# Elcon PFC 2500



## citizen88 (Oct 17, 2010)

just installed this charger after the Zivan ng3 was ruined. Getting a red flash at 3 second interval which indicates repair battery? any clues as to what might be going on? charging from 240v.


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

yes, red flash at 3 second intervals means to repair battery. 

What happens when you power it up? Do you get one red flash for each number up to the number of the charge curve you are using, then one green flash? .... prior to the 3 second interval red flashing?

Are you sure your charger is right for the application? 

Are there any issues with your battery?


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## citizen88 (Oct 17, 2010)

It begins with solid red then starts the 3 second interval red flash. I don't think I have a battery problem, seemed to work ok before, really cold here though. The guy who did my conversion had wires running to a relay from the plug onthe old setup, he said it probably wouldn't matter if I hooked it up for this new charger, also haven't got the thermal probe hooked up, that a problem you think?


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## Tahoe Tim (Feb 20, 2010)

Did you jumper the two pins on the charger?


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

Tahoe Tim said:


> Did you jumper the two pins on the charger?


Hey Tim,

What two pins would that be??


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## Tahoe Tim (Feb 20, 2010)

There is a multi-pin socket on the side of the charger. I think you have to connect pins 1 and 3 to "enable" the charger. I haven't powered mine up yet but when I picked it up at Elcon they showed me the false fail mode until those two pins are connected. You can contact them in Sacramento to be sure. I don't have my scribble notes handy.

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/download/file.php?id=50504


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## citizen88 (Oct 17, 2010)

Thanks TIM and DIYguy, appreciate your help. It seems like everything has been going wrong lately with the car. Oh well, I know not to get in a hurry with this stuff. A guy in my car club rigged me up a transformer / 120v charger that would give it 2-3 amps at a time, took forever to charge but thought that the batteries were ok. (looked like the transformer on an old lionel train). I'll call Sacramento and find out for sure. thanks - citizen88


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

Tahoe Tim said:


> There is a multi-pin socket on the side of the charger. I think you have to connect pins 1 and 3 to "enable" the charger. I haven't powered mine up yet but when I picked it up at Elcon they showed me the false fail mode until those two pins are connected. You can contact them in Sacramento to be sure. I don't have my scribble notes handy.
> 
> http://endless-sphere.com/forums/download/file.php?id=50504


Hmmm, interesting. I don't know about these two pins and the need to short them. There is nothing in the manuals that I have either. I have had mine running for a long while now. I know there is a 5 volt requirement on one wire when set up for Lithium... other than that, I can't find anything on this... ????


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## citizen88 (Oct 17, 2010)

The charger didn't come with any instructions per say but it might have something to do with the thermal probe being connected. I'm going to try that shortly and see if it resolves this issue.


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## citizen88 (Oct 17, 2010)

well that didn't work either, called the manufacturer was told to e-mail support with the problem, yawn.... here we go again, hehe


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

citizen88 said:


> well that didn't work either, called the manufacturer was told to e-mail support with the problem, yawn.... here we go again, hehe


Interesting. I've had a pretty disturbing experience with Zivan/Elcon (aka Electric Conversions, Greg McCrea) in Sacramento CA, recently. I'm gonna bite my tongue for now, and see how it turns out...but lets just say that I am thoroughly NOT impressed so far.


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## Tahoe Tim (Feb 20, 2010)

I went to Sac to pick up my charger and DC/DC. I met all three employees. They just moved and are in a bit of disarray so give them some time. 

Try to speak directly to Greg. 

I watched them program my charger and test it. Greg can fill you in but the manual I posted earlier clearly states that the enable has to be connected in mode 1 (no BMS). If wired to a BMS, the BMS keeps the circuit closed unless it opens the circuit.

Also, to reset these type of chargers you have to disconnect the input and output for a minute or so to reset it. My Zero motorcycle charger is the same way.


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## Russco (Dec 23, 2008)

citizen88 said:


> well that didn't work either, called the manufacturer was told to e-mail support with the problem, yawn.... here we go again, hehe


What do you expect with a Chinese charger? 

