Bosch power pack 400. Charging Socket

[Heinzja]

Another question... Ref: .. the strange charging socket: + and - are clearly labeled on this socket. Does anyone know what the other connections do? Also, does anyone know where I could buy a spare charging plug?

I have a few quality original 36V lithium battery chargers (usually 42V, 2A output) from different electric bikes lying around. Could I use one of them to charge a Bosch power pack 400? Either by just connecting the + and - cables to the right terminals on the pack or, if I can get a Bosch socket for this pack, connecting to it? I’d rather not spend £50 on another original Bosch charger...

Thank you already in advance for a reply...

 

[AntonyC]

Many batteries convey temperature to the charger and as that's for safety it can block charging if that connection is missing. So a Bosch socket almost certainly won't help unless it's on a Bosch charger. If it helps think of the £50 as investing in a levy on people who would nick Bosch bikes.

 

[matthewslack]

Two of the extra connections are the CANBus communications. The charger talks to the battery. A generic two wire charger is no use with this battery.

Are there even more connections?

 

[Heinzja]

Thank you very much... make all sense! (Is similar with Dell Laptop Charger which will power only, but not charge Battery when not original)
Anyone did find a company which sell Original Charger to an affordable Price? Which would be the cheapest charger Modell? I saw there are Standard, Fast etc charger available...
Thanks already....

 

[sjpt]

try https://www.merlincycles.com/search?w=bosch+charger
Propriety chargers and different shape/size batteries are a pain, but I think all Bosch batteries take the same chargers.
Wait for confirmation from someone more expert on that before buying, though

 

[Heinzja]

Thank you...

I found out, that in my case 3 different charger exist...
Standard, Fast, Compact... the table shows the A output /charging time... I am after the cheapest of the three and found (with your help) £50 is the cheapest at the moment for the Standard... that looks about the bottom line ? +/- £5 maybe, but not more less?

It’s not that I am particularly “tight” but “a penny saved is a penny earned” and I spend already enough for my hobby (according to my wife) and I own a few electric bikes, so it goes easy out of hand... (can’t say “no” if I see a bargain....)

 

[matthewslack]

At £50 doesn't seem too bad! I had to pay nearly three times that to get a 4A Shimano charger!

 

[AntonyC]

At £50 doesn't seem too bad! I had to pay nearly three times that to get a 4A Shimano charger!

£140 vs around £30? That's one reason to oppose the proposed Li-Ion Battery Safety Bill. It makes proprietary charging interfaces compulsory which does almost nothing for safety and as phrased in the Bill could make batteries less safe than at present. No doubt some retailers' eyes will light up but I think longer term several consequences would harm them.

 

[soundwave]

if you dont charge a bosch batt and just leave it the bms will drain every cell to 0v and brick the bms cos it lost power.

all to stop you recelling them but it can be done but not with the new smart batts as different bms and connector.

 

[Heinzja]

I think I will buy only original... money is one thing , but when I see what can happened:













Overnight charging is as well not a good idea....

Anyway.... I will order one original Bosch Charger ... need only to decide which Modell ((Standard, Compact or Fast) Fast is tempting, but for sure it put some strain on the battery if it’s done all the time...?

 

[matthewslack]

I would go standard because it is already 4A and price is good.

Shimano 'standard' that came with my bike is only 1.8A, and painfully slow.

 

[sjpt]

The standard is best value and reasonably fast. Compact if you need to travel with it significantly often. Fast if you really need that extra charging speed.

A 400wh 36v battery is about 11 Ah, so the main charge will take about 3 hours with the standard (4amp) charger and 2 hours with the fast (6amp) charger. The full charge will be a little longer than that because it slows towards the end and spends time on trickle charge while the BMS balances the battery.

p.s. You probably won't want to let the battery go too low before charging, so the charge times could be shorter but more often. We usually recharge when the battery is down to 50%, they bike is then ready for any unexpected longer journey. And as AnthonyC says below, if the battery is older then its capacity will be reduced so charge times will be less. Charging routine will depend a lot on your usage.

 

[AntonyC]

Slower charging is safer. It's a 2018 bike so the battery could be well used, if it has 70% capacity the charge rate is effectively 40% higher than before. Hopefully you asked some pretty searching questions about why there wasn't a charger with it.

 

[Heinzja]

{Quote start:} “Hopefully you asked some pretty searching questions about why there wasn't a charger with it.” [sic] {Quote end}


My bike was part of an inheritance, and due to a temporary disability, the model suited me perfectly. I didn’t want to bother too much with questions regarding the “bike”. Obviously, the kind-hearted donor wasn’t aware of the previous Halfords price tag of almost £2,000, and it wouldn’t be polite to question such a kind gesture.