Have you asked Brandon for support first?
Yes, I was in communication with Brandon via Google Hangouts. Most recently Brandon deferred any future requests for support to Harlan / Hollywood Electrics. I mailed in all the charger units at Harlan's request. Harlan had to write me to say upon receipt that Brandon would not support him with parts or service and the best thing to do would be to return ship the package outright. At that time there was one failed charger module due to be returned per the invoice for a replacement I had purchased. This failed unit is the one where I visually inspected the inside of the unit to try to determine the mode of failure. The other three units were in a mix of semi-operational condition, some had malfunctioning 12Vdc fan supply in as much I could determine, and it seemed to be that the best thing to do would be to have them assessed for functionality. Unfortunately in following Brandon's direction I was given the runaround and the chargers merely were shipped around at my own expense (and Harlan's) but never assessed. That charger module what initially failed is now again in my possession. I am in the process of a credit card purchase protection dispute to cover my interests since there's a limited timeline to do so and no other support channel available to me. I have no business with Hollywood Electrics. I purchased my DigiNow SCv2 stack through Grand Canyon Cycles and also through Brandon / DigiNow directly. It is confusing to me why Hollywood Electrics would be involved and then put into a position where they are not able to assist.
Woah all 4 chargers??? 
I heard through Luke and others how the first couple broke shorting the fan wires, how about the other 2?
I had three charging modules that would in fact charge the battery until this week, when the bike accelerated out of control (I had to key-off to regain control) and subsequently after towing to a dealership (and then firmware upgrade / commission controller and motor) I discovered that those three SCv2 charging modules do not charge the battery. I am concerned that the bike and DigiNow SCv2 stack failed within the same time period. It is possible that the three SCv2 modules are alright, or that they are damaged, I would not be able to know and as above I had tried to send the whole stack in previously for assessment without success. If the SCv2 control module were faulty then I would need a replacement, however that depends on getting parts and service which does not seem possible given what I have experienced.
I'm not sure how to respond to the "I know that..." assumptions when what you're [Terry] saying is not quite accurate. I'm not really into tinkering and having my bike be a project, as it has become trying to keep the DigiNow SCv2 stack running for more than a month at a time without some crimp falling apart or fan module shorting out and then following down a path to being totally unsupported by the vendor. At some point I would have hoped that there would be a clear date and time or strict direction of what
to do and not these useless-to-me scoldings and evasive messages amounting to what
not to do.
Maybe it's best if he can see if you did something to the bike to cause the others to short. There really isn't anything you can mess up. Did the polarity on the Anderson connector to the bike get reversed somehow? Out of all the 100+ bikes using superchargers, a couple people with the first batch had a loose pin that got fixed sending a new connector, and that process is fixed now, but no one has had a charger die except you. And for it to happen 4 times I would take this as a sign Shadow, please don't keep messing with stuff.
I had been on a day trip to Sacramento the day before the recent failure with the bike and DigiNow SCv2 stack. Charging worked about as well as it usually would. The cowl has stayed where it is, I haven't so much as taken off the seat or bothered with anything since getting the package returned from Hollywood Electrics and installing the stack again.
I've had a SCv2 for most of the year, just a 3.3kW, tank mounted. I just received my 3.3kW add on, hoping to install it this weekend.
They seem well engineered and reliable, I've yet to have any issues at all. Brandon is a busy guy, but when I need something, he's usually available via Facebook Messenger. I haven't modified one, and I don't think I ever would, unless it's something Brandon has approved. They're very high voltages and with 6.6kW coming out of them, I'm not risking doing anything that could kill me, to them. :p
It will be tempting to ride faster and so heating up the battery faster with a 6.6kW charging rate. Keep in mind that 118degF any hotter and the battery will be too warm to charge; I found that riding 20-30minutes at 52-55mph somewhere around that fast just before you get to a charging station will be best to let the battery get as cool as it is going to get, and from there 6.6kW rate should be steady and not overheat the battery except on a really hot ambient temperature. Enjoy your faster charging and that is interesting about Facebook, I don't have it though.
I've had my 2 modules since Feb, they work great. Brandon has provided excellent service, responds to all my messages and questions. He warned me not to mess with the fan wiring ( I wanted to power another fan to vent top case) and also about splicing wires, etc. As such, I haven't modified anything. Chargers work perfect. Elcons are extremely reliable, used in electric cars all over the world.
Glad to hear your chargers are working well for you, and that support has been good.
I did not want to make this a public issue, but since this has been done, I think we need to clarify things.
Eric, I explained to you in person the dangers of the modifications you were attempting. I have given you multiple days of my time in emails, phone calls, and chats warning and in fact begging you not to do what has been done to your chargers. I was there in person to advise you when you installed the chargers. I wish you had chosen to listen to me.
Yes, the fan module you helped installed caught fire and damaged the 12Vdc supply on a charger module. I appreciate the fast effort that day to meet again in person to diagnose the issue. However that module did fail progressively over time as shown in the pictures I took of voltage and current measurements. I was hopeful you would provide a date and time for a follow-up or direction about what to do, and to replace that module under warranty as I established what was the likely cause of failure.
These chargers are color coded to make installation as simple and safe as possible.The chargers are waranteed so if there is any issue, you could be made whole again. The warranty is not, however to cover cutting apart the charger and making changes the manufacturer (us) tells you not to do.
The one thing I have repeated over and over is not to mess with the 12v wires. There are 3 months of corresondance repeating this. DO NOT MESS WITH THEM. You have cut them, shorted them, spliced them and repinned them. This is exactly what I warned you not to do. DO NOT DO THIS.
I have not shorted the 12Vdc fan supply wires. It's something you keep saying but I have not done that. I made measurements of the voltage and current using a digital voltmeter. Over time some of those crimps and connectors simply fell apart and I fixed them as that is easy to do with basic tools. Also I have asked for guidance on how to protect those 12Vdc fan supply lines from failure but your answer is simply not to touch them. I'm forgiving that the install was a bit of a hack job, and that the fan caught fire (which you made a bushfix for quickly), but nearly a year on I have no working chargers and no support. All I want (and paid for) is 10kW charging that works and I don't have to worry about it breaking down like it seems to do every month from a bad crimp or lack of information. There is no motivation for me to sabotage these chargers, I need them to work so I can get around - the Zero is my only vehicle.
So here we are 3 months later with 4 destroyed chargers. You are unhappy about this but I am ever more dissappointed that you chose not to listen to me. After breaking this chargers you did a charge back on your card telling the bank that they arrived broken. Considering everything I have tried to do for you I find this more insulting than just ignoring my warnings about modifyingh the chargers. I am sorry to see this whole fiasco drug out on a public forum like this but I stand behind my products and the support I have given you. I don't know what else I could have done.
I initiated the credit card purchase protection claim that would resolve in your favor if you provide support. I don't do spiteful things, it's a product I purchased which is unreliable and the support sucks, from my point of view. I'm covering my self-interests here as I normally do for any high-tech product which does not perform or has terrible service and won't do the function it is supposed to.
Below is our corrspondance and images of your modifications.
**snip** That's fine by me if you want to make public our private correspondence; with the caveat that it would be wise to strip all personal identifying information like addresses, email contacts, phone numbers, mailing addresses. This forum does get indexed by search engines and so does the text of some types of hyperlinks to Google-provided information services. I'll leave it as-is but it may run afoul of the forum guidelines; Anyone truly interested in our private conversations may ask and with your permission I'll be happy to share the Google Backup in json format.
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Topic: DigiNow SCv2 reliability / troubleshooting (Read 1275 times)