It is made by Hxxxxxxxxx Ltd. with the Elcon name stuck on it.

No manual, huh? Hmmmmm. 

As I've probably said before, you get exactly what you pay for. 

Buy USA EV products. May cost more, but quality is vastly superior.  

Russ Kaufmann 

RUSSCO


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

Tahoe Tim said:


> I went to Sac to pick up my charger and DC/DC. I met all three employees. They just moved and are in a bit of disarray so give them some time.
> Try to speak directly to Greg.


Oh, I spoke to Greg (via email) many times... at least on the occasions that he answered. I also asked for a good time to call so we could discuss all details and move fwd. That was also ignored.



Tahoe Tim said:


> I watched them program my charger and test it. Greg can fill you in but the manual I posted earlier clearly states that the enable has to be connected in mode 1 (no BMS). If wired to a BMS, the BMS keeps the circuit closed unless it opens the circuit.
> 
> Also, to reset these type of chargers you have to disconnect the input and output for a minute or so to reset it. My Zero motorcycle charger is the same way.


The manual you posted is for the lithium version only. The lithium version uses either CAN control or can work without CAN BUS but requires the 5 volt input to enable. The pb version does not use/need any 5 volt enable or jumpers.

As for reset... this is also interesting... manual states auto reset. ?? Perhaps there is some condition that needs power disconnect, but I don't know what that would be.

_III Protection Features
1. Thermal Self-Protection: When the internal temperature of the charger exceeds 75℃, the charging current will reduce
automatically. If it exceeds 85℃, the charger will shutdown protectively. When the internal temperature drops, *it will resume charging
automatically.*
2. Short-circuit Protection: When the charger encounters unexpected short-circuit, it will automatically stop to output. *When fault
removes, the charger will re-start in 10 seconds.*
3. Reverse Connection Protection: When the battery is polarity reversed, the charger will cut off the connection between the internal
circuit and the battery, and refuses to start. It can avoid any destroy.
4. Input Low-voltage & Over-voltage Protection: When the AC input Voltage is lower than 85V or higher than 265V, the charger will
shutdown protectively and *automatically resume working with the voltage is normal again.*_


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

Russco said:


> What do you expect with a Chinese charger?
> 
> It is made by Hxxxxxxxxx Ltd. with the Elcon name stuck on it.
> 
> ...


I agree that buying domestic is the way I want to shop... when possible. It doesn't guarantee good quality or support though. History has demonstrated that domestic manufacturers have typically been forced to improve their quality to meet that of some foreign suppliers. . . automotive being the big one. (Perhaps not China....yet, but definitely Japan) Unfortunately, when I was shopping, no charger offered the all the features that I wanted for a reasonable price (actually at any price....going from memory). The documentation could certainly be better also, that is for sure. As for support, I've been most disappointed by the domestic support, both at time of purchase, and afterward. Talking directly to the factory in China was the best support. They also offered to re-program for free... but I really didn't want to ship it back there. Now, I'm wondering if I should have. As for quality, I'm not really qualified to make a the best judgment here.. but this charger has worked flawlessly for me so far.


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## Tahoe Tim (Feb 20, 2010)

I, too support US products when possible. But aren't we only talking about US labor? I am guessing that most of the internal components inside any charger comes from China. 

I looked at the Russco but one of my big requirements is automatic 120/240 input power capability. It makes sense for public charging... a buck boost wasn't my desire.


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## citizen88 (Oct 17, 2010)

Got some e-mails from Greg and he said the reason it is flashing red 3 second intervals is that:
"Your battery voltage is below 10.8V and the charger is in the low power S1 stage to gently bring the cells up."
he says I can plug it back in and charge:
　
"Slowly, until V2 (1.8V/cell) and it goes full power then. 
I would watch out and not leave it unattended too long if the batteries got that low. 
maybe charge the first day 5 hours and stop, then finish the next day after cooling off. "
GM
I haven't been able to charge it fully since Sept. 2010 when the zivan went out, guess the pack got lower than I thought, hope I didn't do too much damage. Thanks for all the help guys.... - Jeff


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