Help! I think my charger has died

[Willin']

Got a Tonaro Bighit which has never given me any problems and the charger has always done its job fine. However, I went to charge the battery (down to one light) after a ride today and the charger switched to green immediately. So I think it is probably a goner - unless someone with a bit more knowledge can help.

I looked on the Powerpedals website to find that the replacement charger is (gulp!) over £46. So I had a quick look on ebay and found this which seems to fit the bill - the amps out is a bit lower than the spec printed on my charger.

Electric Scooter BATTERY CHARGER 36 VOLT 36v UK Plug Male Plug 2 Bike Free P + P | eBay

Will it? and is the price ridiculously low given the price of the correct charger?

 

[muckymits]

Although it does not say it looks like a lead acid charger so NO. That price from Power Pedals is not so bad. If you down my end anytime I will check it out for you.

 

[flecc]

E-bike companies commonly charge up to £125 for their specific chargers, so that Powerpedals price is not bad at all, though I do understand it's still an unwelcome cost.

However first check that your charger really is faulty and that it's not a battery fuse gone. If you've got a meter, check that the charger output is present at a bit over 41 volts. If it is, check the battery fuse. I'm not familiar with the Tonaro's battery, but it may have an accessible fuse holder on the casing so you can check the fuse is not blown. If not there, open up the battery case and you will see an internal fuse which may well have blown. These fuses are often only in the charging circuit, though sometimes two fuses are present, one of them protecting the charge circuit.

 

[Willin']

Although it does not say it looks like a lead acid charger so NO. That price from Power Pedals is not so bad. If you down my end anytime I will check it out for you.

Cheers - much appreciated. If I don't get this sorted I'll pop down. I've just had the lid off the battery and cleaned everything out and then retightened all the securing screws and this time the red light has come on so it is charging - only started a couple of minutes ago so I will keep an eye on it and see how long it charges for. Maybe something worked loose in the battery compartment (there's a fair few wires and stuff in there) while I was out riding.

 

[Willin']

E-bike companies commonly charge up to £125 for their specific chargers, so that Powerpedals price is not bad at all, though I do understand it's still an unwelcome cost.

However first check that your charger really is faulty and that it's not a battery fuse gone. If you've got a meter, check that the charger output is present at a bit over 41 volts. If it is, check the battery fuse. I'm not familiar with the Tonaro's battery, but it may have an accessible fuse holder on the casing so you can check the fuse is not blown. If not there, open up the battery case and you will see an internal fuse which may well have blown. These fuses are often only in the charging circuit, though sometimes two fuses are present, one of them protecting the charge circuit.

Thanks Flecc - great advice - I'll see if the battery charges with me just giving a it bit of a clean - and if this doesn't fix it then I will go looking for a blown fuse or loose connection. There aren't any external fuses on the Tonaro battery unlike the battery casing on the Cyclamatic which are easily accessible.

 

[Willin']

Just an update to say I am very grateful to members on here who offered help and advice via PM and in this thread, and also especially to Phil at Powerpedals for his concern, practical help and "going the extra mile" professionalism.

Thanks to you all.

 

[Willin']

Found the fault!

Apologies for not getting back to those who kindly offered help and advice. If I had a voltmeter thingy or was any use with electrics I would have the fault much earlier. Also I haven't been out much since April - only a couple of times.

The fault was caused by a broken wire (black one) at the input charging socket on the battery. I couldn't see the fault because it was sheathed in a plastic cover. The reason it was intermittent was that sometimes the wire made a connection so the battery would charge OK and other times when it had moved it wouldn't.

Anyway I have been re-soldering the connection and fingers crossed that will cure it. I have also discovered that soldering is not one of my strengths. Maybe I'll practice by soldering the shunt on the Cyclamatic.

 

[KirstinS]

Glad you fixed it. !

A basic multimeter is invaluable - they are only 15 quid (ish) - worth the investment. Bought mine in march from halfords to diagnose an issue and it has been used countless times since

 

[KirstinS]

Oh and soldering def takes a wee bit of practise. At least for me it did

I found some useful YouTube guides

Main thing is to ensure it is hot enough - not just to melt the solder but to enough that it actually melds to the wires rather than just sit on top like a blob

Also "tinning" the points before you try to connect them

 

[Deleted member 4366]

To solder on a wire:
put a little bit of solder on the soldering iron;
bring the iron to the stripped end of the wire;
let it heat up for a bit;
add some more solder to soak into the wire, whilst keeping the iron on it;
If it's thick wire give plenty of time to allow the temperature to rise after you add solder;
bring your iron to the terminal;
allow it to heat up for a bit;
keep the iron against it whilst adding a bit of solder;
leave your iron on it for a couple of secs after you added the solder;
if the terminal is big, the pre-heat time has to be much longer. Add a bit of solder to the iron and don't add any more until it melts freely;
bring the tinned wire to the tinned terminal;
press them together with the iron until they fuse;
leave the soldering iron on a bit longer to bring it right up to temperature.

The mistake most people make is failing to get things up to temperature. Soldering temperature is about 370 deg C, but solder melts at about 180 deg C, it takes a lot of heat to melt solder, which cools everything down. It's like throwing ice into boiling water. Yo have to allow time for things to heat up both before and after adding solder.

To solder a shunt, it's the same. Adding a bit of solder to the iron aids heat transfer because it gives a larger contact area. You have to wait about 10 seconds before the shunt is hot enough to melt any applied solder. Don't take take the soldering iron off during the process other than to check the results, otherwise it'll cool back down. Use the iron to wipe the melted solder over the surface of the shunt.

 

[peerjay56]

To solder on a wire:
put a little bit of solder on the soldering iron;
bring the iron to the stripped end of the wire;
let it heat up for a bit;
add some more solder to soak into the wire, whilst keeping the iron on it;
If it's thick wire give plenty of time to allow the temperature to rise after you add solder;
bring your iron to the terminal;
allow it to heat up for a bit;
keep the iron against it whilst adding a bit of solder;
leave your iron on it for a couple of secs after you added the solder;
if the terminal is big, the pre-heat time has to be much longer. Add a bit of solder to the iron and don't add any more until it melts freely;
bring the tinned wire to the tinned terminal;
press them together with the iron until they fuse;
leave the soldering iron on a bit longer to bring it right up to temperature.

The mistake most people make is failing to get things up to temperature. Soldering temperature is about 370 deg C, but solder melts at about 180 deg C, it takes a lot of heat to melt solder, which cools everything down. It's like throwing ice into boiling water. Yo have to allow time for things to heat up both before and after adding solder.

To solder a shunt, it's the same. Adding a bit of solder to the iron aids heat transfer because it gives a larger contact area. You have to wait about 10 seconds before the shunt is hot enough to melt any applied solder. Don't take take the soldering iron off during the process other than to check the results, otherwise it'll cool back down. Use the iron to wipe the melted solder over the surface of the shunt.

And always make sure the parts to be soldered are scrupulously clean - wire wool, or more useful for small terminals etc is a glass fibre draughtmans pen Fibre Fiber Pen Fibreglass Abrasive Circuit Contact Cleaning Pen & 5 Refills | eBay.

 

[Willin']

Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated.