Battery Charger

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twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
Not really a computer question - but is it Electric :tongue:

My neighbour has brought over a Bradex car battery charger. It has some sort of clever bits in it for Automatic Charging. I'm not entirely clear what the problem is with it as I haven't seen it in action. But when I switch on I get 12.7 V DC at the appropriate terminals. Is this a bit low? Should it not be more like 15 V?

Also I've been attempting to find a chip that's in the clever part on the Net. XCWM8011B. It would be nice to find a data sheet as I've no idea what this chip's function is or whether the pins are receiving/delivering the correct inputs/outputs Any thoughts?

Has anyone used one of these battery chargers and experienced problems which have been subsequently solved? Any experience welcome.

Thanks All
 

twowheelsgood

Senior Member
You might not get a reliable figure if the thing is on and open circuit as it won't be able to regulate the output.

"Smart" chargers work differently constant voltage for lead acid and constant current for nicad/li-ion. The charger may also go through a "conditioning" phase if the battery is deeply discharged and bring the voltage up slowly, 15V might be too agressive for a battery down say below 9-10V. Some even add a small AC component to reduce plating effects, which may confuse your meter.

Unless the thing is plainly damaged or obviously faulty, it should be OK.
 

nigelb

New Member
Well, without any idea of what's supposed to be wrong with it, I think you'll struggle.

As other post, the chargers nowadays can be very clever, you need to hook it up to a suitable battery to charge, and see what it does.

Certainly, don't expect it to charge continuously at the same rate.

"Faulty" chargers which do switch on and don't smoke often mean a faulty battery that needs replacing, nowt wrong with the charger.

Nige
 
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twentysix by twentyfive

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
twowheelsgood said:
You might not get a reliable figure if the thing is on and open circuit as it won't be able to regulate the output.

"Smart" chargers work differently constant voltage for lead acid and constant current for nicad/li-ion. The charger may also go through a "conditioning" phase if the battery is deeply discharged and bring the voltage up slowly, 15V might be too agressive for a battery down say below 9-10V. Some even add a small AC component to reduce plating effects, which may confuse your meter.

Unless the thing is plainly damaged or obviously faulty, it should be OK.

Ah yes- the DC voltage was fluctuating a bit. Maybe that was the AC component
 
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twentysix by twentyfive

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
There is a chip in the "clever bit". I finally tracked down the manufacturer and found a UK outlet for the part. So I'm waiting for a response to my e-mail.

Meantime I'll connect the thing up to a battery and see what's what. My neighbour said he could only get 1 Volt from it. So maybe there's nothing wrong after all........
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
This reminds me of a query I was meaning to post...is it ok to use, say, a 12v charger to charge my laptop, rather than an 18.5v like it has? I mean, will it charge ok, but more slowly, or not at all, or will the pooter go bang, or what? And before you ask, it's 'cos my HP laptop's gone through three chargers in two years and I think they're crap and I'd rather not buy any more.
 
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twentysix by twentyfive

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
I don't think I'd try the wrong voltage charger. Perhaps find a different manufacturer of a compatible charger. Bit odd tho' that your charger is 18.5 v and your battery 12 v. What sort of battery? Lithium Ion or ......??
 
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twentysix by twentyfive

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
[quote name='swee'pea99']It seems the battery is 10.8v. Li-ion.[/QUOTE]

Hmmmph - well you could try the 12V (as it's less that 18.5 V and more than 10.8 V) charger if it's compatible with Li-ion as described by twowheelsgood above (ie constant current). But don't blame me if it doesn't work. ;)

I'm re-assembling my neighbour's battery charger now. It either works or it doesn't..........
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
I won't blame you. I'll blame Bonj.

I'm not really bothered about not working, as long as there's no risk of actually breaking the pooter/battery. If it doesn't work, no harm done...as long as there's no harm done.
 
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twentysix by twentyfive

twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
Can't see that bunging in less volts is likely to do anything worse than draw current from the battery. So check current flow (direction thereof). If you are draining the battery stop before it gets hot........... Do you have an ammeter?
 

tommybee

New Member
Not really a computer question - but is it Electric :tongue:

My neighbour has brought over a Bradex car battery charger. It has some sort of clever bits in it for Automatic Charging. I'm not entirely clear what the problem is with it as I haven't seen it in action. But when I switch on I get 12.7 V DC at the appropriate terminals. Is this a bit low? Should it not be more like 15 V?

Also I've been attempting to find a chip that's in the clever part on the Net. XCWM8011B. It would be nice to find a data sheet as I've no idea what this chip's function is or whether the pins are receiving/delivering the correct inputs/outputs Any thoughts?

Has anyone used one of these battery chargers and experienced problems which have been subsequently solved? Any experience welcome.

Thanks All[/quote Just joined-new memeber-am not sure if you are still around-because i have same problem-have a sears automatic charger with same chip XCWM8011B-which i can't find any info on. The board has PC1056A on it also G.P.G. and a backwards RU ( which i think is panosonic trademark-not sure) anyways-it is missing a resistor at the R11 spot on board. When powered on i get +0.089v output at clips not connected to battery and when connected to battery-i get just the battery voltage or slightly less and if left on battery it will eventually drain it. Would appreciate any help/info you or anyone could give. Thanks tommybee
 
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