Zketech EBC-A40L Battery tester/charger

[hotrod]

Hi I have purchased a new Zketech Ebc-A40L battery charger/tester and I am already having a issue with this charger. I have tried to contact the company (Zketech) through their email on there web site 3 or 4 different times about my problem and they have not responded back to me one time. They do not list a phone number so I can't call them. I have the warranty card that came with my charger but it is in Chinese so I can't send it in. I purchased this charger from a vendor on Aliexpress back at the end of September and after it arrived I had to wait till my 32 Eve 304ah cells arrived from China, I started using the charger about the end of October and after I charged the 10th cell up to 3.5 volts at 30 amp charge trying to get them all ready for a top balance and then start testing . I disconnected the charger and connected it to the 11th cell to start charging when I turned the charger on and started the charge after about 2 minutes I started smelling something getting hot so I started feeling of the wires from the charger to the battery and they were getting pretty hot so I shut everything down disconnected it and let it sit for about 5 minutes I hooked everything back up and put a clamp amp meter on the positive wire coming from the charger to the battery and when I turned it on the amp meter showed 71 amps going to the battery and yes the wires started getting hot again. How does a 40 amp charger all at a sudden start charging at over 70 amps. Now when I turn the charger on without it connected to a battery it shows 36.7 amps on the display and it should be showing 0 amps. Do any of you have any way you can help me get this charger repaired or warrantied. I would greatly appreciate your help if there is something you can do to help me. Thanks​

 

[Horsefly]

I assume you mean the ECB-A40L (vs the EBC-A40L you said). I have the ECB-A40L and it has worked fine for me. Have you checked the cell (the 11th one) to make sure it is not shorted or dead? I'm not sure why it would go to 71A.

I don't really have any suggestion, but I will say that I had a problem with a cheap benchtop power supply that I bought on Amazon but was from China. Amazon wouldn't do anything but said I should work with the seller. I tried several times to contact them like you did, and after a couple of weeks I gave up and bought a new power supply. Then out of the blue another 2-3 weeks later they contacted me and said that based on what I reported it sounded like the power supply failed, so they shipped me a new one. They didn't want the blown one back. My only point is that maybe it takes a while to get through their system and have take note.

Oh and by the way, I'd prefer if your post wasn't in bold and large font. Not a huge issue, but I almost decided not to read it.

 

[hotrod]

I assume you mean the ECB-A40L (vs the EBC-A40L you said). I have the ECB-A40L and it has worked fine for me. Have you checked the cell (the 11th one) to make sure it is not shorted or dead? I'm not sure why it would go to 71A.

I don't really have any suggestion, but I will say that I had a problem with a cheap benchtop power supply that I bought on Amazon but was from China. Amazon wouldn't do anything but said I should work with the seller. I tried several times to contact them like you did, and after a couple of weeks I gave up and bought a new power supply. Then out of the blue another 2-3 weeks later they contacted me and said that based on what I reported it sounded like the power supply failed, so they shipped me a new one. They didn't want the blown one back. My only point is that maybe it takes a while to get through their system and have take note.

Oh and by the way, I'd prefer if your post wasn't in bold and large font. Not a huge issue, but I almost decided not to read it.

Thanks for you reply Horsefly and the charger I have says it is a EBC-A40L and I do not have a shorted cell I have since purchased a second charger just like this one and it has been working perfectly. All cells have been charged to 3.5v and then top balanced to 3.65 v. I am now in the process of testing these massive cells. I am on the 7th cell so far and the second charger is working perfectly. The first charger has a issue and I'm just looking for someone that can help me get it repaired or replaced. As you know these chargers are not cheap knock offs.

 

[Berseker]

Thanks for you reply Horsefly and the charger I have says it is a EBC-A40L and I do not have a shorted cell I have since purchased a second charger just like this one and it has been working perfectly. All cells have been charged to 3.5v and then top balanced to 3.65 v. I am now in the process of testing these massive cells. I am on the 7th cell so far and the second charger is working perfectly. The first charger has a issue and I'm just looking for someone that can help me get it repaired or replaced. As you know these chargers are not cheap knock offs.

Did you eventually get closure on this?. the ebc a40l charger has stopped powering on, need help in resolving it

 

[hotrod]

Did you eventually get closure on this?. the ebc a40l charger has stopped powering on, need help in resolving it

I never got any help on the bad charger I just put it back in the box and put it away

 

[Bud Martin]

I never got any help on the bad charger I just put it back in the box and put it away

Do you plan to sell it as is?

 

[hotrod]

Do you plan to sell it as is?

I might consider it

 

[bfitzgerald]

Wrong Model ZKETECK EBC40L. I just received my long awaited tester from China and it arrived with the wrong power cord (plug) and the plug says 230v, 10amp. Does anyone know what power may be acceptable, i.e. 120v, 60hz? In other works do I just need a proper plug or is there a different power supply in the tester for North America?

 

[Berseker]

Wrong Model ZKETECK EBC49L. I just received my long awaited tester from China and it arrived with the wrong power cord (plug) and the plug says 230v, 10amp. Does anyone know what power may be acceptable, i.e. 120v, 60hz? In other works do I just need a proper plug or is there a different power supply in the tester for North America?

