EV charger repair, Podpoint capacitor failure

This EV charger just stopped working, dead on the wall, here's the fix.
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[@randacnam7321]

The little red wire is the control pilot line that the EVSE (Electric Vehicle Service Equipment; the proper term for the 'charger' on the wall) uses to tell the actual AC charger in the car how much it can draw. The 2A fuse is to keep the EVSE from turning into a fireball iffen the switcher supply for running its guts shorts out; things like this are connected to circuits that can source thousands of amperes of fault current (standard for breakers and fuses over here is 10kA fault interrupt rating) which can do _Very Bad Things_ when it gets angry. The power supply has 2013 date codes on the PCB (week 48) and transformer (week 35) and there is a 2013 design/revision date on the main PCB, so a 2014 install date fits. The unconnected pin on the PCB is a mechanical support to prevent damage due to impact or vibration in transport.

[@TheInfoworks]

Good to hear from you, so with this style of vehicle plug it is an AC input and uses the onboard charger, no wonder the board is light weight, cheers

[@lnwolf41]

A simple fix, for someone that has the the right tools, and understands how to use them. Is this a slow charging unit?? Cable doesn't look that thick for a high output.

[@TheInfoworks]

Hi, yes max 7.5 Kw but the Leaf charges at 3 Kw much better for battery health if you have the time, cheers

[@noakeswalker]

Yet another capacitor failure in a switched mode power supply ! You fixed it anyway Andy. Can that charger be left turned off until a guest needs to charge an EV maybe ? I have no idea what the consequences might be be, if that unit has a sim card in it, it's obviously talking to something else... but it may make that little power supply last longer between failures .... Possibly. Cheers, Dave

[@TheInfoworks]

Dave, exactly and you are right. I think the sim is for connection to a local network, we've never talked to it, so switching the unit off when not in use is a great idea, cheers

[@massimobroccoli9854]

Well done Andy !

[@TheInfoworks]

Hi, yes I'm pleased this turned out right, cheers

[@andypdq]

Well done getting it working, that's the main thing, a couple of things though. Beware of the high voltage caps on the input side of the smps, they'll charge up to 330 to 360V when the power is on, they can hold their charge for some time after you disconnect the mains, they can give you a nasty clout if they're not discharged, get the volt meter across them and check before you handle the board much, you can discharge them using a power resistor or an incandescent bulb. You are actually way under capacitance with your replacement cap. The originals were 16V 680uF there were two, presumably in parallel. For caps in parallel, you add the values, so original was 1360uF total, you have 470uF, The higher the max voltage of the cap the larger it physically gets for the same capacitance, hence your 470uF 50V cap is physically much bigger, but you need way more capacitance to return to original spec, you may well have some bad ripple on your output as it stands. Regards.

[@TheInfoworks]

Thanks for the ideas, yes you use what you have to test proof of concept. With those extension wires it no grief to change the cap, cheers

[@ianhelsbyservices]

Hi, output to the car shows LNE, yet the large capacitor on one side and four small diodes on the other suggest it outputs rectified mains. Do you know if this is true?

[@TheInfoworks]

Ian, that's interesting and as that car has now left I cannot check this whilst it is charging, maybe next time. If the batteries are about 400v then 3Kw should be about 8 amps. No sure but that sounds about right, cheers

[@ianhelsbyservices]

​@@TheInfoworks my theory falls down a those diodes look a bit small for that current. If my theory is correct I would expect the rectifier to be a tall narrow black with the four pins and a heat sink. I have seen them in a mosfet-shaped package too. In that style they can contain two diodes facing each other on the centre pin and each other leg are the respective cathodes.

[@TheInfoworks]

Ian, Randacnam in his comment confirmed that it's an AC input to the on board 3Kw charger. That;s through the small plug, so this board just manages the mains connection, cheers@@ianhelsbyservices

[@stephenwoodward9032]

Hi Andy I've followed your instructions. My problem is a burnt out little transistor, can I send you a photo

[@TheInfoworks]

The small board just provides power to run the main board. The power for charging is supplied from the mains input connection. You could disconnect this power supply and use an external plug in 12v DC 2 amp unit. Make sure the polarity is correct. Load some photos on your channel, cheers

[@bootsowen]

Nicely done Andy!

[@TheInfoworks]

Spread over several days Owen, for the ideas to soak in, cheers

[@mrt864]

The future of wee waste, to be 'green'

[@TheInfoworks]

Every where you go there's a dumbing down to the great god profit, cheers

[@moestrei]

So what do you call all the sump oil, filters and spark plugs? I have done 380.000km km in a Tesla with no servicing and have replaced a few suspension bushings only. Ah and recently the 12V battery after 8 years. 1st battery with 14% degradation only.