Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Open for any sort of non-technical discussion regarding EVs
Post Reply
Ultralights
Groupie
Posts: 131
Joined: Wed, 01 Jun 2016, 02:19
Real Name: robert
Location: Sydney

Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Post by Ultralights »

as you might or might not know, my i-miev DC to Dc converter has failed, so sadly, can no longer charge from AC as usual, my problem is, the car is 40km from where it needs to be, dont worry, there is no rush at the moment to move it, anyway, my question is, can it still be charged Via DC Chademo with a dead Dc converter? and secondly, can the SETEC portable chademo charge it from a standard 15 amp 240 volt GPO? or does it need a 3 phase outlet

thanks
Rob.
PHEV, i-Miev, Youtube @SydEV, Twitter @Sydney_ev Insta @Sydney_ev
mikedufty
Senior Member
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue, 02 Dec 2008, 00:15
Real Name: Michael Dufty
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Post by mikedufty »

I am sure I read somewhere of someone with a failed onboard charger /dc-dc converter successfully charging via chademo. It was probably on the my i-miev forum, there are several threads there on similar failures. It may depend on your individual failure though. Is it definitely the dc-dc part of yours that has failed? My impression was that the converter was still working on ours as it still drove fine and the 12v battery voltage seemed OK, but it may have just been getting by on the battery.

These are threads I am following on the charger failure

http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=684
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=4079
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4087
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4075
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4067

Just spotted another one, apparently the charger is $6300 in Hawaii
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... 40194c20ed

There is also a thread on the portable chademo which has seen some activity related to the failures
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... 7&start=60
Ultralights
Groupie
Posts: 131
Joined: Wed, 01 Jun 2016, 02:19
Real Name: robert
Location: Sydney

Re: Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Post by Ultralights »

thanks for the links, yes, it is definitely the DC dc converter that has failed, we have pulled it apart and can see the exploded capacitor. we have a thread on it in this forum, viewtopic.php?f=49&t=5561
there seams to be a few different failure modes, and we have a fix planned, but in the meantime we have to move the car to our new place, 40km away from where it is stored now.

even with the converter failed, the car still runs fine, it just has a 12 volt system error light, and a high voltage system error light on the dashboard, the ready light, and the car starts and runs as normal otherwise. just wont charge the 12 volt battery or the drive battery from AC source.
PHEV, i-Miev, Youtube @SydEV, Twitter @Sydney_ev Insta @Sydney_ev
mikedufty
Senior Member
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue, 02 Dec 2008, 00:15
Real Name: Michael Dufty
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Post by mikedufty »

My question was whether it still provides 12v power from the main pack while driving? If it doesn't, that would limit the usefulness of getting a chademo charger, as you't worry about the 12v going flat while driving.
User avatar
coulomb
Site Admin
Posts: 6357
Joined: Thu, 22 Jan 2009, 20:32
Real Name: Mike Van Emmerik
Location: Brisbane
Contact:

Re: Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Post by coulomb »

mikedufty wrote: Thu, 23 Aug 2018, 20:39 My question was whether it still provides 12v power from the main pack while driving?
There seems to be some conflation of the DC-DC and the charger. They are in the same box, but separate circuit boards at different levels and compartments.

It's the DC-DC that charges the 12 V battery. That's DC from the main pack, to 12 V DC for the auxiliary battery.

The charger takes AC from the EVSE and charges the main pack, so that's an AC to DC converter.

To complete the picture, the motor controller takes DC from the main pack and produces 3-phase AC for the motor. That's AC to DC, which in the old days was opposite to the usual power flow direction, so it's called an "inverter". Nowadays there are so many conversions from AC to DC and vice versa, that to call one direction the "inverse" or normal is somewhat meaningless, but the name sticks.

So if your DC-DC is faulty, then it's true that you won't be charging your 12 V auxiliary battery, and you need that not just for lights and wipers but to run all the electronics that the car needs to drive at all. Even the contactor that completes the battery pack circuit is run from 12 V.

I'm not an iMiEV expert by any means, but my impression is that the DC-DC is usually pretty reliable, and if it fails, it's usually the fuse that happens to be located inside the motor controller that is the problem. I believe that a number of people in the USA have had thier DC-DCs fixed by replacing this fuse. It's very hard to find as a spare part from Mitsubishi, and forum readers (myself included) have looked for a drop-in replacement from an electronics supplier, without luck. I suggest some very crude alternatives here. Skylogger explains how two capacitors in his charger were the reason for the fuse blowing here.
MG ZS EV 2021 April 2021. Nissan Leaf 2012 with new battery May 2019.
5650 W solar, 2xPIP-4048MS inverters, 16 kWh battery.
Patching PIP-4048/5048 inverter-chargers.
If you appreciate my work, you can buy me a coffee.
mikedufty
Senior Member
Posts: 810
Joined: Tue, 02 Dec 2008, 00:15
Real Name: Michael Dufty
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Charging using SETEC portable Chademo

Post by mikedufty »

In my case I've been told the charger/DC-DC converter has failed, but don't actually know if the DC-DC part of it works, it appears to. The charger part definitely doesn't work, so it seems plausible I could get by using just DC charging. It does have a 12v system warning light though, so I'd think it would be a good idea to confirm before forking out thousands for a home charger.
Post Reply