It has a dual voltage switch underneath.Get an appropriate plug or adaptor, then shidt the switch to 120v and you would be good

 

[MarcoWasRight]

Wrong Model ZKETECK EBC40L. I just received my long awaited tester from China and it arrived with the wrong power cord (plug) and the plug says 230v, 10amp. Does anyone know what power may be acceptable, i.e. 120v, 60hz? In other works do I just need a proper plug or is there a different power supply in the tester for North America?

Its the EBC-A40L. Not the EBC40L not the ECB

EBC-A40L

Interesting to me that the inside of it contains a 60A power supply yet the charge is limited to 40A (manual says 35A but that might be the prefer derated current)? I own the EBC-A20 (kind of wish I had gone with the EBD-A20H)

EBC means the charger has an onboard charger OR in the case of the the EBC-B20H it allows an external charger to be connected.
EBD means it is a discharge only unit.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the letters used but I do know that the number is usually indicative of the current rating for discharge but keep in mind there is also a watt limit. The EBC-A20 has an 85W limit whereas the EBD-A20H has a 200W limit but it does mention running it at no more than 90% of its wattage rating so 180W. The EBC-A40L has a 40A discharge current with a 40A charge current but like I said the manual does says 35A.

There are now a couple other options available

50A charge and discharge

EBC-A40L large single current lithium iron battery capacity tester 5V40A50A | eBay

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50A charge and discharge

50A 220V Li-ion LiFePo4 Lithium Power Battery Capacity Tester Charge Balanced * | eBay

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There's also a big brother version to one of the above testers for doing more than a single cell. There's also a 4 channel version that allows you to test 4 cells at once, its literally nothing more than 4 of the devices in one long shell

Then there's the newest electronic load from Atorch the DL24MP which is modular and with 3 extra modules (boards that contain 4 mosfets, some power resistors, anemic heatsinks and a fan) it is supposedly rated for 600W and 40A. I, along with others, have found that hitting 40A is just flat out impossible. Mine cuts off at 34A....33A its fine but the second I try to nudge it up to 34A the discharge current just stops yet the device still shows it is "ON". Atorch had the nerve to tell me my battery did not support 40A discharge....its a 12V chunk of one of the 36V/40V electric bus batteries with A123 26650 M1B cells. I don't believe my battery was every installed in a bus, all the cells measure 5.8mΩ AC IR and capacity test to 2550mAh. I have a feeling the DL24MP is having issues because of the method they are using to connect the modules together which is nothing more than compressing PCB boards together with M3 screws and nuts. I asked them about making tiny bus bars but they completely ignored that suggestion.

 

[m.meuwese]

Does anyone want to help the development of the MegaCellMonitor with the EBC-A40L? Currently the MegaCellMonitor support EBC-A20 and EBC-X chargers of ZkeTech.

What is needed?

1. Laptop connected to the EBC-A40L
2. Serial to Ethernet software (which i can provide)
3. 1 or 2 weeks of development time with access to the laptop for debugging purposes.

Contact me if you are willing to help in adding this charger to McC.

 

[MRACHINI]

Does anyone want to help the development of the MegaCellMonitor with the EBC-A40L? Currently the MegaCellMonitor support EBC-A20 and EBC-X chargers of ZkeTech.

What is needed?

1. Laptop connected to the EBC-A40L
2. Serial to Ethernet software (which i can provide)
3. 1 or 2 weeks of development time with access to the laptop for debugging purposes.

Contact me if you are willing to help in adding this charger to McC.

Hello,

I have many EBC-A40L and have many EBX board that connects 8x EBC-A40L together (it uses the EBX tester software 1.6.5), I can setup a dedicated PC with EBC-A40L connected or EBX board connected, is that what you want ?

 

[AC/DC]

Its the EBC-A40L. Not the EBC40L not the ECB

EBC-A40L

Interesting to me that the inside of it contains a 60A power supply yet the charge is limited to 40A (manual says 35A but that might be the prefer derated current)? I own the EBC-A20 (kind of wish I had gone with the EBD-A20H)

EBC means the charger has an onboard charger OR in the case of the the EBC-B20H it allows an external charger to be connected.
EBD means it is a discharge only unit.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the letters used but I do know that the number is usually indicative of the current rating for discharge but keep in mind there is also a watt limit. The EBC-A20 has an 85W limit whereas the EBD-A20H has a 200W limit but it does mention running it at no more than 90% of its wattage rating so 180W. The EBC-A40L has a 40A discharge current with a 40A charge current but like I said the manual does says 35A.

There are now a couple other options available

50A charge and discharge

EBC-A40L large single current lithium iron battery capacity tester 5V40A50A | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for EBC-A40L large single current lithium iron battery capacity tester 5V40A50A at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

50A charge and discharge

50A 220V Li-ion LiFePo4 Lithium Power Battery Capacity Tester Charge Balanced * | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 50A 220V Li-ion LiFePo4 Lithium Power Battery Capacity Tester Charge Balanced * at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Hey just curious what those testers are, the fleabay links have expired. I found the first one, I guess we'll just call it the HeltecBMS tester? What was the other one, the first one of the two above? The text seems to be about the old EBC-A40L but when you put the now-expired link in you said whatever it linked to also dod 50A.

Also, any updates to your DL24MP, did you ever get it working right? It seems like an attractive option if it worked (I have the DL24P 185W version which works fine), although once you add the case you're just shy of $200.