality from the first one, and works great! I think it retails over $100.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

dogman
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

Now that I think about it, that is real similar to my lasted two weeks charger. To clarify, mine died because I carried it around and have a bumpy road to work. Inside, a small circuit board seperate from the main one moved and caused a short. Hopefully yours will be better. If you ride with it, carry in a backpack, not a handlebar carrier.
A good cheap 4 amp charger can be bought at monsterscooterparts.com for $50. I bought one to stash at work and cut charge time there in half.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

needWheels
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

Well I just want something easier for now than having to haul out each battery to my car charger and charge them up. What a pain. I definitely do not have $50 to spend. Will use that cash for bike safety stuff.

So I could take an rca connector and wire the center to positive like it says on here this thing should work?

How long does it take to charge, will it know to shut off?

dogman
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

That's right, you still don't have the stock wiring harness. You can put anything you want on the charger as long as it makes the connection. One way would be to put flat connectors on the chargers output wires, mark em good for positive and negative and just put them on the battery string where the power wires to the controller usually go. Or just pick out whatever type of plug is handy and put one on the charger and another on the pack, being sure to keep the polarity right. Its only 2 amp,so it doesn't have to be beefy. The charger will light up red when charging and green when done.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

needWheels
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

Okay in the end I decided to convert the charger connecting to match my battery input plug which is a computer power supply socket/cord.

(dangerous idea of course if someone is stupid enough to plug 110 AC into the charger or bike but only high volt/amp socket I have around to use)

just plugged in the charger and I immediately unplugged it because I don't know what the lights mean - no smoke so that's a good start

basically the charger did rapid red light flashing
I took that as a bad sign?
The batteries were already fully charged - shouldn't it show green?

now I matched positive tip on the charger to positive battery connection - it's occured to me, is that backward? You charge in parallel or serial? Or it supposed to be the other way around? This makes me really nervous.

Unfornately when the charger is on it has no load so apparently it doesn't output any voltage at all - so I can't tell what's right.

Very confusing. And kind of dangerous. Let me know what you think.

needWheels
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

The blinking red light is what the soneils are supposed to do when they are in the desulphinating stage at the beginning of the charge cycle. Maybe its not a soneil, but a soneil bootleg? Anyway if you don't have a voltmeter yet, get one, since it's the best way to comfirm polarity.

No it doesn't put out any voltage at all if it doesn't detect batteries hooked up to it.
I can't test it with a meter, it's impossible, it outputs like 0.1 volts for a moment and then stops.

update: after your message I fortunately thought about this for a bit and reversed the wiring back to the way I originally had it

so then I hooked it up but was patient for a bit instead of giving up after the first minute - after a few minutes the red light stopped blinking and now is solid red! Maybe this is a soneil clone of some kind? Weird.

2nd update: it's definitely charging, battery voltage is increasing, yay!

Thanks for all your help!

JLGRAU
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

I have one of those generic chargers and the light never turns green while charging. It blinks red for a few minutes and stays solid red for at least 2 hrs. I then unplug it and the light then turns solid green. Any ideas on this charger? I'm afraid that it is not a smart charger and will overcharge, so I time the charges. A blinking green means the charger is on but not plug in. Blinking green can also means the batteries are fried.

dogman
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

Jlgrau, if you are only charging 2 hours, you would never get fully charged. Charge till the light turns green with the battery connected and you will get the range you were asking about.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

JLGRAU
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Joined: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 02:39
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

thanks for the info Dogman. I've had this bike 1 1/2 weeks. bought on ebay w/ local pickup. First battery pack was dead on arrival. He replaced it free. It's a Raleigh
SC-7 7 speed with a 2006 wilderness BD-36. The BD-36 is practically new. I also would like some insight into replacing brushes. My plan is to check brushes 1 time a year and blow off the carbon dust inside motor. Then replaced w/ brush kit when necessary.
I've read that the motor side without the power cord is opened etc

dogman
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Re: generic charger on old BD36 kit

Links post on opening the motor is better than anything I could say about it.

Be the pack leader.
36 volt sla schwinn beach cruiser
36 volt lifepo4 mongoose mtb
24 volt sla + nicad EV Global

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