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[Shadow]

Hey Shadow, I want to thank you for this post topic. It really helped me out and got my 2015 Zero SR back on the road...

Nice work getting your ride charging up and back on the road! Some of those googlecontent photo embed's did not make it through - try imgur or bbimg hosting and edit that posting to get the images to stick? It's good to know the experiment worked and sharing the information has helped a fellow EV moto rider 
I'd say for the approximate $600 similar cost to an official accessory charger you instead made a nice upgrade!

[Blotman]

Ahhhh ok, I switched to imgur. Hope they show up now. Guessing my browser cached my Google images so I couldn't tell it wasn't showing.

This project is pretty cool. Wish I could find more info on that data connector that goes into the onboard charger. Looking at videos on YouTube, it seems the Diginow Supercharger plugs into that connector and can start the charge without the key in, unless I'm mistaken.

[DonTom]

Ahhhh ok, I switched to imgur. Hope they show up now. Guessing my browser cached my Google images so I couldn't tell it wasn't showing.

This project is pretty cool. Wish I could find more info on that data connector that goes into the onboard charger. Looking at videos on YouTube, it seems the Diginow Supercharger plugs into that connector and can start the charge without the key in, unless I'm mistaken.

Back in this thread, did you notice this?

That way you can start the charge without the key.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Blotman]

Back in this thread, did you notice this?

That way you can start the charge without the key.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

I did almost the same, but not sure if I'm looking at the hack right. My switch closes the grey and red wires. With this, I can switch the bike into the charge state, but only if it's keyed on first. After that, I can key it off. Were you able to get your bike to switch into the charge state without having to key on at all?

[DonTom]

I did almost the same, but not sure if I'm looking at the hack right. My switch closes the grey and red wires. With this, I can switch the bike into the charge state, but only if it's keyed on first. After that, I can key it off. Were you able to get your bike to switch into the charge state without having to key on at all?

That will not be possible with my chargers as they need to see voltage before they will activate. And there is no voltage on the motor controller until the key is once turned on to supply the voltage so my chargers can turn on. And then they will stay on, even when the key is removed.

Does the charger you have put out voltage without first seeing voltage? Then you could have other possibilities, but what is wrong with using the key to get it to activate as long as you can remove the key?

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Blotman]

That will not be possible with my chargers as they need to see voltage before they will activate. And there is no voltage on the motor controller until the key is once turned on to supply the voltage so my chargers can turn on. And then they will stay on, even when the key is removed.

Does the charger you have put out voltage without first seeing voltage? Then you could have other possibilities, but what is wrong with using the key to get it to activate as long as you can remove the key?

-Don-  Auburn, CA

Nothing wrong really. Most cases, I'll be plugging in after riding where the bike is still on anyway. Just thinking about saving a step for the rare case where I do a cold plug in. Just wanted to make sure we're experiencing the same thing.

[DonTom]

Nothing wrong really. Most cases, I'll be plugging in after riding where the bike is still on anyway. Just thinking about saving a step for the rare case where I do a cold plug in. Just wanted to make sure we're experiencing the same thing.

If you're also going to use your OBC, then you will not need the key for the other chargers as the OBC will close the contactor just as your key does.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Allen_C]

Hey Shadow, I want to thank you for this post topic. It really helped me out and got my 2015 Zero SR back on the road.

My onboard charger died back in November. The outlet I plugged it into tripped, and the charger must not have liked that. This is actually my SECOND stock charger. The first one also fried but was under warranty at the time. I heard a new one would be over a grand out of pocket before labor. I considered the DeltaQ option but at 900w it sounded absolutely weak for $600. I really wanted to go with Diginow or EVtricity for their fast charging solutions but apparently they're both out of the game.

This forum topic provided a viable and less expensive alternative. I opted for the TC HK-J 3300 (still trying to figure out if Elcon designed the unit or if they just rebrand it). I ordered from EV Components just as you did, providing the same exact numbers you provided since they appear to corroborate with zeromanual.com (THANKS TO YOU GUYS AS WELL!) for my 12.5 kWh bike. The timeline was longer for me though as I placed the order on November 19th and received the unit on January 9th. Guessing covid plus holidays will do that. The unit costed $475 USD and shipping was $89. Michael from EV Components was pretty responsive, and I'm pretty sure it's the same Michael from EV Assemble.

So the unit comes with a standard NEMA 5-15 plug input, an Anderson SB50 output, and the pig tail is configured to the 12v+ and enable pins (CAN BUS sockets are there but I'm not using them). I ghetto attached a switch to the pigtail.


