Grabbed the charger off the bike at work and hooked it up externally and it worked just fine. I cant believe a charger used this little could die, this does not instill much faith in this bike. Thankfully I got it basically for free.
It has little to do with how much it was used, (other than problems caused by heat over time), like I said, very random. Those chargers are switching power supplies with countless parts that can short out. And usually when one part shorts out, it causes a chain reaction and many other parts to also short out.
No doubt some new OBCs blow out the first time turned on and others last 30 years. All of my Zero OBCs are still working perfectly since new in 2017. It's mostly luck of the draw. Unlikely to happen any time soon again, but it is certainly possible, even with a new OBC.
Can they be made more reliable? Sure, the DeltaQs are more reliable. But they are also much less powerful, larger and can space out the parts better. And have better cooling with those fins and large heat sinks. It's all a trade-off.
IMO, the OBC is reasonable for 1.4KW in such a small space where it gets no cooling. Just some people's luck with the OBC will be better than others.
-Don- Reno, NV