Stevie69 Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Hello.need some advice.just bought a tg f3 and it's not charging.it is unused but has sat in a cupboard for 6 months.it charges from the buzzing alarm to 2 lights then the charger goes green and will last less than a minute..where do I start?thanks.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 2 minutes ago, Stevie69 said: Hello.need some advice.just bought a tg f3 and it's not charging.it is unused but has sat in a cupboard for 6 months.it charges from the buzzing alarm to 2 lights then the charger goes green and will last less than a minute..where do I start?thanks.. Sounds like the charger might be giving too low voltage, if you have a multimeter and know how to use it, check how much voltage the charger puts out (without being attached to the wheel). If memory serves, the TG's use typical 16S packs, and the charger voltage should be around 67.2V. Also, the batteries might have aged a bit over the storage, especially if the temperature has been high and/or the batteries have been stored fully charged. But if the battery lights won't even go to full, then it's more likely the charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Thanks.ill get hold of a multimeter and get the charger checked.. When it is charging the charger goes back and forth from green to red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 @Stevie69, @esaj is spot on but the opposite is also possible, if it was stored at quite a low charge and, again, in warm conditions some of the cells could have got very low and gone high resistance. Flashing red and green is worrying as if this isn't because of a faulty charger it may indicate that the pack has high internal resistance (the charger goes green when the charging current drops below a certain value, typically around 200mA it is red above that - most chargers should supply around 1.5 - 2 Amps whilst the battery is below 67 volts). @esaj's test is correct, check, carefully, that the voltage is around 67.2V coming from the charger. The battery if it is 16 cell should be somewhere between 67.2V fully charged and 50V if very, very low. Do be very, very careful if using a multimeter to check battery voltage, accidentally shorting the pins can literally weld things together and cause a fire. If the charger is OK and the battery is not holding charge I am afraid replacing the battery is likely to be needed. If the battery is 16 cell (possibly marked as 59.2v or 60v on it) and the voltage is below 48V the battery is definitely dead. Note, the charging socket in the TG-T3 may be reverse voltage protected so will not read the correct battery voltage, you will probably need to open the wheel and read battery voltage on the connector that goes to the main board in the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 2 minutes ago, Keith said: @Stevie69, @esaj is spot on but the opposite is also possible, if it was stored at quite a low charge and, again, in warm conditions some of the cells could have got very low and gone high resistance. Flashing red and green is worrying as if this isn't because of a faulty charger it may indicate that the pack has high internal resistance (the charger goes green when the charging current drops below a certain value, typically around 200mA it is red above that - most chargers should supply around 1.5 - 2 Amps whilst the battery is below 67 volts). @esaj's test is correct, check, carefully, that the voltage is around 67.2V coming from the charger. The battery if it is 16 cell should be somewhere between 67.2V fully charged and 50V if very, very low. Do be very, very careful if using a multimeter to check battery voltage, accidentally shorting the pins can literally weld things together and cause a fire. If the charger is OK and the battery is not holding charge I am afraid replacing the battery is likely to be needed. Right, Keith makes very good points here. Always be very careful when working with the batteries, they can dish out very large currents, even when "empty" (they still hold a voltage of 45-50V or above), and can do all sorts of not-so-nice things if mishandled (venting with flame, fire, explosion...), although in most cases the BMS-circuit in the pack should prevent anything totally catastrophic. I used to warn everyone about the batteries pretty much anytime stuff like this came up, but got a bit lazy here Probably should write a post about handling the batteries so it could be linked everywhere and not needing the repeat the same things over and over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 3 minutes ago, esaj said: I used to warn everyone about the batteries pretty much anytime stuff like this came up, but got a bit lazy here Probably should write a post about handling the batteries so it could be linked everywhere and not needing the repeat the same things over and over @esaj, a post would be a great idea but, honestly, If repeating it each time the subject comes up saves just one person from accidentally burning themselves it is worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Put a multimeter on the charger...155.4..turning the screw all the way only got it down to 144.2.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip W Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 1 hour ago, Stevie69 said: Put a multimeter on the charger...155.4..turning the screw all the way only got it down to 144.2.. Seems like the charger is malfunctioning. 