Great video John, thanks. My charger started playing up yesterday so I opened it up today and saw I had exactly the same issue. Just swapped out the cap for a couple of £ and all sorted. Many thanks for sharing this great repair.
This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks. I really like those pointed pliers, they look sturdier than mine, I'll be trying to get a pair like you got now, thanks for that too.
Thank you! my nitecore i4 has the same issue, its showing yhe charge of the battery is full but in reality it was all empty. I disassambly the charger and the capasitor was like a baloon. İ had no spare capasitor to change but i had one 12V 1A adaptor. Plugged in the adaptor and magic, Charger works!. Thank you again!!
Hi John, Nice repair. I like to bend the component leads over cut and then solder. It tens to leave a nice fresh copper surface for the solder to bond too. Also I think the bend adds some mechanical strength. Keep up the interesting videos. Cheers Dave.
Yes bending the lead ends will add some strength to the joint my friend and is a good idea. I wasn't too worried here though as the caps were virtually jammed in between their adjacent components ☺️ Appreciate the comments as always David, thank you 👍 Cheers, John
I wonder if the resistors are suffering from heat too, even they should Not behave Like capacytors. I will Return my "new i4" but don't know what to Order instead. I only have a working 2 Slot Litokala
@@HeyJoe89 there are other good brands just look for. If you only want to charge li-ion without knowing how much energy is transferred then get TP4650 and install 10k or 5k Trimpot if you want to control amps. My UM2 wasn't fixed with a resistor. Charger is unable to detect voltage of the battery and therefore keep on charging the cell never gets full.
I had to do a similar repair on a Nitecore D4 recently. Opened it up and found a bulged 16v 1000uf low esr cap. Replaced the bad cap with a new one of the same specs and it's been working fine for a couple weeks now. With the bad cap, mine would refuse to charge with the charger powered by mains but would work fine from the 12V DC input.
@tonyz2897 exactly cause the 12v bypasses the internal circuit to convert the ac to DC and goes straight to the 8bit processor and charging circuit. Basically you brought the internal power supply outside and the 12v in picks up where the internal left off
Nice one. This reminded me on my Nitecore D4 which in 5% of cases shows the 26650 batteries as fully charged while the cell is actually about 3.6V.. It happens while charging, never immediately after inserting the battery. Removing the battery and inserting it again somehow fixes it. In 95% of cases it's working perfectly with the same batteries. There are no such issues with 18650 batteries. I guess I'll have to open it up and inspect it.
discoHR.. Hi & Thanks for commenting. Yes just look for bulging capacitors on both the AC and DC inputs, they're normally the tell tale sign that there's a problem. Cheers, John
I saw another video like this one. Too many people in the comments saying they have the same issue. I won't be buying one after seeing this second video about this problem and reading the comments.
I have the updated version of this i4 that's basically the same, but has a separate board for the charging LED, and its messed up. There's clearly a bad R500 smd resistor, and possibly the 1000uf cap bulged out top that needs replaced. I also have the "new i4" that's supposed to be better that also crapped the bed from a bad capacitor after a year or two. The 1500uf is bulging and the 220uf one lifted itself off the internals of the cap. It's the larger cap on both units that are bad, near the 12v power input. Ridiculous.
@@A6Legit Bummer. You should have watched this video before buying one. You would have saved yourself some frustration. That's what I did. So thank you again to the guy who made this video and saved me some dollars. The charger that I ended up buying 3 years ago still works well today.
I need to learn more about these repairs they look fun to do. I have a D2 digicharger, it does charge but if the cord is moved it loses power the plastic piece is loose in the housing of the unit. It's the same piece on yours but the one you have is purple mine is yellow it just rocks up and down on the housing. When its sitting flat if I push up on the cable it loses power so I will try to take it apart soon I just hope it's nothing broken inside. I'm not sure how I am going to tighten it but hopefully it's an easy fix. I haven't seen any videos addressing that part, I'll continue looking but your video was cool I always enjoying learning to fix things.
