Strange goings on...

[WheezyRider]

Got home and put the battery pack on charge, but the light on the charger stayed green.

I double checked connections, still green. I looked at the voltage from the charger 85V!

Battery voltage seemed normal, so relief there...

Then plugged in the spare charger and measured the voltage output 40.5V...strange, lower than normal.

Plugged the first charger back in and checked output, now 36.7V.

Then I realised I had the car battery charger plugged into the same multiway socket.

I unplugged the car charger and both e-bike chargers were 41.7V again. Plugged into the battery pack - light goes orange, charging ok.

Lesson learned, car charger puts a lot of noise into mains, which interferes with e-bike chargers. So I can't charge both at the same time.

 

[georgehenry]

As the scientist used to say with a heavy German accent in the old movies.....Very Interesting....

I have a double plug in the garage into one of which is a trickle charger for various car and motorcycle batteries that get swapped around and the other a timer plug and battery charger for my brace of old Oxygen Emate Cites, and I have noticed nothing unusual when charging them.

Very interesting.....

 

[Gringo]

Or possibly Arte Johnson in the USA sketch show “Laugh in”

 

[WheezyRider]

As the scientist used to say with a heavy German accent in the old movies.....Very Interesting....

I have a double plug in the garage into one of which is a trickle charger for various car and motorcycle batteries that get swapped around and the other a timer plug and battery charger for my brace of old Oxygen Emate Cites, and I have noticed nothing unusual when charging them.

Very interesting.....

The lead acid charger I have does all sorts of fancy things with pulsed DC to reduce sulphonation of the plates etc. Some of these pulses must be getting back into the mains and doing odd things.

 

[Andy-Mat]

The lead acid charger I have does all sorts of fancy things with pulsed DC to reduce sulphonation of the plates etc. Some of these pulses must be getting back into the mains and doing odd things.

I think that you are 100% correct.
You might add one of those mains ferrite chokes (a big one) in the mains lead, that would usually help. The bigger the better!
What does a ferrite choke do?
A ferrite bead or ferrite choke is a passive electric component that suppresses high-frequency noise in electronic circuits. It is a specific type of electronic choke. Ferrite beads employ high-frequency current dissipation in a ferrite ceramic to build high-frequency noise suppression devices.
These types of Ferrite Choke can often be seen clamped around mains leads:-

10 Pack Ring Core Ferrite Bead Choke Clamp Coil RFI Cable Clip Snap On 5-13mm | eBay

10pcs x 5mm/7mm/9mm/13mm Ferrite Filter. Suitable used for all kinds of wire cords such as: Power Cord, Audio Cables, AV Cable, Data Cable, USB Cables. Improve the electromagnetic field around the cable, thus avoiding outside interference.

www.ebay.co.uk

If you get one, make sure that the hole through the middle allows the mains cable to pass through twice, looped, for the best effect.
Or simply repace the mains lead with one fitted with a choke.
Andy

 

[WheezyRider]

I think that you are 100% correct.
You might add one of those mains ferrite chokes (a big one) in the mains lead, that would usually help. The bigger the better!
What does a ferrite choke do?
A ferrite bead or ferrite choke is a passive electric component that suppresses high-frequency noise in electronic circuits. It is a specific type of electronic choke. Ferrite beads employ high-frequency current dissipation in a ferrite ceramic to build high-frequency noise suppression devices.
These types of Ferrite Choke can often be seen clamped around mains leads:-

10 Pack Ring Core Ferrite Bead Choke Clamp Coil RFI Cable Clip Snap On 5-13mm | eBay

10pcs x 5mm/7mm/9mm/13mm Ferrite Filter. Suitable used for all kinds of wire cords such as: Power Cord, Audio Cables, AV Cable, Data Cable, USB Cables. Improve the electromagnetic field around the cable, thus avoiding outside interference.

www.ebay.co.uk

If you get one, make sure that the hole through the middle allows the mains cable to pass through twice, looped, for the best effect.
Or simply repace the mains lead with one fitted with a choke.
Andy

Yes, I'll have to get some of those. Of course, this sort of filtering should be on the internal PCB in the first place. Corners cut as usual!

 

[Andy-Mat]

Yes, I'll have to get some of those. Of course, this sort of filtering should be on the internal PCB in the first place. Corners cut as usual!

I agree completely with you!
I think that after having looked inside (and altered) a few 12 volt car battery chargers over the years, and built some for keeping camping (leisure) batteries in top form, year in and year out, I can only fully agree with your comments.
Most chargers are built down to a price....minimum components, often no full wave rectification, just a single diode! UGH!!
Which if true for yours, would only exacerbate the problems IMHO. Replacing a single diode with a full wave one costs very little, but not for a complete amateur as it still could be dangerous!
Have a great weekend and I hope the choke helps you further, but without looking at the "noise" on a scope, one cannot be 100% certain....
Andy