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What charging should look like...

Started by lowspark1974, July 31, 2022, 11:40:02 AM

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lowspark1974

Just put together my wife's rattle over 6 plus and as soon as I plug it in battery 1st then wall the green light goes on on the charging charger and there's no lights on the battery can someone please just tell me the sequence of what should be lighting up when to make sure this thing is charging correct

VegasSteve

#1
Sounds like you did the correct sequence.  I just got mine and it came 1/2 charged so I charged it.  It should show a red light when charging, at least mine did and when it showed 10 bars (I had to press the battery button to see that, it didn't come on on it's own), I unplugged the wall outlet and then the battery. 

One thing to try maybe.  In watching the assembly video, they refer to some batteries as being sent in 'shipping' mode.  Look that one up on Youtube, it had a procedure to try.  If that doesn't work, I think you will need to contact Rad.

JedidiahStolzfus

If the battery is warm, as in you just brought it in from a ride, and try to charge it, it seems to wait until it cools before it starts charging.  You'll see a green light immediately and then a while later it'll switch to red. 

That's what I noticed with mine. 

A properly designed charging circuit, shouldn't require a "proper" sequence to charge.  If it is recommended that the battery be plugged in first, then the charger to the wall, then I have to wonder what they did wrong in the design of the charging circuit.

lowspark1974

so up-dated plugged it in last night off the bike, used a smart plug to turn it off after 7 hours, and nothing ( my rad wagon was fully charged).  The odd thing is as soon as I plug in the charger for the Rover 6+ the light is green.  I have only seen the light on that charger green.  now have been on support for almost an hour waiting my turn.   I am hoping against hope I can get this figured out before a big trip next week ( the reason we pulled the trigger on my wife's bike).  Thanks for the assistance!!!

superhornet314

(1)   Lithium batteries should always be charged with great care.  Battery charging should always be timed and never done overnight.  Bicycle should be stored inside with batteries and installed in a room with a smoke detector.  If stored outside in sunlight convection from the sunlight can reduce battery charging cycles and even result in fire.  While storing outside in the cold could prolong the life cycle it could still enhance internal corrosion of the batteries.  There are many other reasons to store your bicycle indoors in a safe environment, but I don?t have the time to explain to every small detail and chemistry.
(2)   Electrical wall outlet with surge protector minimum ? don?t use 2 prong ungrounded outlets. If you are using an extension with multiple outlets, make sure it has a working surge protection.  Remember this charger is 2 amps and can cause fires and or death.  Plugging and unplugging into the same outlet over time can cause surging ergo use outlets with surge protection.
(3)   Best to plug the female connector into the battery 1st (this will protect your controller) then put charging plug into desired surge protected outlet.  I use an extension with a surge protected outlet that I can turn on and off.  When I am done charging, I leave plug in the extension unit and turn the outlet off.  I remove the female connection from the battery.  When I charge again the plug extension plug socket is off and I can plug in the female directly to the battery 1st then turn on the plug extension socket to recharge the battery.  Thus no continuous plugging of the charger to a wall outlet.
(4)   Don?t run the battery lower than 10%, don?t store the bicycle & battery inside lower than 25%.  For best results store the battery between 60% and 75%. Don?t charge the battery to 100% unless you need to for additional range and then only when you intend to use the battery immediately after charging.
(5)   Its best to charge your battery just before using ebike.  Don?t charge battery more than 90%.

Fedgray

My 6+ came with battery bad right out of the box. No lights on battery and charger shows as green or charged.  After several attempts to contact by phone and waiting an hour each time and also leaving a number for call back, all this over the course of 3 days, I finally got through and was asked to take pics and videos of the battery, charger and charger plugged in. 2 days after providing that information I received a "congratulations" your replacement battery was approved.  That was August 4th.  The battery has still not shipped. 

I bought two RAD rover bikes 4 years ago and they have worked very well but the more I look and read about their semi-integrated battery issues the more I wish I went with another brand.

Radiculous

Quote from: superhornet314 on August 18, 2022, 12:11:06 PM
(3)   Best to plug the female connector into the battery 1st (this will protect your controller) then put charging plug into desired surge protected outlet.  I use an extension with a surge protected outlet that I can turn on and off.  When I am done charging, I leave plug in the extension unit and turn the outlet off.  I remove the female connection from the battery.  When I charge again the plug extension plug socket is off and I can plug in the female directly to the battery 1st then turn on the plug extension socket to recharge the battery.  Thus no continuous plugging of the charger to a wall outlet.

Well said.  In addition,  I also run a fan across the the charger to keep it cool.  I recently just started using the power on switch on the surge protector as the final step after I noticed some sparks when plugging the charger into the powered on surge protector.
 
I've adapted this sequence to all my rechargeable gizmos. OCD at its finast.

radgranddad

Quote from: lowspark1974 on August 02, 2022, 07:41:44 AM
so up-dated plugged it in last night off the bike, used a smart plug to turn it off after 7 hours, and nothing ( my rad wagon was fully charged).  The odd thing is as soon as I plug in the charger for the Rover 6+ the light is green.  I have only seen the light on that charger green.  now have been on support for almost an hour waiting my turn.   I am hoping against hope I can get this figured out before a big trip next week ( the reason we pulled the trigger on my wife's bike).  Thanks for the assistance!!!

I hope I am mistaken, but your description makes it sound like the problem many of us have with a bad battery. Best of luck!

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