# Zivan Charger Programming...



## JSRacer (Jun 22, 2008)

I think I am going to order a Zivan charger. I was told I need to figure out exactly which battery I will be using so that Zivan can program the charger to the battery's exact specifications. I'm wondering how critical this is. I am not sure which battery I will be getting yet. So when I decide I will let them know.

I'm also wondering about 3 years down the road when I may need new batteries? Or I end up selling my EV and someone else decides to change the batteries. I was told I need to send the charger back for re-programming. What's the price tag on that? 

Is there a better choice for a charger other than Zivan? One that doesn't need to be sent back for re-programming?


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## TX_Dj (Jul 25, 2008)

It is extremely critical.

Every battery has a little different charge profile. If you push them beyond that profile, you are sending your batteries to an early grave, or worse.

Zivan used to have a bad rep because their chargers "killed batteries" but this was mostly due to the end user not understanding how to program the chargers to match the needs of the battery.

I've never tried to program a Zivan charger, but I hear it can be overwhelming if you are unfamiliar with all the nuances of battery charging.

I would suggest that if you are looking to get your batteries as the last step of the conversion (advisable), then postpone purchase of the charger until you have determined the exact make and model of battery you will be using so that Zivan can program the charger correctly from the factory.


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## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

I can tell you from personal experince that its very important to know EXACTLY the capacity of the battery when ordering Zivan. There are several preset profiles they choose from ( that is my guess based on the table that came with my charger ), so in my case they programmed it for 150 Ah although my battery is rated for 155 Ah. The issue I have is that when I discharge my pack to 80% DoD ( I know I shouldn't but sometimes I have no choice due to range limit ) , then Zivan will time out on 1st phase of the charge and quit charging, because it thinks something is wrong with the battery that it keeps sucking amps when charger thinks it should stop. Its nice to have a "smart" charger and extra protection, but it happens in the middle of the night and when I wake up in the morning I can't use my car because it didn't fully charge. To deal with this issue, I let it charge for 2-3 hours, then I shut off charger to reset the program timer, then turn it back on, so this time it will finish full charge program.

What I should have done is ask them to program for next profile, I think 170 or 180 Ah, this way it wouldn't time out on my pack.

I refuse to send the charger across the country to reprogram, I am looking for a way to hack into it and do it myself. If anyone has any info about it, please let me know.


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## dimitri (May 16, 2008)

I love this forum  , a little birdie ( you know who you are ) Emailed me some info about Zivan "programming".

As it turns out , battery AH capacity is actually easy to change by a rotary switch located on the front panel behind a sticky cover. As it also turns out the dealer did not set my switch correctly and that is why I have to reset my charger every night 

There is a table attached to the manual which has switch position for each common battery capacity, which controls timing of the charging cycle and current for last phase of the cycle. My setting was "2" for 150 AH, but charger was set at "0" which is half the time and current I needed.

WARNING: The switch only controls AH capacity, not the pack voltage or battery charging profile based on chemistry, those still have to be done by a dealer. YOU MUST KNOW CORRECT SETTING for your AH size, they are not sequential for some reason.

So, if you decided on pack voltage and chemistry, you can order the charger, then set the switch according to the AH capacity that you actually end up buying.


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## jbarracl (Jan 30, 2009)

I have a Zivan NG1 that I bought to charge my 74V 93Ah li-poly battery pack. The charger would never fully charge the battery. When I asked Zivan, they said the rotary switch under the plastic cover was to modify the final charge current during the final stage of charging. The charge profile they sent with the charger seemed to verify this. Maybe its function is different depending on the battery chemistry? Anyway, I just sent it back to have it checked and reprogrammed.


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## grayballs (Aug 27, 2008)

There is a reasonably good explanation of the Zivans over on Endless-sphere. Well worth the read IMO
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6196


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