Ion Cube, Problem or Me?

[JimC-MD]

I purchased an Ion Cube recently in two stages. I got the basic charger because the brain unit was out of stock. Then the brain and two additional charge ports were added.

I charged some batteries with it before the brain arrived and it appeared to work just fine. I wanted the adjustable charge rates for other units I had so I put the new parts in. It all fires up and then rapidly cycles through the screens for each channel at about 2 Hertz. It will continue to do this. You cannot cycle to a screen for adjustment. If a battery is plugged into a port, when it gets to that channel it will run through an auto set to ".5 Amps, okay and starting charge" before you have a chance to change anything. If you are watching you can hit the correct button and maybe get a 1.6 amp charge rate through luck and timing. I know this cannot be correct.

The instructions are very clear and my reading comprehension has been good in the past.............

Any thoughts? Is my brain fried?

Thanks for your help in advance.

[Wayne]

Jim,

It sounds messed up. Call Kurt and Mike tomorrow and the will get you squared away.
Sounds like you'll probably have to send it back.


FWIW,
Mine has been working really well.
That, in combination with my Wolverine switch makes things so easy.

I flew 6 flights yesterday. Plugged the batts in for a charge and one batt took 1645 Mah. The other took 1650 Mah.

[JimC-MD]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 3D_Kid
	A video showing what you are describing would help alot, or even several pics.

Sorry Kid, the video I would upload would be very hard to see what was happening on, especially through aviator glasses. For pictures you can visit the fromeco.org site

	Quote: Originally Posted by Wayne
	Jim, It sounds messed up. Call Kurt and Mike tomorrow and the will get you squared away. Sounds like you'll probably have to send it back. FWIW, Mine has been working really well. That, in combination with my Wolverine switch makes things so easy. I flew 6 flights yesterday. Plugged the batts in for a charge and one batt took 1645 Mah. The other took 1650 Mah.

Wayne, thanks for taking the time to respond. I will give the guys a shout tomorrow. I was just holding out hope that it would be something I did and I could straighten out easily.

[Fromeco]

Jim-C

I think what is happening is your clear case front is pinching the Yellow or right hand button in the down position. Try to pull the clear cover off power up the unit and see if you have the same results. I doubt it will do the same thing. However if it does we will get you fixed up no matter what.
(NOTE: do not charge with the clear plexy off, the Ion Cube needs the cover on for charging to force cool air over the FET that controls amperage flow. )

Once you get the clear lid off, gently stick a small flat blade screw driver under the buttons and carefull pry off the buttons. Test your Cube, make sure it has gotten rid of the "Auto scroll mode (pinched button)". Now put the clear face back on without the buttons installed. Once you have the clear face on gently pry the brain so that the two alignment tits fit into their respective slots in the front of the clear plexy. (This can be done by sticking a small screw driver in the fan slot in the back on the right side of the charger. Pry "gently" the brain forward through the airvent "last vent or second to last vent". This will get the right side flush, now take the flat blade screwgie in the left button hole, and "gently" pry it forward using the button mechanical portion and the top of the plexy as a lever point. This should get the brian flush.) Make sure the brain is front edge is close to fush with the clear plexy with tits in their holes. Now put the bottons back on. This should take care of the problem.

If not ,,,, again just give us a call we will get you all fixed up.

Kurt Cook
Fromeco Scale Avionics LLC

[saddler]

This sounds like it is probably the case. I had the same problem with mine when it first arrived. I removed the clear case to add a fifth charge port and when trying to reinstall the case, the yellow button would stick. I ended up using a small file and slightly enlarging both button holes so that this wasn't a problem. It has been a flawless charger so far, i like it!

	Quote: Originally Posted by Fromeco
	Jim-C I think what is happening is your clear case front is pinching the Yellow or right hand button in the down position. Try to pull the clear cover off power up the unit and see if you have the same results. I doubt it will do the same thing. However if it does we will get you fixed up no matter what. (NOTE: do not charge with the clear plexy off, the Ion Cube needs the cover on for charging to force cool air over the FET that controls amperage flow. ) Once you get the clear lid off, gently stick a small flat blade screw driver under the buttons and carefull pry off the buttons. Test your Cube, make sure it has gotten rid of the "Auto scroll mode (pinched button)". Now put the clear face back on without the buttons installed. Once you have the clear face on gently pry the brain so that the two alignment tits fit into their respective slots in the front of the clear plexy. (This can be done by sticking a small screw driver in the fan slot in the back on the right side of the charger. Pry "gently" the brain forward through the airvent "last vent or second to last vent". This will get the right side flush, now take the flat blade screwgie in the left button hole, and "gently" pry it forward using the button mechanical portion and the top of the plexy as a lever point. This should get the brian flush.) Make sure the brain is front edge is close to fush with the clear plexy with tits in their holes. Now put the bottons back on. This should take care of the problem. If not ,,,, again just give us a call we will get you all fixed up. Kurt Cook Fromeco Scale Avionics LLC

