Damaged charger wire

[shauny2801]

My dog bit the wire in half on my charger i twisted wires together and put electrical tape on it charges but takes ages to reach fully charged now when it used to be 3 to 4 hours and battery only lasts about 3 days is this damaging the battery or should I just get a new charger?

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Not sure is it’s the wire from the mains to the charger (usually that is a replaceable cord) or the wire from the charger to the battery, but hopefully you don’t have a frayed wire. Loose connections can cause extra heat and give unexpected results.

I’d unwrap the tape and carefully check the conductors.

If it’s the cord from the mains to the charger, then you can text the conductors at the male and to see if you have any resistance on the 3 conductors.

If it’s the wire from the charger to the battery, then I would test the voltage coming from the charger. You should read close to full pack voltage. I might also move the wires around, maybe squeeze (while testing for voltage) the tape to see if voltage fluctuates.

 

[6zfshdb]

If it's the cord on the AC side, unless you are comfortable with doing repairs on higher voltage wiring, I would either get a new cord (if replaceable) or a new charger.

Repairs on AC or DC cords can usually be done safely with a variety of methods. I prefer these crimp connectors with heat shrink insulation:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086Z3H4X8?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_5&th=1

A crimp tool is also necessary, such as this one:

Amazon.com

For a more permanent fix, you can also cover the crimp connectors with heat shrink tubing:

Amazon.com

A hairdryer can be used on the heat shrink tubing.

Some basic DIY skills are required here, and the cost of these products could exceed that of a new cord or charger, but I find them to be handy for many other projects as well. YMMV.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your repairs!

 

[Gionnirocket]

Was the charger plugged in when the dog attacked it? He may have damaged it. Test the voltage output.
Otherwise you may have a poor connection at your repair. Crimp like those suggested work well for this type of repair.

 

[shauny2801]

No it wasn't plugged in she bit it in 2 places

 

[Gionnirocket]

You probably have poor connections then. The wire is stranded and most likely some of the strands broke leaving you with very little copper to carry the current.
You'll need to make a proper repair or replace.

 

[shauny2801]

Ok I will probably get a new one will the new charger give the battery a better charge and longer life?

 

[Gionnirocket]

Things should work as before the charger was damaged.

 

[teskow]

If the cord gets repaired properly there is no reason it shouldn't work as it did before unless something got shorted out in your repair and destroyed something in the charger. If the damage was on the wall cord the repair could not damage anything in the charger. If on the cord that goes to the bike was the one damaged then maybe that could damage the charger. I would cut back the cord to good wires, solder them and heat-shrink the joints and you should be good to go.

 

[6zfshdb]

From your picture, it looks like the DC (low voltage) cable. It appears to be damaged very close to the connector and there may not be enough good wire left to do a proper repair.
Your decision to replace the charger is probably best.

 

[shauny2801]

Yes I've ordered one be here tomorrow so hopefully that will do the job

 

[S.Giles]

Don't throw the old charger away. You might be able to get someone who's handy with a soldering iron to repair it at some point, and then you'll have a backup.

 

[Jamesman]

Yeah, that’s a good point, actually. Even if it’s not working perfectly now, having a backup charger around, especially if someone can fix it up properly, could come in handy down the line. Better than tossing it right away.