charging plugs insertion sequence

[Theo]

When I first got the bike I wondered in which order I was supposed to connect the plugs before charging and disconnect them after having charged. I therefore watched the video tutorial and it seemed clear to me that I was supposed to connect the bike to the charger after the charger had been connected to the socket in the wall. I also guessed that I was supposed to first disconnect the bike from the charger and then the charger from the wall.

Then today I've noticed that, according to the manual, the bike should be connected to the charger before the charger is connected to the wall.
They also say that, after charging, the charger should be disconnected from the bike and the AC power socket immediately, but the order is not clear. It also sounds weird to me because in that way if the fan is cooling it, it will stop spinning.

The plug for the wall, at least in Italy, is just a Shucko plug which doesn't need any comments.
For the charging port and plug I guessed that, considering the pins dimensions and quantitiy and the numbers written aside them:
• pins 1 and 2 should be live and neutral
• the pin with the ground symbol is for grounding
• pins A, B, C, D, E are probably used for data exchange.
I guess that the bike should allow the charger to transmit electricity only after having communicated with it in order to receive the right amount of it and if I recall correctly when you connect the plug you hear a click which I guess should be a relay closing a circuit to allow the current to reach the battery. The pins supposedly used for data are shorter and therefore they should make contact after the others at insertion and lose contact before the others during disconnection; I think this could be related to understand the most sensible procedure but I'm confused about how.
The charger should somehow be smart, too.

 

[rayivers]

For every power-supply type device I use, I always connect the load (unit to be powered/charged/etc.) to the device, then the device to AC power. A few instances of small bzzaps! followed by dead load units was all it took.

 

[Theo]

Maybe the best solution would be to have a wall socket with a switch and start and stop the power supply only when both plugs are connected.
I just thought that with a smart bike and a smart charger there wouldn't have been a difference.

 

[rayivers]

Maybe the best solution would be to have a wall socket with a switch and start and stop the power supply only when both plugs are connected.
I just thought that with a smart bike and a smart charger there wouldn't have been a difference.

Exactly what I do with my Alta's charger. And remember... smart things are stupid when they're dead (no power applied).

I love these things, use several different-switch-location versions of them all over the house now.

 

[Philip]

Have there been any definite charging instructions from Stark Future?

I suspect the plugging-in sequence does not matter because the charger won't start supplying HV until it starts talking to the bike via the low-voltage wires.

Perhaps, stopping the charging in ways other than pulling the HV cord is preferred. I am sure there are some safeties built-in, but I do not want to be the one testing their limits.

 

[rayivers]

I suspect the plugging-in sequence does not matter because the charger won't start supplying HV until it starts talking to the bike via the low-voltage wires.

Sometimes that first 'word' on the LV circuitry can be a real day-ruiner, if it's a charged-cap spike or similar. I wonder if Stark will provide even block diagrams of the electronics.

 

[ReVolter]

In my experience it doesn't really matter much. Here are some things to note:
1. The bike knows when the charging cable is connected.
2. If no power is coming in when the charging cable is connected, the bike will indicate a fault with a yellow light.
3. There is a relay click when connecting the cable. I suspect this is to guard against having 420V exposed at any point. Probably neither the bike or charger will activate this voltage until it detects a safe connection.
4. It takes a while for the system to detect and/or react to changes.
5. Some chargers shipped with incorrectly installed plugs. If you are seeing intermittent charging problems or if the plug is getting warm, disassemble the plug and make sure the insulation is not under the wire clamps. On mine, they did not strip off enough insulation.
6. Charging will slow down near 100%. I don't think there is a risk of over charging.