Lafree Twist Battery not Charging Fully

[derrick7]

Good & bad with a Lafree battery

With my re-celled (Windsor pack) I got 29 miles out of my Twist, 6 miles more than I ever
managed on the original battery pack before the LED on the handlebar switch started to blink. I put the battery on refresh (discharge) but when the charger switched over to charge it charged the battery up in one & a half hours! No charger could do that, the charger (Panasonic) was sent to Giant a couple of months ago & they said the charger was OK, but I don't think it is, I have ordered the 24v - 3A charger from Powerstream to be on the safe side.
The original batteries from my Twist I have charged them individually for the same time & I can't discover any noticeable difference in the voltage between any of them,so I have come to the conclusion that the problem is the charger, whatever Giant says!
Is it likely the thermistor in the pack to be faulty?

Derrick - Llanberis

 

[flecc]

No Derrick, the thermistors in these packs are very reliable, it's always these chargers which have been nothing but trouble for years. Giant have always been in denial about the charger, even during the period they withdrew it and supplied a temporary replacement from Metco, and despite the troubles being reported several times by A to B magazine.

The Powerstream one is completely the opposite, very reliable and consistent in it's charging behaviour. It also has the benefit of fan cooled discharging.
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[Calomax]

My PST-3PN9530-24-3A charger now seems to have failed. I hadn't used the bike for a couple of months then used it a couple of times before trying to charge the battery. Sadly the charger was completely dead. I've checked the fuse in the plug and that's fine.

I've had to go back to using my original charger that was intermittently faulty.

I don't want to have to send it back the America. does anyone have a contact in the UK who could see if they can repair it please?

I'm hoping that flecc might know the answer please.

 

[flecc]

That's the first time I've ever heard of a failure with these, but there may have been a problem related to not using the bike a couple of months.

After using the old faulty charger to get some charge into the battery, try the new charger again and see if it works then. Please let me know.
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[Calomax]

Hi flecc, thanks for getting back. Although I hadn't used the bike, it's battery was still charged. It was after I then used it until only one led was showing that I tried charging it, but nothing happened. I put my multimeter on the battery side of the charger and it only registered about 0.4 vollts.

I will try the charger again if you think I need to but it does mean changing the plug over again. If so. please can you remind me where your website is so I can look at the instructions again.

Thanks

Keith

 

[flecc]

OK Keith. That's awkward having to change the plug, but we've now located this type as you'll see on the webpage below.

The charger won't register an output voltage on your meter if the thermistor connection is open circuit, a thermistor connection has to be sensed first. The reason I've asked you to check it again is that leaving the battery idle for two months can leave it's charge very low. If the charger doesn't sense a correct battery in place it can refuse to start, so putting in a bit of charge with the old one might enable it to sense correctly and start.

Charger plug details
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[Calomax]

Thanks flecc, I've sent you an email about obtaining a plug. In the meantime, my battery is now fully charged using the original charger. I had to unplug it on 3 leds and plug it in again, then it continued charging.

I've changed the plug back, connected it to the mains & the battery and pressed the "discharge" button, but it remains dead. I'm not completely surprised as it wasn't fully discharged before. I had ridden home and didn't have the low battery warning flashing on the bike.

So I think the charger must have gone faulty.

 

[flecc]

Apologies Keith, my spam filter has wiped your email before I had a chance to read it. Could you repeat send it, it's clear for receipt now. Thanks.
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[artslim]

Lafree Charger.

I saw this charger on Ebay. Is this the one that Flecc mentions in his Lafree write up on an alternative charger to the faulty Panosonic one. If not will it do the job?
This item is the latest uprated version of our brand new 220/240v mains electricity input, 24v 2a output battery charger for NiMH (Nickel hydride) battery packs often found in electric bicycles and similar.

The connection to the battery pack is a round plastic plug about 1 cm diameter with a locating slot that fits onto three pins.

A full charge with this charger will normally take 4 to 6 hours.

This model is the latest version supplied with our range of electric bicycles.

They are a good quality latest model charger at only £34-99 plus p&p.

 

[flecc]

It doesn't sound like the same one artslim, but have you a link to it.

My recommended one comes in 1.8 and 3 amp charge versions, and they come from Powerstream in the USA. Details of how to see one on this page:

Lafree charger
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[artslim]

Hello Flecc, yes I read your article and checked out the Powerstream website then I saw the charger on ebay. The url is as follows
24v - 2a NiMH ELECTRIC BICYCLE/BIKE BATTERY CHARGER on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 25-Aug-08 21:26:46 BST) A bit of a mouth ful but I think you can put in the item number to get there instead of writing all that lot in the address bar.
Regards. artslim.

 

[flecc]

No, that one is different, although similar in outline the recommended one has a ribbed case and different labelling. The problem with NiMh is that the charger's cutout circuit has to match the thermistor in the battery so that cutout occurs at the right point. In the worst mismatch I've found, the charge cut out after only half an hour, but others can overcharge which seriously shortens the battery's life.

Chargers sold as generic will usually get somewhere close, but we've no idea whether this is one of them. Chargers are also sold complete with a thermistor for installation into the battery concerned, but that's not too simple in the Lafree battery, so that's why I took the trouble to find one that's suitable for the standard battery.
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[Indigodee]

Hi all, newbie here, and not meaning to hijack the thread, but I have just been given a Giant LaFree Lite, but it doesn't have a charger! My question is does anyone know of a suitable charger to be found in the uk? Also what is the pinout of the giant charger plug/battery? I have managed to source a 7 pin inline din plug but I will need to know the pinout to convert any recommended chargers! Thanks in advance and hope you can help.

Dee

 

[flecc]

You'll find the pin-out details on this webpage of my Panasonic support website Dee.

I've never discovered a Lafree compatible NiMh charger in the UK.
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