It could be that the block connector where it's soldered to the PCB has broken solder joints, this will cause the intermittent connection. If this is the case you should be able to re-solder the power block to the PCB. (assuming you can solder and are aware of the dangers of working around components that can be charged to mains voltages.) If you are unsure please get someone to help or advise you with this. As incorrectly soldering such components can lead to short circuits etc which can be very dangerous indeed.
@@OrbiterElectronics Thanks for the reply, I do have a solder kit but never used it nor do I have the know how to properly do it. I will try to take it to a shop to get it fixed. I was unaware of the dangers so thanks for sharing that with me. It did take a fall and starting having this issue so it is possible the solder broke there. I don't know how much it will cost if its reasonable I'll get it done or just buy a new charger. I will try to learn more about solder for the future cause its very handy to know. I appreciate the help very much, thanks again.
Ah ok.. Well if its had a fall or some sort of shock, especially whilst still attached to its mains cable, it certainly could be physical damage or a joint fracture between the mains socket and PCB, or something like that. If its just a solder joint or two it shouldn't cost too much to repair (perhaps £5 - £10) so don't pay any more than that. Yes.. I always pre warn folk of the dangers of high voltages when working on their own equipment etc, as its often overlooked. Often people will only find out that there is high voltage present, even inside an 'unplugged' device, when they've been given a nasty shock by it. This is from the voltage stored in the units main filter capacitors, which can remain charged for hours, or even days unless already drained by bleed resistors or shorted manually before testing etc. Cheers John
Nice repair John, really like your rubber mat and would appreciate it if you could let me know where you picked it up as I'm fed up of screws rolling off the table!
+jason laverty.. Hi Jason, just search Amazon or ebay etc for 'silicone repair mat'. Watch out though, some folk are asking faaar too much for these mats.. About & £10 is reasonable or if you're prepared to wait they're around £5 from China. Cheers John
Hi Thomas.. Not usre if I can help now as I don't have this PCB in my unit anymore. I bought a new i4 charger a couple of years back and the newer PCBs are different. However if your board is different to the one in this video perhaps you do have the same PCB as me. So if you'd like to send me a pic of the capacitor side of your PCB, I'll see if it's the same as mine & give you the cap values. To email me.. Just click on my channel name, select 'ABOUT'. Then down at the bottom you'll see an option to email for business enquiry. Send me an email & I'll get back to you. Cheers John
Hello..! I accidentally dropped my i4 charger and now it's completely dead. The blue light is not coming on. Do you have any idea what could be the reason? From your video it seems there is no moving part inside the charger. At the moment I do not have any tools yet, I would have to borrow from my brother in the next few days.
Hi, If you're lucky perhaps the internal glass fuse element has broken due to the drop. You can check the fuse quite easily by looking through the glass part of it. Or try and get hold of a multimeter from your brother.. Check the fuses continuity to make sure it and it's connections are good. If the fuse is ok, start checking the the heavier internal components. Especially the main power connection sockets for broken solder joints etc, Also make sure all solder legs and joints are ok, check for breaks / cracked joints etc.
Nice fix !! wish if i can really do that. i just got mine an hour ago, and when it charges two batteries , it get fairly hot .. and i've been thinking of maybe mod this charger with a small fan to push air into the PCB or pull the air out along with cutting the front side to allow airflow... those caps can get damaged if they exceed their rating temps.. which im really worried about right now
They still run rather warn even with new caps fitted, A fan would help though. If you do replace the caps just use the correct ones with a temperature rating of 105°C, this should give them a better lifespan.
Have you seen a charger which some of the lights don't come on at all with the correct battery orientation? I have ports 1 and 3 which do not recognize a battery in normal orientation and do nothing. Ports 2 and 4 are okay. What's really strange is if I reverse the battery in ports 1 and 3 it starts showing it's charging? Any idea what's going on? It wasn't this way when I got it.
