Fried my XTAR VC4 charger - Fixed :)

Cula · 2018-03-02T07:24:07.000Z

I managed to destroy my VC4 charger by accidentally connecting it to 12V DC :person_facepalming: . For a brief moment before death it managed to show some light on the screen. There was some smoke and bad smell also.
Can’t seem to find (visually) anything burned on the board. Is there a way to salvage this or should I convert it to a nice battery holder?

FPV · 2018-03-02T07:26:33.000Z

That is one of the reasons why I sold my VC4, the cable invites mistakes like this and it was never a reliable cable for me.

sorry to hear you lost your charger, I liked the display on this one

Cula · 2018-03-02T11:56:35.000Z

FPV:

That is one of the reasons why I sold my VC4, the cable invites mistakes like this and it was never a reliable cable for me.

sorry to hear you lost your charger, I liked the display on this one

Yes, it is a bad cable design, easy to make a mistake. I ordered new Liitokala 500 right away.
If my Xtar cannot be repaired I’ll stuff four TP4056 modules inside the housing and use it like that.

FPV · 2018-03-02T12:04:22.000Z

That is a terrific idea, with the huge number of breakout board clones available you can save the device.

ChrisGarrett · 2018-03-02T21:47:11.000Z

I did the same thing to my first VC4. Even got away with it the first time, before burning it up.

I take yellow model paint and write the charger model name/number on the 12vdc wall warts, so I don’t do it again.

Chris

klrman · 2018-03-02T22:26:54.000Z

FPV:

That is one of the reasons why I sold my VC4, the cable invites mistakes like this and it was never a reliable cable for me. sorry to hear you lost your charger, I liked the display on this one

How does it invite mistakes?

Cula · 2018-03-02T23:08:04.000Z

klrman:

How does it invite mistakes?

Xtar needs 5V to power up and operate but uses a 5.5mm x 2.1 (or 5.5mm x 2.5) common round connector instead of micro usb. That connector is commonly used with most “brick” power supplies which use much higher voltage (like laptop power supply).

klrman · 2018-03-02T23:11:39.000Z

I get it, thanks. I purchased an Xtar charger as well and keep them together.

cera · 2018-03-03T09:36:01.000Z

C'mon Guys , the roads and the cars invite us to drive madly and crush ?

VC4 is a good charger , and I consider the round 5.5 x 2.1 mm being more reliable than the micro USB .., just pay attention , use a dedicated wall charger , write down on it " 5V ONLY !" and you'll be good...

Sorry for your loss Cula , s..t happens sometimes , but the charger didn't plug in , itself.., we all make mistakes...

FPV · 2018-03-03T09:40:55.000Z

I think the best solution would be to permanently leave the cable attached to the VC4. and ideally also never unplug it on the usb end either.
While I really like the display, the cable itself had to be replaced by the vendor once (when I touched the cable the entire device resetted and many times charging just stopped out of the blue). With newer 18650 high capacity cells I found the charger fairly slow as well.

Overall the build quality was fine though, no sharp edges or parts that looked out of place.

ChrisGarrett · 2018-03-03T17:39:25.000Z

FPV:

I think the best solution would be to permanently leave the cable attached to the VC4. and ideally also never unplug it on the usb end either.
While I really like the display, the cable itself had to be replaced by the vendor once (when I touched the cable the entire device resetted and many times charging just stopped out of the blue). With newer 18650 high capacity cells I found the charger fairly slow as well.

Overall the build quality was fine though, no sharp edges or parts that looked out of place.

My replacement is kept at my GF’s place in its bag, with USB cable, since it’s slow for my needs and she’s all USB anyhow.

There a rule in ammo reloading to ‘always keep only one can of gun powder on the bench at any one time’. Too many of us have grabbed the wrong powder when reloading, or mixed the leftovers with a different can of powder.

Probably something to think about if, like me, you have a lot of chargers.

