Specialized Turbo SL Charger Y Cable not working?

[Chrisgla]

Anyone who has the Y cable with Creo know if it charges the bike without the range extender battery connected?

My charger works plugged directly into bike, but not via the Y cable. I don’t have the extender battery yet- pending purchase.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The SL Y cable only works when both the bike and the range extender are connected to it.
Guaranteed info.

 

[Chrisgla]

Thanks.. unfortunate!
I bought as a pin bent in charger and thought this was a way to minimise chance of knackering charge plug, and y has 2 to break!

Oh well, hopefully get an extender soon and have a use for it!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The interesting feature of the Y Cable is it reduces the charging current to the common denominator, which is the Range Extender. That is, charging both batteries from 5 to 100% will take 3 h 20 mins. Whenever you need to charge the internal battery faster, just use the charger plug and charge the internal battery directly.

 

[Angelo_arch]

I can't seem to get the Y cable to charge two range extenders at the same time. Is that not possible? I got two range extenders and the Y cable so that when we fly with the bikes with the main battery removed we can charge the range extenders and use them instead. Thanks all!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I can't seem to get the Y cable to charge two range extenders at the same time. Is that not possible? I got two range extenders and the Y cable so that when we fly with the bikes with the main battery removed we can charge the range extenders and use them instead. Thanks all!

You cannot charge two REs with the Y-Cable. You can only charge the main battery + a single RE.

 

[Angelo_arch]

You cannot charge two REs with the Y-Cable. You can only charge the main battery + a single RE.

Thanks, Stefan, that is a very weird restriction! I wonder why they did this!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thanks, Stefan, that is a very weird restriction! I wonder why they did this!

I was to some extent disappointed when I discovered that, too.

 

[kahn]

Thanks, Stefan, that is a very weird restriction! I wonder why they did this!

I would hope that the charging "intelligence" would deal with charging the main and RE and then know when a second range extender is plugged in to only charge that. Or just charge the second with the original cable.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I have found something interesting when watching the BLEvo Battery Monitor while charging both the main battery and a Range Extender with the Y-Cable:

Even if the RE is disconnected from e-bike, it is still reporting its status! (That Y-Cable must be really intelligent!)

 

[Cori]

The interesting feature of the Y Cable is it reduces the charging current to the common denominator, which is the Range Extender. That is, charging both batteries from 5 to 100% will take 3 h 20 mins. Whenever you need to charge the internal battery faster, just use the charger plug and charge the internal battery directly.

I know this is a few years old so maybe there have been some updates...
So, aside from having to babysit the bike to swap over the cord from the internal bike battery to the range extender once the bike is full, will you be able to charge both the bike and RE faster by just using the regular cable and charging one at a time? I'm looking at maximizing charging for bike touring/extra long rides. One step further...if you can only charge 1 battery during a lunch break, does it matter which you choose? Like, is there anything going on with the batteries that allows one to receive more power to it than the other?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I know this is a few years old so maybe there have been some updates...
So, aside from having to babysit the bike to swap over the cord from the internal bike battery to the range extender once the bike is full, will you be able to charge both the bike and RE faster by just using the regular cable and charging one at a time? I'm looking at maximizing charging for bike touring/extra long rides. One step further...if you can only charge 1 battery during a lunch break, does it matter which you choose? Like, is there anything going on with the batteries that allows one to receive more power to it than the other?
Thanks in advance!

@Cori,
The answer is simple: the main battery full direct charge takes 2 h and 35 minutes. If you need a battery fast, it will be the main battery charged directly. The RE takes 3 h 20 minutes disregarding whether is being charged directly or in parallel with the main battery. Which is depressing for extra long rides.

I was on a 263 km gravel race and had 4 Range Extenders. I also brought two chargers and a Y-Cable. The race rules allowed for an overnight stay, so I stayed at a guest-house. Now, I could connect the main battery and a Range Extender using the Y-Cable. Now, the second Range Extender would charge from the second charger. Having the main battery and two REs charged took at least 3 h 20 minutes. If I wanted the two extra range extenders charged, I would need to wake up to an alarm clock and connect the remaining two REs to the individual chargers. The whole process would take at least 6 hours and 40 minutes involving the wake up in the middle of the night!

I can't remember what I did as the night was rather short. I think I had the two remaining REs charged to 60%, as the first phase of charging is quicker.

 

[Cori]

@Cori,
The answer is simple: the main battery full direct charge takes 2 h and 35 minutes. If you need a battery fast, it will be the main battery charged directly. The RE takes 3 h 20 minutes disregarding whether is being charged directly or in parallel with the main battery. Which is depressing for extra long rides.

I was on a 263 km gravel race and had 4 Range Extenders. I also brought two chargers and a Y-Cable. The race rules allowed for an overnight stay, so I stayed at a guest-house. Now, I could connect the main battery and a Range Extender using the Y-Cable. Now, the second Range Extender would charge from the second charger. Having the main battery and two REs charged took at least 3 h 20 minutes. If I wanted the two extra range extenders charged, I would need to wake up to an alarm clock and connect the remaining two REs to the individual chargers. The whole process would take at least 6 hours and 40 minutes involving the wake up in the middle of the night!

I can't remember what I did as the night was rather short. I think I had the two remaining REs charged to 60%, as the first phase of charging is quicker.

WOW! What event was that? I'm very impressed you're pulling off events like that with an eBike, I love it!
Such an absolute bummer there is no way to charge 2 RE's from that Y-cable. Seems like such a weird oversight/limitation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It was Mazowiecki Gravel 2023.

Start...

...Finish!

 

[Cori]

It was Mazowiecki Gravel 2023.
View attachment 192921
Start...

View attachment 192920
...Finish!

Awesome, I'm going to look the event up later. Have you resorted to wiring in a switch for the lights to save as much as you can? I'd love to but I don't have those skills! I've considered possibly just pulling the TCU and unplugging it from the wiring harness and just putting electrical tape for a short-term event.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Awesome, I'm going to look the event up later. Have you resorted to wiring in a switch for the lights to save as much as you can? I'd love to but I don't have those skills! I've considered possibly just pulling the TCY and unplugging it in the wiring harness and just putting electrical tape for a short-term event.

E-bike lighting is a safety asset for me