Battery or charger?

[beemerphile1]

Sort of RV related since this is an electric bike purchased for carrying while RVing.

I thought it would be fun to solicit some opinions and then I will tell what the manufacturer is providing under warranty.

It has a 48v Lithium system.

The battery seems to not be charging correctly although the charger indicates that the battery is fully charged. Here are some test numbers I provided the manufacturer;

The charger has a no load output of 54.6v.

The last couple of uses the battery achieves less of a charge although each time the charger indicates that it is fully charged and shuts off.

First time that I checked the charger brought the battery up to 46.8v.

After riding and then charging again, the charger brought the battery up to 45.8v.

The price of a new charger is $40, the price of a new battery is $500.

If you were the manufacturer, would you send a new battery, or a new charger under warranty?

[azrving]

I thought that you meant the charger was doing what it was rated to do and the battery kept not taking a charge and not topping off. Try it and let us know. See if you can get a voltage readings when it's charging and finishes off.

[beemerphile1]

Battery, they have shipped a new battery. I would have expected the charger first but what do I know? Either way, fortunately it doesn't cost me anything but the down time.

[FLY_4_FUN]

I would think that a charger to properly and safely charge a high voltage Lithium battery costing $500 would cost a LOT more than $40. I suspect its just an over simplified wall charger that is not adequately charging your battery. As you use the battery in the bike it is not having its cells properly balanced and soon it will fail or be virtually useless. Im basing this on my use of some fairly expensive Lipo batteries in model aircraft that have very exacting charge specs and fail in a spectacular fashion if not treated properly. Let us know how it turns out

[time2roll]

Hard to know where the control is. At $40 the "charger" could just be a power supply. The controlling battery management system could be integral with the battery. The voltage could vary that much just based on temperature. Warm battery during heavy use could have the voltage limited.

I think the manufacturer may send a note that all is within normal specifications.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

"I will tell what the manufacturer is providing under warranty"



Pedals?

[azrving]

In the end hopefully you end up with a new battery and will have an extra charger. 🙂

[azrving]

Charger. It's cheaper