[JimC-MD]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Kurt, I will be calling you shortly. As someone that repairs electrical problems and deals with electronics on an almost daily basis I suspected a problem with a stuck switch. I had already tried removing the cover and checking the yellow switch/button. No joy. It may be internal to the button itself.

Thanks for the prompt reply.

[JimC-MD]

Just wanted to update this thread for everyone.

I was able to talk to Kurt and Mike the next day. Mike gave me a couple of things that I could readily check on the board. Even though I am not an electronics expert, circuit diagnosis and electrical components are things I deal with every day. With a little more knowledge of the system, I was able to eliminate a potential easy repair. The buttons were not stuck and were operating normally on the board. That indicated a problem in another area. I sent an email telling them of my findings and asking if there was anything else I should check. Mike told me the problem was likely in an area that was not easily serviceable so they would send me another GUID. (brain) Well, I finally had a chance to stop by the post office today and there was a package from Fromeco. I installed the new brain this evening and the charger works perfectly. There was even a return shipping label for the old unit enclosed and I will be shipping the original back. I am very happy to be able to take this charger with me, fully set up, to the Nall.

Thanks to both Kurt and Mike for the great support. I really appreciate you providing enough information for me to try a fix on the unit if it was a simple problem. I feel like a client instead of a consumer and that is a great thing.

Tip of the hat, gents. Great product AND service.

[Scooter in DE]

Hmmm, having sort of a problem with mine...Seems that I start out with the correct charge rates I set in the "brain", it quickly dwindles down to almost a "trickle" charge...sometimes less than .5 amps even though I KNOW FOR SURE a 2,000 mAh pack is low. I had it on the charger for over 2 hours and only put maybe 500 mAh into the pack?!?! Any suggestions? This can't be correct, maybe its a bad charger? Just purchased new not even a month ago. Please help!

[snap a saurus]

Scooter, mine does the same thing, that's normal as the battery is getting full, the current will drop, it's not a continuously constant charge, that's how Lithium chargers work.

[Scooter in DE]

I understand that it should drop a little, but my last lithium charger brought these same packs up to full in almost 2 hours! The full 2,000mAh! Was on the charger yesterday over 2 hours and only put 500 into a new pack with 2 cycles from my old charger. A 33% 3d plane with 9 high torque servos after 4 20+ min flights will surely suck more than 500. I even tried charging different park flier packs ranging from 800 through 2200 mAh with the same results....if the amps drop so much so fast...how long should it take to satisify a 2000 mAh pack when I set it for 2.0 amps? My park fliers, when I start to lose power I immediately land and charge...the pack is low at that point and I couldent charge over that 500 in almost an hour (2200 mAh pack)....I just don't understand.

[Scooter in DE]

Anybody else have this "problem"?

[Fromeco]

Hey Scooter,Check all of your in put wiring and your power supply.

We had a guy at the field who had the same problem. Basically he had to long of a wire run from a lighter plug in his PT Crusier. Which went from the front of the car to the back of the car where it plugged into the Ion3. When he would start a charge the charger would drop way down on amps,,, if he had it set to 2.5 it would drop down to 1amp.

We took his charger and landed the banana plugs directly on his battery terminals, and it would charge at the 2.5 as it was supposed to. I don't know if his lamp cord wiring was bad, or his lighter plug, or his lighter plug adapter, or the overall length which was about 8 feet was the problem, but it was somewhere in there.

The Ion3 has a voltage booster in it, but it only comes into play for topping off 3 cell batteries and it is only good for 500mah of current or 500 split 5 ways. Some chargers have Voltage boosters in them for the entire charge. So you need to make sure that you have good current through put and a good voltage source or you will get exactly what you are seeing,,,,, I think?

So check those things that I mentioned above to see if that is the problem if not give us a call, we will help you get it figured out.

Kurt Cook
Fromeco