# Elcon 1500w charger problem



## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

Yabert said:


> But, less than 1 second after, a small ‘’Bam’’ come from the inside of the charger and the led closed.


That's not good.

It should be perfectly safe to power up the charger with no battery connected. However, you won't read anything at the output; it senses the battery (for correct polarity) before closing a relay inside to put voltage at the output.



> Do you think my charger is dead?


Yes. A burning smell and a "bam" sound pretty much makes it definite.

Something must have become damaged since manufacture, possibly during shipping. You'll have to get it repaired or replaced under warranty.


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## steven4601 (Nov 11, 2010)

Although I am not one of them, but some people are convinced electronics work on smoke... If the smoke escapes the device usually stops functioning. 

(Fun intended but im sorry for your loss of your charger)


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## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

Thanks guys!

It seem dead...

Someone can confirm to me than its not normal that the light (led) don't be powered (on) when you plug an Elcon charger?


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## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

Yabert said:


> Someone can confirm to me than its not normal that the light (led) don't be powered (on) when you plug an Elcon charger?


The LED certainly should do something, probably flash alternately red and green (in a code) to indicate that there is no battery connected, for example. No light at all from the LED is (as far as I know) definitely a sign that the charger is dead.


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## Yabert (Feb 7, 2010)

gottdi said:


> Do you have the pig tail connected? Did you have the pigtail connected? Some of the chargers need that on before you can do anything. If you don't, unplug the charger and plug in the pigtail and then try again. The pop could have been as simple as a contactor opening so you don't fry anything inside. Some thing could have gotten hot real quick and it shut off because the pig tail was not connected.
> 
> Pig Tail is the tiny wires that connect with that screw on fitting on the side of the charger. The ends need to be twisted together to simulate a closed circuit to tell the charger it's ok to charge. If no battery pack is connected then it should give fault blinks.
> 
> ...


You can see..... black and red wire connect.


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## Martijn (Aug 17, 2010)

Hi, 

I have used a number of Elcon chargers (EU versions) and the led should always blink (either working ok or indicating an error)

Check with your supplier and send it back for repair.

good luck,


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## taken by aliens (May 26, 2011)

Sounds like it just failed a High Pot test. Most of these chargers have a internal fuse that goes first before it really kills it. My guess is you blew the fuse and it needs to be replaced. But the root cause would be why the fuse blew in the first place. That I cant tell you and only the technician or engineer who takes it apart and debugs it will be able to tell you what failed. If its not just the fuse and say the power supply wasnt potted correctly then the poping sound could be arcing but it would sound more like crackling. Or if their voltage isolation board isnt completely isolated bad stuff could happen.

But Im pretty sure all these companies that make these EV battery chargers do a burn in test before shipping but sometimes the QA department at these companies is pretty none existant. And stuff gets shipped before it ever gets tested.

You will get what you pay for. Cheap power supplies by no name companies are not going to be a good choice. You will get something made in China that isnt up to US auto industry specs. Expect to pay 50+ cents per watt and look for something made in the US, so you're not stuck shipping something back to China to get fixed.


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## Coulomb (Apr 22, 2009)

taken by aliens said:


> You will get what you pay for. Cheap power supplies by no name companies are not going to be a good choice. You will get something made in China that isnt up to US auto industry specs.


Unfortunately true for so many products. However, just from looking inside my charger (it was my own stupid fault that I had to), I was impressed with the build quality. I certainly don't think that these ship without at least a 10 second full load test. I think this is just an unfortunate case; this can happen to American (and other) made chargers as well. However, as you say, it is a lot less hassle returning a charger to your own country than to China.

I'm not associated with Elcon/TC except as a fairly satisfied customer. Though I haven't used my charger much as yet (still getting the high voltage battery together).


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

taken by aliens said:


> You will get what you pay for. Cheap power supplies by no name companies are not going to be a good choice. You will get something made in China that isnt up to US auto industry specs. Expect to pay 50+ cents per watt and look for something made in the US, so you're not stuck shipping something back to China to get fixed.


You might want to do a bit more homework prior to making such strong statements. Elcon chargers are actually a very well made product. The secondary is isolated (unlike almost all others built in North America... they are high efficiency switch mode, wide input voltage range (120 or 240), come in many output ranges, have very advanced algorithms for different battery chemistries. Additionally, they come sealed and are well applied to mounting in or under the hood of a vehicle. Word has it, that they copied an American design, but I'm not sure of this. As for support, the company has part ownership by Greg McCrea out of California. You can send it there for repair or reprogramming. The biggest challenge we have seen here is due to some poor documentation and misunderstanding of features and or wiring (Canbus and bms stuff) They have made a few changes that are not well documented, but not too hard to find with a little research. Also, if the basic unit is ordered for pb as opposed to Li, it comes with some slight differences...all change-able in the field. You will find the vast majority of owners quite happy with them.
There are some good threads on here that discuss them if you really want to know.

Regards,
Gary


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

my elcon 1500 seems to be clicking along just fine thru first 1000 miles. hits the CA->CV trigger I asked for amazingly accurately and concludes charge just fine.


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

dtbaker said:


> my elcon 1500 seems to be clicking along just fine thru first 1000 miles. hits the CA->CV trigger I asked for amazingly accurately and concludes charge just fine.


Hey Dan. Yes, my 6kw Elcon has worked great for several thousand miles on lead. I sent it to Greg in Sacramento to have it reprogrammed for lithium. So, it's back now and close to being back in use again. I had it set up with 10 different output voltages.


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## taken by aliens (May 26, 2011)

does it have a j1772 charging plug? or just the AC plug?


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

taken by aliens said:


> does it have a j1772 charging plug? or just the AC plug?



the 1500 just comes with a regular 110v plug. It is only rated for 15 amps, but is supposed to accept either 110vac or 220vac


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