La Crosse changed design BC-9009

[z_Mikl1984]

I buy La Crosse BC-9009 from Amazon couple weeks ago

Firmware 37

It was interesting, that it arrived with old power adapter KSAFE0300400W1US



Why old:

- P2909 means production week 29 of year 2009

- color is identical old BC-900

- have Roman IV and voltage output 3.18V instead declared 3V



I decided to realize, what changed after exchange campaign last year



After disassembling I found that unknown Chinese maker change PCB.

Now you buy ABSOLUTELY different product in the same case





Photos of previous design you may find here http://www.shawnlam.ca/2009/battery-charger-meltdown/



Let's go to photos of new PCB G889A1V08





Appears second IC under compound and Switch 74HC4066D http://www.nxp.com/documents/data_sh...HC_HCT4066.pdf

MOSFETs are also different (ALKV)

Soldering quality is bad



I.e. last year adapter exchange campaign was temporary solution till maker had old PCB stock.

And silent complete design change will follow

I hope new design will be better than unlucky old one



More detail photos you may find on links here http://forum.ixbt.com/topic.cgi?id=20:27398-127#3839

[ob1knob]

I just ordered one from Amazon and got the exact same thing - old 'IV' adapter and new PCB inside the unit. Any idea if the design changes will really fix the melting charger issue or is this just another random guess from Lacrosse? I've got the charger in a ceramic container out in the garage charging overnight hoping that I don't wake up to find a melted charger.

[Mikl1984]

No melting so far
But temperature is rather high
Detail report you may find in russian http://forum.ixbt.com/topic.cgi?id=20:27398:4442#4442
Hope to make English variant in future

[Mikl1984]

Detail for Firmware 37
Written by Mikl1984 on 01-22-2011 01:55 PM GMT

I made some tests to compare previous FWs for identical products BC-900/9009 with new one, released for new PCB of BC-9009.

Thus firmware 37

The goal is to check following Shutoff Mechanism : Max Voltage, Max Temp, Max Time

I choose 2 almost dead cells with Isc<0.3A GP AAA 100AAAHC
One was about 0.7V

But when I start charge procedure at 200mA both were accepted and begin charge.

It's against following statement in manual

My battery reads “Null”.

This charger requires at least .9v in the battery in order to charge it. If the battery is depleted below that point, you will not be able to charge it on this battery charger.

Both charged withing 19:16 and received 3700 mAh.
It's against manual again (Max = 3000 mAh)

Next day I made TEST procedure at 1000 mAh for the same cells and received another two conditions:

MaxT = 55C again bigger than 53C in manual but within accuracy (it was at 1.66V)

MaxV = 1.76, 1.74V (La Crosse data during first and second charge)



All those figures differ a lot with previous FWs

May be I am wrong and somebody have another data?

Please share.

Most interesting point is DeltaV. But I don't have accurate DMM.

BTW formula for trickle charge is changed also

For example 1000 mA - 64mA

Re: Detail for Firmware 37
Written by jayflash on 02-18-2011 03:24 PM GMT

Thank you for sharing your results, Mikl. My old BV-900 v.32 will show fairly high volts on old NiCd cells, but stays under 1.5v with NiMH cells in good condition. The 64mA trickle charge is close to my 60mA. That seems too much if you keep cells in charger after charging is done.

My charger is always used in a cool room (65F or less). I don't use the 1800mA charge rate for two cells.

Re: Detail for Firmware 37
Written by VegasF6 on 02-18-2011 10:10 PM GMT

Mikl I don't have anything to add, but thank you for an excellent post. Very informative.

Re: La Crosse changed design BC-9009
Written by DarthBurger on 02-19-2011 10:26 AM GMT

Thanks for sharing this info, Mikl. I'm still reluctant to get a BC-9009 unless I use it on top of a cookiesheet with a fire extinguisher nearby.

[jalyst]

.......

[Sugarboy]

the logic board and the components looks shoddy if u ask me
i'm no expert tho.

[jalyst]

.............

[jalyst]

......

[jalyst]

Hi All,

Relative n00b in the area of chargers...
Was wondering if anyone can advise what the exact differences between the BC-9009 & BC-900 are.
And ideally (if you know), the differences between the BC-900 & the upcoming BC-1000.

Thank-you!

[Eismagier]

Was wondering if anyone can advise what the exact differences between the BC-9009 & BC-900 are.

Search helps.

The only difference between the BC900 and the BC9009 is the color of the units.

[Mikl1984]

Search helps.

Did you read first post?

[jalyst]

Search helps.

Thanks.

I already read that, but there was/is plenty of conflicting info/opinions, hence why I was still asking.
Does anyone know the latest conclusive answers? Ideally directly from LaCrosse etc.

[coachclass]

Uh, I wish I never got a La Crosse. I have one, and I've used it a few times. I brought it in 2010, June. It's BC-9009, V.32. I think it's one of the ones that are known to sometimes cause the melting issue.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I hate using it and worrying about the house catching fire.

[jalyst]

Hi All,

Relative n00b in the area of chargers...
Was wondering if anyone can advise what the exact differences between the BC-9009 & BC-900 are.
And ideally (if you know), the differences between the BC-900 & the upcoming BC-1000.

Thank-you!

[Mikl1984]

I try to make Discharge Refresh 100/200mA for ... alkaline batteries
Yes, it's possible with Lacrosse BC-9009 FW37
In result I received about 120 mAh for Duracell alkaline cells

During TEST process I saw MaxV 1.95V

[jalyst]

^ Thanks for sharing Mikl!
How does this finding of yours compare to the Maha C9000?

Also if you know...
What are the differences between the BC-9009, BC-900, & BC-1000?

Thanks you can spare the time

[Mikl1984]

Maha has Ri checking and more safe algorithm
It's better in many cases, besides alkaline charge and work with old, high Ri cells

For you BC-9009 and BC900 (not in production from 2009) are identical
BC-1000 not in production till now
Based on manual it's the same as BC-9009

[jalyst]

^ Thanks Mikl!

Why isn't the C9000 as good as the BC-9009/1000 for charging alkalines?
Think I've read this before, but I've forgotten the basis for it.

[Mikl1984]

Ri for old rechargable cells and new alkaline are very high.
Maha check it before charge. If ICV>2.10V (Ri> 0.4 Om) cell will be reject
IMHO it's good Maha's feature

[jalyst]

I see, what does Ri stand for?
I'm not up-to-speed on all the terminology yet
Thank-you.

[Mikl1984]

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/a...ct_performance

[jalyst]

I see, thanks mate!