# Elcon Charger Trouble Shooting



## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

try the retailer you bought from and/or distributor for Elcon: 
Electric Conversions <[email protected]>


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## Old Goat (Jun 28, 2011)

I don't know if we should mention retailer's names but I bought it from a retailer along with the batteries in the state of Utah. I bought the mini BMS from a retailer in the state of Florida, and I bought the motor and controller from a retailer in California. I contacted all of them and also contacted Elcon today. No one but Elcon had any concept of what the problem is. Elcon replied that most likely, I have blown the output fuse in the charger and that they can fix it for me if I ship them the unit. That left a whole lot of unanswered quesionts:
1. how did they know that my LED pattern means blown fuse? The meager documentation doesn't even mention that.
2. Since it had been charging at 17.9 A for over a half hour before it shut down, isn't that awfully unusual for a fuse to just blow in such a situation? Normally a fuse goes right at equipment startup or when a major operational change has just happened.
3. Isn't it logical that if I don't change something else and go to all the expense of shipping the unit cross country, that it will blow a fuse again the first time time I try it out?
4. If it's just a fuse, why can't I change it myself?
5. Is there a dealer or repair facility within a reasonable drive of my location (NW Florida)?
As you can see, this whole thing is pretty frustrating. I am without transportation for probably at least a few weeks, I have no idea what it's going to cost to fix it, and I'm not even sure it's a blown fuse in the first place!
Sorry to vent here, but this is really maddening. If you, or another enthusiast has any other ideas, I'm all ears.


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## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

Old Goat said:


> 1. how did they know that my LED pattern means blown fuse? The meager documentation doesn't even mention that.


I'll agree that the documentation is confusing. I've collected quite a few of them. Per the attached, RG flashing continuously at a one-second rate with no gap means battery disconnected. This would be consistent with the output fuse blowing. In case it doesn't attach properly, this one had "www.evassemble.com" at the top of each page. See also here: http://www.evassemble.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=23 .



> 2. Since it had been charging at 17.9 A for over a half hour before it shut down, isn't that awfully unusual for a fuse to just blow in such a situation?


No. Fuses respond to the square of the current multiplied by time. So for a very large overload, yes, they tend to blow in a few milliseconds. But if they are overloaded by say 20% (120% of rated current), then they can take an hour or so to blow.



> 3. Isn't it logical that if I don't change something else and go to all the expense of shipping the unit cross country, that it will blow a fuse again the first time time I try it out?


Possibly. Maybe the wrong value fuse was fitted. Maybe something else went wrong to cause the fuse to blow, and hopefully they fix that as well.



> 4. If it's just a fuse, why can't I change it myself?


It's not designed as a user-replaceable item. I didn't even realise there was one in there. When I look at photos of ours opened, I can't even find the fuse. If nothing else is wrong, I see no harm in replacing it yourself, but then you likely would void warranty.


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## mora (Nov 11, 2009)

Constant RGRGRGRG pattern also means charger was interrupted by external signal (miniBMS). Charger wont resume by unplugging/re-plugging power cord until it gets "reset". Cycle your ignition key once and see if charger comes back on. This will reset miniBMS and allow charger to continue charging.

If that helps monitor your pack closely during the charge. If any of the green leds on miniBMS turns off that cell is going too high and miniBMS will tell charger to stop.


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## Old Goat (Jun 28, 2011)

Thank you, Mora. Problem is now solved! Combination of your post and what the guy at Elcon USA reported via e-mail helped me snoop it out. It seems the way to test the internal fuse in this puppy is to find the third conductor (the little spade lug that isn't used in most installations) on the DC output line from the charger. In my case, I had taped it up to prevent inadvertent touching of some other conductor. Test continuity between that spade lug and the red (B+) line. If the fuse is bad, no continuity. Of course, none of this is documented, not even the existence of an internal fuse. When I checked, there WAS continuity so I started to look elsewhere. I had installed a 30 A fuse in that line and I had visually inspected it and it looked fine. Well, this time, I removed it and checked with an ohm meter and sure enough it was fried. I replaced it and once again, after about twenty minutes, it blew again. I purchased a different form of fuse that fit the holder just a little tighter and that did the trick! BTW, both fuses that blew looked perfectly okay. Instead of the conductor inside blowing, a little solder leaked out at one end -- both of the bad fuses looked like that. Thanks for the help, everyone.


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## atzi (Jun 26, 2008)

*Re: Elcon Charger ....... PFC 5000*

I have the same issue with a PFC 5000. Red -Green -Red -Green etc and checked continuity between the small green wire and the large red and it is open. I have the cover off but the fuse most be between the heat sink and the board. Wonder if anyone has a photo of the fuse?


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## kennybobby (Aug 10, 2012)

The output fuse is mounted vertically and covered with black heat-shrink tubing. It is located in the circuit path adjacent to the output terminal strip for the red wire.


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## Weisheimer (May 11, 2009)

Here is a link to Ripperton's post in this forum of his fuse.

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showpost.php?p=365783&postcount=46

I believe that the PFC5000 has 2 2.5KW modules.
Each of them will have an output fuse, along with an input fuse.
I have seen them be glass fuses with black heat shrink and also automotive blade style fuses soldered to the board.


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## atzi (Jun 26, 2008)

Weisheimer said:


> Here is a link to Ripperton's post in this forum of his fuse.
> 
> http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showpost.php?p=365783&postcount=46
> 
> ...


Thanks alot guys, this has been very helpful. I did replace this fuse and wired it up into now an external fuse. It is a long process to replace this fuse soldiered inside a waterproof aluminum case and all. Now with the fuse external I can repair the charger quickly.

------Thanks DIY Electric Car Forums.--------


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## Old Goat (Jun 28, 2011)

New Chapter to this story: I had been driving my EV every day for nearly 3 years. Just got back from a two week vacation, during which I kept my car plugged in continuously to a 220V (40 Amp circuit) power source that turns on every day at 11Pm and turns off at 6 AM. After getting back I discovered that the pack was not fully charged. When I applied AC power to the ELCON charger, nothing happened. When I broke the cover open on the ELCON, I discovered that the AC fuse was blown this time (not the DC fuse that I was having trouble with in the past). Does anyone know anything about this fuse and whether I can get away with simply replacing it with a fuse holder that will facilitate repair of future failures of the fuse?


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## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

Old Goat said:


> When I broke the cover open on the ELCON, I discovered that the AC fuse was blown this time ... . Does anyone know anything about this fuse and whether I can get away with simply replacing it with a fuse holder that will facilitate repair of future failures of the fuse?


I would suggest a robust fuse holder, e.g. for a 5AG fuse, to cope with the high continuous current through mechanical contacts.

I would also check whether the bridge rectifier has failed shorted. It's probably easier to to check this at the bridge itself. Also check the resistance of the pre-charge resistors; there are two in parallel, so choosing any pair of pigtails, you should measure either about 75 ohms or near zero.

It's actually fairly uncommon (PDove may be able to confirm) for the AC fuse to blow. Usually the failure causes the input relay to drop out, which burns up the pre-charge resistors. When they go, it usually makes a hell of a mess (they should use wire wound resistors). So maybe yours just died from fatigue, as fuses occasionally do.

I'm nervous about connecting these chargers to a supply that comes and goes. But 11 pm on and 6am off should be enough time for a complete charge, so it should be disconnecting after the charger has internally switched off, which is fine.


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## pdove (Jan 9, 2012)

Coulomb said:


> I would suggest a robust fuse holder, e.g. for a 5AG fuse, to cope with the high continuous current through mechanical contacts.
> 
> I would also check whether the bridge rectifier has failed shorted. It's probably easier to to check this at the bridge itself. Also check the resistance of the pre-charge resistors; there are two in parallel, so choosing any pair of pigtails, you should measure either about 75 ohms or near zero.
> 
> ...


That sounds right to me. I would solder a new one in place if it was me. Not that hard I've done it on one and that unit did have a failed bridge. The relay and resistors were fine if I remember correctly.


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## Old Goat (Jun 28, 2011)

Do you know what size the ac fuse is? Also what type (fuse body designation)?


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## pdove (Jan 9, 2012)

Old Goat said:


> Do you know what size the ac fuse is? Also what type (fuse body designation)?


Sorry, I've been busy..... I'll look and post it here.

Ok, 250V 30Amp 3AB Axial leaded.

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/240/Littelfuse_Fuse_325_326_Datasheet.pdf-461027.pdf


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