Chris

Cula · 2018-03-03T18:25:44.000Z

New birthday for my XTAR VC4 .

1. Manage to scrape four TP4056 modules, one voltmeter and one buck converter (Up to 30V and 5A) from my workshop. Plan is to stuff those modules inside, TP’s are going to sit on aluminum heatsink.

2. Kapton taped aluminum heatsink, TP’s are going to run cool. Original XTAR board is stripped and isolated with electrical tape.

3. All is wired, output set to 5V.

4. All done, DC converter and voltmeter are glued to the plexiglass so they are above TP chips. Drilled a small hole trough plexi so I can access potentiometer and fine tune it if necessary.

5. Charging. I’m getting 0.92 A per channel. Now I can supply this charger with any power supply between 5V and 30V.

FPV · 2018-03-03T19:47:29.000Z

This looks cool, reminds me of the windows we used to put into modded/lighted PC cases. really like the outcome.

djozz · 2018-03-03T20:10:52.000Z

Looks really cool, it works, and you saved something that others would have simply trashed. :+1:

cera · 2018-03-03T21:06:15.000Z

Oh , nice job there ! And most of all I like the fact that you were sad for short time , and then found a solution !!!

By the way , how the buck convertor standing the 4 x 0.9 A ? I think is the one with XL 6009 or something like that , and for sure needs a heat sink ! As I remember the max. power with no heat sink is around 10+W ...Will you check this for me , please ? I was thinking about doing this with an old , defective Digicharger... Thanks !

MRsDNF · 2018-03-03T21:17:06.000Z

Love it. Nice job and recovery. :+1:

Cula · 2018-03-03T22:18:37.000Z

FPV:

This looks cool, reminds me of the windows we used to put into modded/lighted PC cases. really like the outcome.

Those blue leds are mesmerizing :laughing: .

djozz:

Looks really cool, it works, and you saved something that others would have simply trashed. :+1:

Small project to kill time during a rainy afternoon. I really enjoyed salvaging my XTAR.

MRsDNF:

Love it. Nice job and recovery. :+1:

Thanks .

cera@1967:

Oh , nice job there ! And most of all I like the fact that you were sad for short time , and then found a solution !!!

By the way , how the buck convertor standing the 4 x 0.9 A ? I think is the one with XL 6009 or something like that , and for sure needs a heat sink ! As I remember the max. power with no heat sink is around 10+W …Will you check this for me , please ? I was thinking about doing this with an old , defective Digicharger… Thanks !

Liitokala 500 is in the mail as we speak, I’ll use this only as a backup charger but if heat should become a problem I’ll cut a “window” above XL4005 and attach a small heatsink like this one:
3er-Set aus Pure Cu Kühlerkühlkörpern für Raspberry Pi Sale - Banggood Deutschland-arrival notice-arrival notice.
It will be exposed to air and provide enough cooling like that. Done it before and never had a problem with this buck module.

cera · 2018-03-04T09:08:11.000Z

Thanks Cula !

docpaul · 2021-01-19T09:14:53.000Z

Hi,

Sorry to dig up such an old thread but this has just happened to me, and I can see that it’s blown the top off a chip on the display board.
I can see that it’s a 74HCxxxD chip but I can no longer read the part number.
Any chance you or anyone else who has one could tell what U9 is?

Thanks.

Paul

thesjaakspoiler · 2021-11-02T07:25:35.000Z

Just contact XTAR : Contact Us|ShenZhen XTAR Electronics Co., Ltd
They have a ‘leave a message’ popup menu on the page.
Just say that your XTAR charger is out of warranty and that you would like to fix it yourself because you really like it.
They need the charger model and that ‘U9’ location.

They were very friendly when I asked them for a part number because I blew my XTAR VC4S due to a bad battery.
I asked what the part labelled ‘’D14KF’ was and within a day I got a reply that it’s a ‘DTS2314’.
There was some Chinese in the reply but Google can translate that for you.
It was a really nice surprise to get such great service.