LiFePO4 DIY ESS - Charger Stuff

If you remember the last time I got 3 24V LiFePO4 Chargers, one of them did not blow any air and went into an over-temperature situation; I had my Hong Kong contact send me another one and it arrived last night


The new charger is exactly like the six others, except this blue sticker instead of orange

Only now I decided to open the problem charger, and discovered that its fan connector was simply not plugged into the charger PCB ... This was easy to fix ! :-)

I then replugged it the the ESS Control Board / EMS to test it and the fan started spinning right away :-) 

Now, let's prepare this new charger to connect it with the other ones: 

Always the same thing: remove the original US AC plug, strip the wires and apply solder to make it stronger; On the DC side, remove the plug, strip the wires and solder 8mm lug on positive and 6mm lug for negative 

Done !

So I now have 7 Low Power Chargers to feed my battery pack, and had to plug 2 on the same AC port, together pushing 650W

The stack is getting a bit high with 7 chargers !

2 chargers are connected to the same AC port

7 x 92W = 650W (roughly)

It is tight, but all the DC chargers cables fit

This is the new charger positive lug

and the negative one

LiFePO4 ESS - Working on the New Control Board Layout

After getting back from work with my new piece of wood, I tried to fit it with the plactic cover

but, no luck, it was few millimeters longer, so I had to trim it a little

until it fits nice and snug :-)

Then I started dismounting the old Control Board to get the relays and other connectors

I don't even have to make an opening for the voltmeter and I like the way it looks through the translucid plastic, Wattson style ;-)

LEAF Link iPhone App updated - version 1.1.3

LEAF Link iPhone App has been updated to version 1.1.3 on Apple App Store with the charging stations connector type selection, and other maps behaviour improvements

LiFePO4 ESS update - Charger XLR connectors heating up and melting

My ESS battery pack charge leads are connected to the new 10A LiFePO4 charger using XLR type connectors

They were heating up a bit with this new charger because - I thought - twice more amps were going through them...
But friday night, as I touched them, they were boiling hot and I immediatly stopped the charging process !

Disconnecting them I saw that the female side was starting to to melt :-( and it is a good thing I checked after a small hour of charge otherwise something bad could have happened


The cause is this cheap charger side male XLR connector, its pins are too small, not thigh enough, they don't stick out enough and as a result contact is really bad


Look at the bottom pin, the plastic was starting to melt because of the bad contact

This is the connector of the previous charger, the 48V one, much better quality XLR connector
When I connect this one, it is hard because the connections are tight (and contact is good) 

As I decided to unweld the leads and connect them directly (no plug/unplug connector), the plastic of this cheap connetor started to melt and the pins were moving during the process...

Now they simply and safely connected and there is no more heat at that junction

How To Use a Yazaki CHAdeMO Connector

Brad Gibson, a Settle LEAF owner, explains how to properly use a CHAdeMO Yazaki connector, which is often seen on Blink quick chargers

See this other post for more information about the CHAdeMO wiring diagram and the Yazaki connector

J1772 Connector on Nissan LEAF EVSE

Close-up of the J1772 Connector on my Nissan LEAF EVSE

AC Charge plug

- Standard: SAE J1772，IEC62196-2 Type1
- UL/CE/PSE certified.

SAE J1772 - YAZAKI Corporation

J1772 Electronic Circuitry Diagram

How do I charge my Model S ??? Easy ...

You probably wonder how you will charge the Tesla Model S you will receive next week ... ;-)
Well is quite straight forward, take a look:

1st: open the charge port, it's hidden :-) (hint below)
2nd: plug your charge wall or mobile connector
3rd: you're done ...


Wall Connector

Mobile Connector

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Charge port

Plugged in