155v? That's too high for EUC. Maybe you took the wrong charger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 33 minutes ago, Stevie69 said: Put a multimeter on the charger...155.4..turning the screw all the way only got it down to 144.2.. Nope, I'm struggling here: 155.4 of what and what on earth screw were you able to turn. You do mean you put a multimeter across the output pins on the charger and you did have the meter reading D.C. Volts? There should be a little diagram of the output pins on the back of the charger. I've not seen a charger as supplied with these with any form of adjustment screw on it, in fact it could be somewhat dangerous if you adjusted it without knowing what it was for. What is written on this charger, it does not sound like it is the one that was supplied originally with the wheel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 Multimeter in 1 and 3. Read there was an adjustment screw and turned it..I'm no expert,got my mate to check it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Does it look anything like this: http://www.banggood.com/Electric-Unicycle-Charger-AC-to-DC-Power-Supply-p-966060.html if it really shoved out 155V D.C. something in the battery pack ought to have burnt unless it has failed in such away it supplies virtually no current. If it is really putting out that voltage the charger is definitely faulty. If you had the meter reading a.c. You might be reading a harmless ripple frequency that's only there when completely of off load - that was why I asked if you were sure you were on d.c. Which you didn't answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 49 minutes ago, Stevie69 said: Put a multimeter on the charger...155.4..turning the screw all the way only got it down to 144.2.. That can't be right... I'd expect the batteries would have exploded when the charger was put in... Or then it's a pretty badly built charger, and the step-down circuitry or whatever it has goes haywire with very small (high impedance/resistance, like a multimeter in voltage-measurement mode) load. I tried to write down a bit about working with the batteries and doing the basic voltage-measurements: 16 minutes ago, Keith said: I've not seen a charger as supplied with these with any form of adjustment screw on it, in fact it could be somewhat dangerous if you adjusted it without knowing what it was for. At least some chargers have trimmers (inside the charger) for adjusting the voltage, that's the only thing I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Whoops, I removed a duplicate post from @HEC, and now both of his posts are gone... is there another mod at work or did I just **** up? Anyway, HEC suggested sending some pictures of the charger and the multimeter setup to see if there's anything wrong or if the charger's just acting weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEC Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 3 minutes ago, esaj said: Whoops, I removed a duplicate post from @HEC, and now both of his posts are gone... is there another mod at work or did I just **** up? Anyway, HEC suggested sending some pictures of the charger and the multimeter setup to see if there's anything wrong or if the charger's just acting weird. He he I did wonder where it went after refreshing the page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Charger looks like that one apart from the plugs plastic.ill check it again and make sure it's reading in dc.iv ordered a new charger.anyone have a link to a new battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Think it's actually a tg t3.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 1 hour ago, Stevie69 said: Think it's actually a tg t3.. Fairly sure (but stand to be corrected) the only difference between the F3 and T3 is battery (and e F3 seems to have a design like corporal's stripes an the side), 132Wh =T3, 264Wh =F3, charger is likely to be the same for both. If a 264Wh pack will fit, it would be preferable as it will have 2 cells in parallel making it less stressed and more reliable as well as better range, in fact a battery fault is more likely if it is 132Wh as there is only 16 cells in series so just one failing will be enough. there is a thread on batteries below and Banggood will also have them: http://www.banggood.com/132W-Electric-Unicycle-Battery-18650-22PM-lithium-Ion-Battery-60V-p-977887.html. @1RadWerkstatt produce the very best batteries but probably overkill on a cheap wheel: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Got another mate to check the charger.66 volts.took the panel of and checked at the plug and there's nothing.unpluged the battery and checked that and it was 57 volts.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esaj Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 8 minutes ago, Stevie69 said: Got another mate to check the charger.66 volts.took the panel of and checked at the plug and there's nothing.unpluged the battery and checked that and it was 57 volts.. 66 volts is a bit lowish, but since the battery voltage hasn't gone up, it means that it isn't being charged. Best guesses would be damaged BMS (Battery Management System, a circuit board inside the battery pack) or one or more dead cells. Also it could be that the charger voltage drops under load, but that isn't as easy to check. Likely you'll need to replace the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Chargers onits way.if its not that it goes in the bin.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 21, 2016 Share Posted August 21, 2016 1 hour ago, Stevie69 said: Got another mate to check the charger.66 volts.took the panel of and checked at the plug and there's nothing.unpluged the battery and checked that and it was 57 volts.. You played with a trim pot or "adjustment screw" that you mentioned in an above post. Was that "screw" inside the charger or accessible from outside of it? If inside it definitely should not have been touched. I don't think there is anything wrong with the charger I think you've just turned the output voltage down, it should be set to 67.2V possibly higher if there is a diode reverse/short circuit protection circuit in the wheel. If you are getting 66V out of it that sounds well within and adjustable range. It is sounding suspiciously like you have a faulty cell in the battery, could only really test it to be certain by measuring voltage and current whilst charging - just what the Charge Doctor is brilliant at doing: P.S. I'm very curious to know how you managed to read it as 155 volts earlier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie69 Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 The screws inside the charger.dont know how my mate got 155... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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