Anyone with electrical knowledge around? (issue with charger?)

[Mazaxist]

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone could help me figure out a problem with charger/battery.

I have a 54V charger. I used a multimeter to see the output and was expecting to see 54V instead it showed different voltages all over the place. I recorded a quick video to show you what im talking about. ( this video is unlisted )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmT...ature=youtu.be

If you have some electrical knowledge could you please take a quick look? I also had a 42V charger and that one shows 41.8V and seems to be working fine?

[Gheld]

What kind of charger? and is the charger actually doing a thing when you are testing it?

[Mazaxist]

What kind of charger? and is the charger actually doing a thing when you are testing it?

i am not sure what you mean by what kind of charger. its a li-ion battery charger output 54.6V 2A

i cant say for sure if its actually charging or not, or maybe im always having an issues with the battery itself.

[Rukh]

Have you tried a different charger or different battery to narrow down the issue?

[Mazaxist]

Have you tried a different charger or different battery to narrow down the issue?

thats kind of a problem, i dont heave another set. I am debating whether i should send both battery and charger back and ask for replacement. ( will probably end up doing that since obviously something is not right and the battery itself is not working even though charger says its full )

[Rukh]

thats kind of a problem, i dont heave another set. I am debating whether i should send both battery and charger back and ask for replacement. ( will probably end up doing that since obviously something is not right and the battery itself is not working even though charger says its full )

No friend who has a battery or a charger?

[gr4vitas]

That charger more than likely operates on a floated ground circuit. You would need to hook it up to a load to see its real output. So plug it into whatever it's supposed to be plugged into then measure the output.

[Ramahan]

Swing like that usually means the regulator circuit within the charger has gone to the great beyond!

[Mazaxist]

That charger more than likely operates on a floated ground circuit. You would need to hook it up to a load to see its real output. So plug it into whatever it's supposed to be plugged into then measure the output.

hmm ok maybe, i dont know much about chargers. its just weird both chargers from the same manufacturer for the same purpose but show different outputs?

its purpose to charge battery but its hard to plug it in AND read the volts at the same time

[Vash The Stampede]

It looks like a laptop charger, and if that's the case then that could be totally normal. Lots of laptop chargers put out a signal that looks sorta like that. The idea is that if the charger isn't a Genuine Dell or HP, then the laptop just refuses to accept the charger. Meanwhile, the charger just puts out fluctuating pulses of power that acts like a signal. Once a connection is established, it will put out stable power.

Lots of aftermarket chargers say they're compatible, but really aren't. Assuming that is a laptop charger.

BTW, that looks like a Harbor Freight multi meter. The ones that cost $5.

[Mazaxist]

It looks like a laptop charger, and if that's the case then that could be totally normal. Lots of laptop chargers put out a signal that looks sorta like that. The idea is that if the charger isn't a Genuine Dell or HP, then the laptop just refuses to accept the charger. Meanwhile, the charger just puts out fluctuating pulses of power that acts like a signal. Once a connection is established, it will put out stable power.

Lots of aftermarket chargers say they're compatible, but really aren't. Assuming that is a laptop charger.

BTW, that looks like a Harbor Freight multi meter. The ones that cost $5.

Its not a laptop charger but an electric bike battery charger. its weird because i have 2 of them, one 42V and one 54V and the 42V shows constant 41.8V

yes its from Harbor Freight for 5.99 lol

[kendro1200]

That charger more than likely operates on a floated ground circuit. You would need to hook it up to a load to see its real output. So plug it into whatever it's supposed to be plugged into then measure the output.

Very much this. A lot of chargers now a days have circuits in them that monitor current flow to try and prevent overcharging what they are supposed to charge, expecting a specific constant load. Most digital multimeters also have a range of loads to try and give a more accurate voltage of what they are measuring.
Hook up what should be charged, get some spare jumpers or something to enable you to probe the voltage while it's charging. If it still goes up and down like that then a capacitor in a regulator circuit has probably died.

[Mazaxist]

Very much this. A lot of chargers now a days have circuits in them that monitor current flow to try and prevent overcharging what they are supposed to charge, expecting a specific constant load. Most digital multimeters also have a range of loads to try and give a more accurate voltage of what they are measuring.
Hook up what should be charged, get some spare jumpers or something to enable you to probe the voltage while it's charging. If it still goes up and down like that then a capacitor in a regulator circuit has probably died.

thank you!