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Author Topic: Another Charger bites the dust....  (Read 2323 times)

Burton

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2016, 11:01:46 PM »

GFI's are a nightmare and not as safe as you would think.

The only outlet in my house I have had issue with when charging my bike was a GFI. But it didn't simply fault out ... no that would be too kind ... it welded itself shut and burned out 0__0

When I removed it the whole back of the outlet was welded to the wire and melted. Good times. I reverted to using a two heavy gauge 15' extension cords ran into the house (since all outlets in a garage are GFI by law here) and used a non GFI outlet in the house instead.

I now just use my 240v 50 amp 14-50 outlet to charge instead. It works with stock chargers, my RSP2000 stack, and in the future the diginow charger :D
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LeftieBiker

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #16 on: March 17, 2016, 01:05:34 AM »

"When I removed it the whole back of the outlet was welded to the wire and melted."

   It sounds like the problem was a common one with all outlets - the wire ends were pushed into the holes in the back of the outlet instead of being screwed on, and the clamp springs or jaws failed. Newer designs let you push the wires into similar holes, but the side screws also tighten and hold the clamp jaws.
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Erasmo

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #17 on: March 17, 2016, 01:08:55 AM »

Yes good call Erasmo.  I've always needed to charge right away and never had one with me at the time so had to resort to just breaking the pin.  And I have so many cords now without the pin I haven't needed to get a cheater.  But that is definitely the better option!  Just make sure to always carry it with you somewhere on the bike that you won't lose it.  For those with a powertank and that don't have luggage racks, finding a place to keep it is the hardest part I see.  Perhaps in a jacket pocket or something.
If only the seat was quick removable like a regular bike, the little recession on the rear side would be perfect for bits and bobs like that.

GFI's are a nightmare and not as safe as you would think.

The only outlet in my house I have had issue with when charging my bike was a GFI. But it didn't simply fault out ... no that would be too kind ... it welded itself shut and burned out 0__0

When I removed it the whole back of the outlet was welded to the wire and melted. Good times. I reverted to using a two heavy gauge 15' extension cords ran into the house (since all outlets in a garage are GFI by law here) and used a non GFI outlet in the house instead.

I now just use my 240v 50 amp 14-50 outlet to charge instead. It works with stock chargers, my RSP2000 stack, and in the future the diginow charger :D
Are you sure your circuit breaker isn't faulty or something else isn't up to code?
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Burton

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #18 on: March 17, 2016, 02:32:27 AM »

Are you sure your circuit breaker isn't faulty or something else isn't up to code?

Yup the same outlet previously tripped with another device plugged up to it ;)

Sometimes you just get a bad GFI :/
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LeftieBiker

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #19 on: March 17, 2016, 06:22:05 AM »

   Another reason for false trips can be multiple outlets controlled by one GFCI, as in several regular outlets 'downstream' of a GFCI outlet on the same circuit. This is an inexpensive way of providing GFCI coverage, but the more outlets on that circuit, then the more false trips are likely.
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MrDude_1

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #20 on: March 18, 2016, 01:06:14 AM »

another messed up reason for GFCI faults is you have a older house that LOOKS like it has upgraded wiring.. but when you pull out the outlet, you find out it is very old 2 wire throughout the walls, and none of the grounds are connected to anything.

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LeftieBiker

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #21 on: March 18, 2016, 05:16:02 AM »

another messed up reason for GFCI faults is you have a older house that LOOKS like it has upgraded wiring.. but when you pull out the outlet, you find out it is very old 2 wire throughout the walls, and none of the grounds are connected to anything.

   Yes, that sucks. You can still use GFCI outlets with ungrounded circuits, oddly enough, but it's better to have grounds!
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stunthamster

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #22 on: March 19, 2016, 02:34:54 AM »

Well, looks like I was quick off the mark. Turns out it's now tripping the fuse on any given circuit I happen to plug it into, even at 100% charge, so looks like there is still a fault.

Contacted Streetbike, who in turn talked to Zero. Back to the workshop for the bike, but interestingly, Zero are saying that it might be a problem with 'peak load' within my house. Not convinced, but willing to work with the  to sort out the problem.
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Electric Terry

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #23 on: March 19, 2016, 09:25:15 AM »

Oh man, I was hoping you had it solved.  Can you try a known 20 amp breaker outlet somewhere that has nothing else plugged into it just to try?  Do they have RV parks there?  Where you can test at an outlet that is 2 inches from the breaker it is served by?
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protomech

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #24 on: March 19, 2016, 10:49:15 AM »

Charger in my (new old stock) 2014 SR failed after maybe a dozen partial charge cycles.

New charger on the way.. hope it proves more durable!
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stunthamster

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #25 on: March 21, 2016, 02:14:55 PM »

Oh man, I was hoping you had it solved.  Can you try a known 20 amp breaker outlet somewhere that has nothing else plugged into it just to try?  Do they have RV parks there?  Where you can test at an outlet that is 2 inches from the breaker it is served by?

Nope, sadly not. I've basically bounced it around every circuit I have in the house, with the same result. The charger appears to now be completely dead, and isn't even getting power to the dash - looks like it's over to Zero for investigation. I'll let you folks know how it goes in case there is something of value to the wider community, but hopefully it's just a case of a fault localised to my bike.
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Justin Andrews

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #26 on: March 22, 2016, 05:05:28 AM »

I've a fairly hefty dedicated line for my zero, which has a very short run to my consumer unit. Given I also have a 2015 SR, either I'm lucky, or you *may* either have a problem with your bike, or possibly a problem with your consumer unit / house wiring(poor earth perhaps?)

But its not like the 1.3kw draw is that big a deal, so its hard to see it being your house's electrical supply.
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Semper Why

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Re: Another Charger bites the dust....
« Reply #27 on: March 26, 2016, 03:48:26 AM »

If only the seat was quick removable like a regular bike, the little recession on the rear side would be perfect for bits and bobs like that.
You know, there is this 2" diameter hole that goes right through my bike. If only someone manufactured a tube with threaded ends and a handle integrated into the cap that was just right size.
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