Battery Charger problems

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carlos1984
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Last seen: 2 years 5 months ago
Joined: Thursday, June 15, 2017 - 16:03
Points: 21
Battery Charger problems

HI Everyone,

I seem to be having a problem with my ECOPED SPARQ, it has a 48v lead acid battery. Yesterday I left it charging on the original charger when I came down i nthe moring , the charger was making a wistleing noise. I opened up the charger and noticed a 220uF 83v capacitor was vented, so I had a 220uF 63V cap around so I used it and then tested the voltage and nothing was going out.

The factory charger has a 2 pin connector, looks like a C13 but with out the middle ground pin. I had a charger for another ebike that was 48v, I bought it from ebay but never used it, it had the same connector but with a 3rd pin shaped like a " T" . I figured since I only need the two outside pins then it should work. My mistake was I never bothered to test it before plugging it in to the Sparq ebike , but it was not working also.
I figured it was a bad charger from ebay, So I bought another charger locally and this one I did bother multi-metering before plugging it in , it was reading 55v, then Iplug it in and again instantly killed. After removing it I tested it again with no volts coming out.

I have a few questions.
1) do different manufacturers change the polarity of the pins even though they use the same style plug? From the second picture I posted, it looks like this could be true.IF si does anyone have a wiring diagram or know what the polarity of this Ecoped Sparq should be.

2) Does this Sparq ebike charger have to sense a load before outputting a charge? the reason I ask is after I replaced the faulty cap, the voltage reading was null, but when I used a led light bulb saw a load it jumped a little to .45v not even 1 volt, not enough to charge a 48v battery.

3) lastly is there such a charger that can sense if the polarity is reversed and protect itself before permanent damage?(probably unlikely)

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battery charger connectors.png

Functional Artist
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Last seen: 3 years 8 months ago
Joined: Sunday, July 15, 2018 - 13:45
Points: 11
Re: Battery Charger problems

Hello Carlos,
Yes, everyone does everything different.
It is best to always check the polarity when using a new or different charger.
If you can see the wires, red = positive (+) & black = (-) is usually pretty consistent.
.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

7tronics
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Last seen: 10 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - 11:22
Points: 19
Re: Battery Charger problems

Carlos,

Sad but true as @Functional Artist notes many manufacturers distribute ebikes and escooters with identical pinout connectors, using different pins for +, -, temperature sense, and even logical (TTY) interface.

Getting a bit more expensive charger may save you headaches later, and as noted always take a meter to the pins before using the first time!

I have invested in chargers that are "smart" chargers since our family owns multiple ebikes, escooters, and the like. For our 24v escooter and older ebikes, the GT Power A8 is a great multi-chemistry charger. We have Anderson PowerPole, XLR connectors, and others along with a multi prong adapter originally designed for the remote control drone crowd. Also an in-line meter with PowerPole on each end which is our standard power adapter.

Hope you have a charger now working for you!

Best, Mark

Mark Smith, LEVA Tech Instructor
2001 Currie eFolder, 2005 Giant LaFree, 2007 Currie eZip,
2007 Optibike 600,
2013 OT ELF, 2014 OT Naked ELF2, 2014 Optibike Helia, 2019 Segway Mecha, 2019 Trikke Pon-e 2WD, 2020 Lectric XP

DaveRodda
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Last seen: 5 years 4 months ago
Joined: Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 09:26
Points: 11
Re: Battery Charger problems

Hi..in my case first one battery would only charge to four lights or 80 %. I was in the habit of charging after each ride when the batteries were no lower than 80 %. The chargers would charge but you couldn't tell they were charged by looking at the charger light because they never went solid green when charged.
Recently I decided not to recharge after each ride because I had a lot of battery capacity. We went on a 30 ride in hilly terrain and still had 80 % left. So, recently I ran the batteries down to one light (20 %) and two lights (40 %). Now neither battery will charge. I know to plug the charger into the battery before plugging the charger into the wall.

7tronics
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Last seen: 10 months 3 weeks ago
Joined: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - 11:22
Points: 19
Re: Battery Charger problems

What type of battery pack do you have? The 5 bar battery status display is notoriously inaccurate, especially at the lower end. Do you have access to another charger for the same type of battery pack?

After you are able to charge again, an inline ammeter/wattmeter such as a Watts up or GT Power inline meter would give you a more accurate state of charge.

Hope you can get your packs charged up again soon. Post more details on state of your battery pack and charger type for more suggestions.

Mark Smith, LEVA Tech Instructor
2001 Currie eFolder, 2005 Giant LaFree, 2007 Currie eZip,
2007 Optibike 600,
2013 OT ELF, 2014 OT Naked ELF2, 2014 Optibike Helia, 2019 Segway Mecha, 2019 Trikke Pon-e 2WD, 2020 Lectric XP

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