I didn't want to cut off any connectors yet, so I crimped an SB50 to SBS75X-BRN adapter with some 6 awg wires.


And of course since my stock charger is no longer on the bike, I had to do the connector hack to allow charging with the key is off. I pried the male connector off the the busted charger and yanked two pins as well. Attached them to the slots for the red and gray wires and ghetto soldered a switch to them.


The accessory port being out of the way takes a bit more effort to reach than the C13 port, but getting it plugged in is not too bad.


All in all, it works. It's a couple extra steps though as I need to switch the charge hack on before keying the bike off. In either case, I absolutely appreciate the enthusiasm the EV bike community has as I'd be completely clueless without the information you guys have compiled.

I tried going to EV Components website but it times out. Did you have contact with them recently?

[togo]

Hey Shadow, I want to thank you for this post topic. It really helped me out and got my 2015 Zero SR back on the road.

My onboard charger died back in November. The outlet I plugged it into tripped, and the charger must not have liked that. This is actually my SECOND stock charger. The first one also fried but was under warranty at the time. I heard a new one would be over a grand out of pocket before labor. I considered the DeltaQ option but at 900w it sounded absolutely weak for $600. I really wanted to go with Diginow or EVtricity for their fast charging solutions but apparently they're both out of the game.

This forum topic provided a viable and less expensive alternative. I opted for the TC HK-J 3300 (still trying to figure out if Elcon designed the unit or if they just rebrand it). I ordered from EV Components just as you did, providing the same exact numbers you provided since they appear to corroborate with zeromanual.com (THANKS TO YOU GUYS AS WELL!) for my 12.5 kWh bike. The timeline was longer for me though as I placed the order on November 19th and received the unit on January 9th. Guessing covid plus holidays will do that. The unit costed $475 USD and shipping was $89. Michael from EV Components was pretty responsive, and I'm pretty sure it's the same Michael from EV Assemble.

So the unit comes with a standard NEMA 5-15 plug input, an Anderson SB50 output, and the pig tail is configured to the 12v+ and enable pins (CAN BUS sockets are there but I'm not using them). I ghetto attached a switch to the pigtail.


I didn't want to cut off any connectors yet, so I crimped an SB50 to SBS75X-BRN adapter with some 6 awg wires.


And of course since my stock charger is no longer on the bike, I had to do the connector hack to allow charging with the key is off. I pried the male connector off the the busted charger and yanked two pins as well. Attached them to the slots for the red and gray wires and ghetto soldered a switch to them.


The accessory port being out of the way takes a bit more effort to reach than the C13 port, but getting it plugged in is not too bad.


All in all, it works. It's a couple extra steps though as I need to switch the charge hack on before keying the bike off. In either case, I absolutely appreciate the enthusiasm the EV bike community has as I'd be completely clueless without the information you guys have compiled.

I must true going to EV Components website but it times out. Did you have contact with them recently?

That 3.3kw unit looks a lot like the ones diginow used to sell.  Lennart Otten has arduino code on GitHub to read status and command charging amps via canbus.  You can read charging amps and battery voltage, and infer thermal throttling and charge level from that.  Generally you need to command them at least once per second or they shut off charging. Wijnand van der Horst has been selling control units in Europe, I'm going to test one in California.

[DonTom]

I tried going to EV Components website but it times out. Did you have contact with them recently?

Yeah, same happens to me here, they timeout. Perhaps they no longer exist.


Perhaps from selling their chargers too cheap.

-don-  Auburn, CA

[gt13013]

It seems that Google could access to EV Components page on Feb. 26, 2021 (see attached Google cache screen shot). But from my connexion today, it does not work. Perhaps some website problems...

[staples]

I just tested my new charger today!


I got the 3.3kW HK-J model from Elcon. I was just more comfortable ordering from them. I still needed to make the DC extension cable, and add a washer to the auxiliary charger port mount on my FXS. The connector was mounted too tight to whatever is directly above it that I could not plug in my cable.
The last part of my puzzle was the J1772 receptacle from TusconEV, which worked perfectly.

[gt13013]

@Staples : I am surprised by the size of your charger. The TC HK-J 3.3 kW is much more compact: http://www.tccharger.com/EN/product/13302.html

[princec]

Even that's a pretty chunky device! And over 5kg too - it's impressive that Zero manage to get 12KW of charging into the 14.4 models.
Amazes me that this technology is still so far behind... probably lack of demand leading to lack of serious R&D.

Cas

[shayan]

The HK-M charger is much more compact: http://www.tccharger.com/EN/product/13303.html

This one might be close to what Zero uses probably.