Ever since I found out these chargers weighed 4 lbs each and could be moved off-board, I've been wanting to do it. Some of the info here may apply to other model Zeros using Mean Well HLG series chargers.
Getting the chargers off the bike took a little finessing, but wasn't difficult. I wanted to remove both chargers / wiring / AC inlet as a unit, in case they had to be reinstalled later. After removing the plastic, I pulled the two rt-angle 1/4" spade connectors off the charger control unit ahead of the front battery bay, loosened or removed all the screws & nuts holding the chargers / brackets / AC inlet, then slid everything out the RH side of the bike (the rear RH bracket was a little tricky). Bracket screws were reinstalled in the frame holes.
I mounted the chargers to a 10" / 254mm x 14" / 356mm aluminum plate, 1/4" / 6mm thick, with four 23 x 10mm rubber feet. The AC inlet IEC socket was mounted to the plate using a 6-32 threaded angle bracket, and the cables were secured with an 8-32 standoff and three cable clamps. The DC output was run through spade / #8 ring connectors and 21' / 7m cable to an IEC female plug (Bulgin PX-0587, top of pic below).
On the bike side, the OEM AC inlet was replaced with an identical one (Kobiconn 161-R30148-E) which was wired to the CCU w/rt-angle 1/4" spade connectors and a #10 ring connector to frame ground. All wiring was waterproofed like OEM.
This setup was tested, and works fine. I'd recommend using the following procedure:
1) Plug the DC cable into the bike first (chargers off)
2) Plug the chargers into the wall & charge the bike
3) Upon completion, unplug the chargers till the battery indicator(s) show single green LEDs,
then unplug the DC cable from the bike
Of all the things I've done trying to make the front end feel lighter, this mod has had the most effect so far.
Ray
Author
Topic: Moving Mean Well HLG chargers off the bike ('14 FX) (Read 771 times)