Carrera Crossfire ebike Battery Charger

[cyclebuddy]

His charger is different. It uses either communication with the battery or remote switching of the charge MOSFET. If the communication doesn't get the right answer, it won't charge.

I do see what you're getting at, but my chargers are exactly the same Sans/Joycube (Phylion) model nos. and the batteries are identical Phylion SF-06 with the 5 pin connectors, the pins being +V, -V, plus 3-pin comms for overheat, overcharge, and handshaking. The charger firstly does a handshaking routine, then behaves as I have described.

Below 18 watts, the green LED comes on even though it's still charging (trickle/balance charging <0.42A, thereafter measurably reducing to 0 after another 1/2 - 1 hour... hopefully.)

Of course, the green LED also comes on if NO current is being consumed (i.e. some cable/charger/cell/BMS fault), but it's worth trying leaving it charging for an extra hour or so to see if it helps.

 

[Gudoldtom]

Yes, that's about right. Unfortunately, these batteries are a bit more complicated than most, which makes fault-finding tricky. The problem is more likely in your battery. Did you check that the charge socket is not corroded because they are a bit vulnerable, especially if you use the bike in the winter?

Hi thank you for the reply. The charge socket looks ok ....

 

[Gudoldtom]

Hi I took the battery & charger back to Halfords & they tested the charger on another bike & it charged the battery ok so it seems that the battery is at fault. As the bike is over 12 months old they won't do anything but advised me to buy a new battery. I'm not going to buy a new battery but was thinking or trying to recharge it using this method as described in this youtube video?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

PS I did leave it in the garage without charging over the winter

 

[Amoto65]

Actually there is a 2 year warranty on the battery according to the Halfrauds website, however it was a bit foolish too leave it all winter but doubt they would know this unless you told them.

 

[Gudoldtom]

I have two identical batteries and chargers...

When bulk charging the charger consumes between 80-90 watts initially, and the red LED shows. That charger consumption progressively reduces as the battery nears full, and the LED turns green when the charge level drops to about 18 watts... But even though the charger LED is green, it's still charging to top-off and balance the cells.

You could try leaving the charger on for about another hour or so after the LED turns green as the cells balance, and measure the battery voltage again (the two outer pins on the battery) to see if pack voltage is nearer the >41.5 volts it should be.

Thank you for the advise. I did leave it on for a while but nothing

Actually there is a 2 year warranty on the battery according to the Halfrauds website, however it was a bit foolish too leave it all winter but doubt they would know this unless you told them.

Thanks

Actually there is a 2 year warranty on the battery according to the Halfrauds website, however it was a bit foolish too leave it all winter but doubt they would know this unless you told them.

Yes I agree. I did tell Halfords so they can't do anything about it unfortunately.

 

[Gudoldtom]

I have two identical batteries and chargers...

When bulk charging the charger consumes between 80-90 watts initially, and the red LED shows. That charger consumption progressively reduces as the battery nears full, and the LED turns green when the charge level drops to about 18 watts... But even though the charger LED is green, it's still charging to top-off and balance the cells.

You could try leaving the charger on for about another hour or so after the LED turns green as the cells balance, and measure the battery voltage again (the two outer pins on the battery) to see if pack voltage is nearer the >41.5 volts it should be.

I have two identical batteries and chargers...

When bulk charging the charger consumes between 80-90 watts initially, and the red LED shows. That charger consumption progressively reduces as the battery nears full, and the LED turns green when the charge level drops to about 18 watts... But even though the charger LED is green, it's still charging to top-off and balance the cells.

You could try leaving the charger on for about another hour or so after the LED turns green as the cells balance, and measure the battery voltage again (the two outer pins on the battery) to see if pack voltage is nearer the >41.5 volts it should be.

Hi I left it on for a while & the reading of the battery is 16.7v

 

[cyclebuddy]

Hi I left it on for a while & the reading of the battery is 16.7v

IIRC, the Phylion BMS shuts off at 28 volts, so 16.7 volts is well under that limit. I'd try the process you've posted in the video to bump the cells. You've nothing to lose by trying as your pack is otherwise trash. Your other option is to have the pack re-celled, which is cheaper than buying a new battery (about £400-£450 last time I looked).

 

[Gudoldtom]

Hi thank you for the reply I will give it a try.
Best Regards

 

[does10]

FOR CROSSFIRE / VENGEANCE The original charger is no longer made/sold separately from SR directly as i contacted them on this issue.
Therefor i'm posting a guide here where the bike was bought
To get the battery to charge again you'll need to open the battery unplug all connectors too the battery,
slowly pry the battery pack out from each end on first removal the battery will be adhered really strong so be careful.
once you have battery removed from housing proceed to unscrew the charging port from the battery case.
once you have removed it cut all the cables away from the charging connector.
Buy a dc plug female port with cable and insert in original charging ports place. secure and fill surroundings with with hot glue (you can add waterproof DC plug connector cover to make it look stock)
Add 45V 3A blocking diode with single terminal block to the positive cable of the new charging connector.
Making sure to connect the side furthest away from the line on the diode as this is the way we want current to flow into the battery and not the other-way round.
Now on the circuit board locate CHG : RED & BLACK You will need to cut away CHG cable away from connector and strip end of cable. (do one at a time recommend to prevent BMS damage/Short)
Tape the end of CHG black cable as we aren't going to be using it) use a single terminal blocks to join RED/+ from CHG and the other side of the diode you just attached to new charging port.
Now on either ends of the battery itself you have two screws that each represent MAIN battery positive and main battery negative you can tell what's what by looking at the exposed ends of the cells closest to the screw if its a row of positives under the screw that means that screw terminal is positive if it was a row of negatives cell terminals that means that screw terminal is negative.
Right now.. with this in mind lets continue to the final step.
locate main negative of the battery and attach the negative wire of your new charging port to the main negative this will stop the bms from stopping it from charging when it notices original charger isn't inserted. neaten up all cables and re attach remaining connectors
(one connector will be missing for original charger. this is normal as you've cut the 5 pin charger away)
Add seals back onto the battery and re attach the cover to the battery you are finished. Right.... Now get on Ebay and find a cheap 42V 2A EBike charger for about £13 1st class (making sure to select "UK only" for fast shipping) now just charge the battery up like normal your done
(it doesn't matter about using cheap chargers now as the battery psychically cannot leak back down to the charger because of the diode we put on the line earlier)

Posting this as the manufacturer really left alot of us out in the rain on this and not many people know how to fix, 0 guides on the internet. will post this around, so even if it's removed you'll find the guide somewhere

Happy riding

I wish I could understand this. Thanks though.

 

[vfr400]

I wish I could understand this. Thanks though.

If I understand it right, he's simply bipassed the BMS and charging the pack directly, which is OK for a testing, but very dodgy for normal use because if the battery goes out of balance, there's nothing to switch off the charging, so one cell could go very high and catch fire. That's why you have a BMS with charge control.