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Simple repair of 240 Vl level 2 SPX Voltec charging station

50K views 50 replies 35 participants last post by  singaporegirl 
#1 · (Edited)
Simple repair of 240 V level 2 SPX Voltec charging station

My SPX Voltec level 2 240 V charging station (model EL-50580 purchased 10/8/11) went dead on Monday (no lights). The 240 V circuit to the unit was fine. A number of threads on this site reported the problem but it seems most members have been able to replace the unit under warranty. I was not so lucky as it was three weeks out of warranty. I called SPX and they said there was nothing they could do. There is no repair service. The only thing they could recommend was to check with my credit card company to see if they had an extended warranty. They did, but there is an exclusion for auto accessories.

So I took the front cover off and with some inspection I found two fuses at the input to the circuit board. I found one of them blown with an ohmmeter. The fuse is a Littelfuse Inc. series 505 500 V 20 A (ceramic fast blow) mounted directly to the circuit board. I ordered three (2 spares) from Digikey at $4.42 each: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/0505020.MXEP/F3265-ND/1967673

I then replaced the fuse (and was careful desoldering from the top side of the board since the thick traces made it difficult) and now my unit works fine.

I suspect that the reason Leer (the manufacturer) decided to go with axial lead type fuses is for safety. There are no fuse holders that have specifications of 500 V 20 A. I suspect that a surge on the power line blew the fuse and perhaps saved the Voltec unit and the car. The fuse did its job. But since the fuses are not readily replaceable, most people replace the unit at a cost of $495 plus shipping. This is not right. There is an easy and inexpensive fix. I saved more than $500. The unit has been working now for days.
 
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#36 ·
Is there a consensus on this? Mine died a few months ago and replaced with a 20A similar fuse. Today it blew again. It isn't heat for me, about 32 degrees in my garage today.

I will probably replace it again but I don't feel too comfortable if something is blowing the fuse. There's still the circuit breaker but still.
 
#37 ·
SPX Voltec Charger repair

Thank you so much for posting this information. Armed with your description, I did the identical thing you did. I bought fuses with leads and fuses without because i didn't know exactly what would happen when I yanked out the fuse since it is soldered into the circuit board. When I did yank it out, the leads came off the bad fuse and remained soldered into the circuit board. I just left the leads in place and used the fuse without the lead. I bent the remaining leads so they were touching the ends of the fuse and soldered them in place. It's been bout a week and it works just fine. Thanks for saving me $500!!! By the way, prior to fixing it myself, I called the electrician who installed it in the first place. He took one look and said there was nothing he could do. He also called SPX and they said no repair was possible and i would have to buy a new one. Hmmm.
 
#38 ·
Thanks for the info!

We have had our SPX charger for 4 years with no problems until last week when the bottom fuse blew. It happened to occur on the first occasion that my wife used a high-amperage Dyson vacuum cleaner on a 120v line coming off the same subpanel. Found this terrific post, ordered and replaced the fuse and we are back in business! Thanks so much for the post.
 
#39 ·
Any of you smart folks live near Washington DC? Anyone willing to help me out with my just-dead Voltec charger? We were eating dinner earlier, and I heard the little "brr-brr" horn going off repeatedly. Went out to the car, and unplugged the charger. No lights on the Voltec. Re-set the circuit breakers in the house, then pulled and replaced the circuit breaker at the charger. No luck. I'm game for trying to fix it, but have limited skills, knowledge, and equipment. Sure don't have an extra $500 to replace it. 4 1/2 years, first time it ever did this. Many thanks for a response.
 
#42 ·
Help with dead Voltec charger please

Okay, I have an electrician lined up to solder in the new fuses when they arrive. TV repair guy named Fred. Husband and I just opened the unit to see if we could find the culprit, and the fuses look okay. Would anybody be able and willing to look at a photo to see what you think? Please email me directly if you do: fasterkitty@comcast.net. Thanks to all. I really don't want to replace the whole unit!
Electronics Electrical wiring Cable management Technology Wire
Electronics Electrical wiring Cable management Technology Wire
 
#44 ·
Hello. I have a 2013 Volt, and Ive had my SPX charger since May 2013. A few days ago it went on the blink. I've read thru this thread and I like the idea of trying to do a repair. Most posters seem to say both status lights went out on their Voltec, and many found the lowermost fuse to have blown. In my case both lights on the Voltec are still on, with the left keeping a steady green and the right now flashing red. I reset the circuit breaker to no avail. I am not great with using multimeters, and mine does not have sound indication, but when I used it to test the Voltec fuses they both seemed to be still viable. Can anydody here give me guidance. I'd love the same outcome as MsKitty4. Not up for laying out the dough for a new unit if it can be helped. Many thanks
 
#49 ·
you'll have to open the unit up and ohm out the wires.start w/ the wall plug,,my guess is the neutral wire has a break in it.
I had a red light come on and tapping the relays lightly unstuck 1 of them,,been fine ever since.
 
#47 ·
#50 · (Edited)
Ceramic fuses get hot!!!

Hi people, I don't post here much anymore, but my Voltec went dark a few weeks ago. I went ahead and ordered the part from digikey.com (first post in this thread), along with fuse brackets and the same fuse withOUT the wires attached.

I then went on a "science experiment" to try to find the best solution. UNsoldering fuses from a circuit board is not an easy task. My small soldering gun would not melt the solder, so I had to use a "bigger hammer" soldering iron. It worked, but because of the size, was a messy job. NEXT TIME: I'd just solder a 6" length of 14 gauge wire to each end of the old fuse, leaving the blown fuse intact.

So that is what I ended up with: pigtail wires soldered to the existing fuse ports on the circuit board. I re-soldered 2 short pieces of the original blown fuse's wire into the PC board, and soldered the #14 pigtails to it. The original good fuse is still on the PC board, pigtails attached, with a fuse block with no fuse in it, ready when the ceramic fuse fails.

Now for the experimental part: I first tried a 20A fuse block with quick-connect sliders with the snap-in version of the 20A ceramic fuse inserted. All wire connectors soldered to the pigtails. After 5 minutes of charging, I shut off the power, and was alarmed that the fuse block was really hot!

Next, I thought the slider connectors were the problem, so I ordered a 30A fuse block with screw-down connectors. Soldered in the screw-connector end to the pigtail, and screwed it down to the fuse block. After 5 minutes of charging, it was hot AGAIN! I even taped a meat thermometer to one end of the fuse & fuse block -- 145 degrees F!!! So no good.

Then I got a terminal block (like pictured here), only the ones I ordered had smaller openings and cheap screws, so they are a pain to use. Since then I found this terminal block/barrier strip--it handle #10 wire.

Using terminal blocks, I then soldered a #14 wire to each end of the snap-in ceramic fuse, covered the entire fuse with heat-shrink tubing for insulation, and fastened the wires to my pigtails using terminal blocks. Everything is nicely insulated.

Now the test: After 5 minutes of charging, shut off the power and started touching things. The fuse itself was almost too hot to touch!!!! Wire and soldered connections were fine. Even the original fuse on the circuit board was warm. The relay blocks on the PC board were warm! So it probably wasn't the fuse blocks I rejected earlier that was overheating things, but the fuse itself!!!

I don't know how a "ceramic" fuse transmits the juice through it, but a 20 Amp is apparently not really a good fit for this job. In fact, back to when it failed: My Volt had finished charging, sitting there with a full charge, and the Voltec unit was dark. So I am pretty sure it is the heating/cooling cycles that kills those fuses.

Next time I'm going to try a standard 20 Amp automotive fuse -- with clear glass around the metal strip that you can see.
 
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