Battery not charging.

[Garythegoose]

Hi folks,
I'm hoping someone can give me a diagnosis of what I can do to determine where the fault lies without performing open case surgery!

I'll try to give as much info as possible to help.

Currently, the bike turns on, the battery bar on the screen shows 2 bars, and the bike works.

When I press the power indicator on top of the battery it lights up as half full. So as it stands the battery appears to have power and works as normal.

The charger has a green light, now normally it will change to red when it's charging, but it just stays green when I plug it into the battery. The charger (and battery) doesn't get hot. I have left it plugged in overnight and it's definitely not charging.

The charger is reading 53v, so it appears to be working normally too.

When I plug a barrel connector into the charging port of the battery it doesn't read anything, I assume that it would usually give a reading across the poles of the charging port?

What's the next step in determining where the fault lies? Is it possible that it could still be a fault with the charger or is it more likely the battery?

Thanks
G

 

[Nealh]

All you can do without opening the battery is confirm voltages with a meter.

1. Charger only voltage when plugged in to the wall, a 48v one should read 54.6v on the out put. If zero check wall socket or an internal fuse or if it is less then 54.6 then the voltage regulator is at fault or needs adjusting.

2. Battery out put voltage up to 54.6v for 48v.

If still no joy then issue is more then likely inside the battery where a few checks can be made.

 

[Garythegoose]

The charger is jumping between 52.7-53v would this be cause for the charger to not charge correctly? I would have thought that it would still charge, albeit a bit slower?

 

[vfr400]

Check the charge fuse, which is most likely under the handle. You lift the handle to see it.

No voltage on the charge port indicates that either the fuse is blown or a wire has come off the back of the connector. The former is much more likely than the latter. The charge fuse is 5 amps.

 

[RoadieRoger]

Make sure the plug on the mains side of the charger is pushed fully home . I have occasionally had false colour indications through this .

 

[Garythegoose]

Awesome, thanks! I didn't spot the small fuse port tucked under the handle when I looked last, only saw the main fuse. Just put a new 5a fuse in and it's charging again. Cheers @vfr400

 

[Andy-Mat]

If you are seeing that voltage on the output connector of the charger, that implies that the charger is OK, though a bad connection somewhere in the charger or the lead from the charger to the battery socket, could in theory show the correct voltage on a multi-meter, but still not charge.
But its a long shot.
I go for a bad connection in the battery itself, and if you are lucky, its only a fuse.
Do you have a voltage on the charger connector of the battery, usually you will see the actual battery voltage there. If no voltage shown, its possibly either a fuse or another bad connection somewhere inside the battery. It should be easy to find as long as you are electrically trained, or know someone who is, as modern batteries can be dangerous in the wrong hands....
Li-ion chargers are not allowed to charge if the battery slips below a certain set voltage, strange, but true!
So if the charger does not see the battery voltage (or it really is too low!), it does not attempt to charge and stays green!
best of luck
Andy