Loose recharge connection on battery

Howard

Pedelecer
Jul 8, 2008
73
0
Hi David

When connecting the charger to my battery last night (I have 905se Sport purchased late last year, so still under warranty), I noticed that the charger connection on the battery seems very loose - you can feel it moving from side to side and in/out. I seem to remember reading about others who have had similar problems, with the charger connector on the battery becoming completely detached in some cases. Is there anything I can do to tighten the connector back up again? I'd hate to get into a situation where the connector breaks completely and not being able to use the bike while i got it sorted out...

Cheers,

Howard
 

torrent99

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 14, 2008
395
36
Highgate, London
Hi David

When connecting the charger to my battery last night (I have 905se Sport purchased late last year, so still under warranty), I noticed that the charger connection on the battery seems very loose - you can feel it moving from side to side and in/out. I seem to remember reading about others who have had similar problems, with the charger connector on the battery becoming completely detached in some cases. Is there anything I can do to tighten the connector back up again? I'd hate to get into a situation where the connector breaks completely and not being able to use the bike while i got it sorted out...

Cheers,

Howard
Yes, I've got the same problem on my Lishen battery (German ebay 905se). As it's way out of warranty I'm probably going to dive in there and tighten it up myself...(it's now got an intermittent connection so I need to do it to get it charged properly).
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
I've noticed the same, it seems to have got looser with time and I have to be careful when charging that the lead cannot be knocked at all.
I wonder if sticking a bit of tape on one side will to the trick.
 

Vikki

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2009
442
2
The biggest worry is that the connector is held in place by a nut on the back but between this nut and the connector there is a washer with a solder tab to which the 0V wire connects. When the nut comes loose so does this wire and you may not get much in the line of charging at all.

For those that would delve into it I would suggest getting another nut to lockdown the first after it's been tightened. Would probably mean buying another phono socket to scavange the proper nut. That, mind, would mean unsoldering the wire connected to the centre pin and resoldering after fitting the second nut.

It may be possible to bend the solder tab up against the flat of the nut to stop it rotating loose in the first place.

Had this problem on Old Faithful.

Vikki.
 

Howard

Pedelecer
Jul 8, 2008
73
0
Thanks Vikki
I'm lothe to 'delve into it' until I've heard back from David - my battery is only about 4 months old, so don't want to invalidate the warranty... I'm not even sure how to get into the battery, come to think of it!
Howard
 

torrent99

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 14, 2008
395
36
Highgate, London
The biggest worry is that the connector is held in place by a nut on the back but between this nut and the connector there is a washer with a solder tab to which the 0V wire connects. When the nut comes loose so does this wire and you may not get much in the line of charging at all.

For those that would delve into it I would suggest getting another nut to lockdown the first after it's been tightened. Would probably mean buying another phono socket to scavange the proper nut. That, mind, would mean unsoldering the wire connected to the centre pin and resoldering after fitting the second nut.

It may be possible to bend the solder tab up against the flat of the nut to stop it rotating loose in the first place.

Had this problem on Old Faithful.

Vikki.

Yes I discovered that last night. I also discovered that liquid polystyrene cement (don't laugh it's all I had to hand that would fit through the gap in the case!) is NOT the right thing to use as thread lock! (Capillary action caused it to cover all the surfaces and send the connector open circuit! A quick clean up soon fixed that..)
My next attempt will probably see me using another connector.
 

Mussels

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2008
3,207
8
Crowborough
I think I'm talking about something completely different to everyone else. :(
My connector is firmly fixed to the battery case but the connection itself is loose when the charger cable is plugged in.
 

torrent99

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 14, 2008
395
36
Highgate, London
I think I'm talking about something completely different to everyone else. :(
My connector is firmly fixed to the battery case but the connection itself is loose when the charger cable is plugged in.
Nope, we're talking about the same thing.... if you were to peek inside the battery you'd see the nut & connector that we're talking about (don't do this if your battery is still even vaguely in warranty, I take no responsibility, you could cause a short etc etc.). I detected mine was getting loose and tried to stop it from shaking loose with the glue...it backfired (but fixed now). However the design of the phono socket is a bit suss hence the intermittent connections.
 

Vikki

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2009
442
2
Hi, Mussels. Funny you should say that but my connector is firmly fixed to the case but the plug can rock a bit in the socket. I don't think it's anything to worry about unless it's really loose. If the connection was bad and charging was poor you'd probably spot it by the length of time charging would take.

Best regards.

Vikki.
 

Wisper Bikes

Trade Member
Apr 11, 2007
6,211
2,174
68
Sevenoaks Kent
Socket

Hi Guys

There is a little play in the connector. If anyone is worried and would like to send the battery to Norman our service manager, he will arrange to have it sorted out and return the battery to you.

Best regards David
 

Vikki

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2009
442
2
Found the reason for the play (out of curiosity). The plug is a good quality plug and has a metal barrel with on internal spring ring. It's this that lets the plug rock a little if you try to waggle it a bit. Most phono plugs don't have this spring ring, they have a split barrel instead and the connection force comes from the barrel itself, the splits allow it to expand a tiny bit. The problem with these are that they are made of plated brass and can weaken over time since brass doesn't have much springiness to it.

So, with the spring ring inside the barrel you have a looser barrel fit to accomodate it and that's where the you feel the slack. And the sping ring is a springy thing :D

Best regards.

Vikki.
 

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