The only time I've seen batteries not displaying anything at all is either when they don't have a good connection in the slot, or when the batteries have been dead or faulty. If you have tried known good batts in slots 1 & 3 and the same thing happens then you likely have a failed component/s on the PCB. There are many things that go wrong with these charges, mainly capacitor failure due to heat. In your case I would take a look inside (unplugged from mains) and just look for any burned or damaged IC components on the board along with bulged or leaking capacitors etc.
Hi. Whats the name of the capacitors that you replaced? I dont know what i should search for. I have some experience with soldering but only beginner stuff. Im having the same problems
Hi..You mean the name of the new ones I used? IIRC I used some Panasonic and some Worth branded caps. I can't remember their values.. Just head over to the likes of RS Components or Farnell (UK links Below) and select the same values and size as the ones your removing. Make sure that as this charger runs quite warm and is susceptible to cap overheating, that you choose caps that are rated for 105°C. This will mean that they will last longer in their enclosed environment. Before you remove the old caps, try and get their values etc beforehand, OR mark where each cap comes from and make a note of.. 1. Its position and orientation 2. It's voltage rating 3. Capacitance Rating (uF/microfarad) Also don't forget that these caps are polarised so they're only installed one way around, you will see a minus stripe down the side of each capacitor & a hatching type mark below each one on the PCB to denote its polarity. goo.gl/NzX7TL goo.gl/WfXiKr
My UM2 had resistor blown for 1 slot. I replaced the resistor but problem isnt fixed. Charger detect the battery and its voltage and shows its charging but have zero amps. No matter if i set it to 1A still zero amp output. Battery never gets full. Any idea which component to loot at to fix this CC or amp output issue? Many thanks to you.
I would check all capacitors on the failed channel too, including the SMD caps. They seem to be a common failure point as heat is an issue inside these things.
Fixed it. It was sense resistor R100 0.1 ohms which i replaced with 10 ohm normal resistor due to which current wasn't flowing. I pulled that same sense resistor from working slot to non working slot to confirm if everything is good and yes its working now. Now need to buy one. Thank you.
i managed to open it by removing the rubber bits on top of the screw holes but i could not re attach the springs back on the metal slider contact thing. I found small pieces of metal had broken off the springs inside the casing. Not a very good design the springs look very flimsy. I think its time for a new 4bay charger.
Orbiter Electronics I have the same charger and on 240v I have to wobble lead in socket input to get a connection and then when I eventually get it to stay connected you can hear it cracking and shorting I think. I swapped over to 12v and everything lit up lovely but charge lights just keep flashing and not staying on so don’t think they are charging on 12v. Can you offer any advice please
Hi. If you're wiggling the mains jack and getting intermittent contact, its possibly the mains jack that's developed a couple of bad soldered joints where it connects to the motherboard. If your used to soldering and are aware of the risks and safety precautions when working around mains equipment, then it may just require a little resoldering back to the mainboard. On the other hand it maybe that the mains jack is loose and coming into contact with something within the unit, the mains input capacitors are a common failure on these chargers. The caps can fail by either leaking electrolyte or drying out. If they've failed they'll need replacing. Be aware though that as your having issues with the 12v side too, their could be other issues with the unit.
Orbiter Electronics yes mate that’s what I thought with other issues as well and after having a quick glance at ebay and finding a similar unit brand new for £20 I decided to just buy a new one but me being me I’m still gonna have a go at repair over weekend so cheers for the advice buddy and very much appreciated. 👍
My i4's blue power light is flickering dim and when I put the batteries all 3 charging lights of all the 4 bays start and keep blinking.... Any suggestion what could be the fault? I have opened the charger today and removed the circuit board but there noting visually wrong.. Please help!!
Does it have the same problem when both mains and 12v powered? Are any of the capacitors leaking or bulged at the top or bottom. If so replace them. If everything looks ok & you have suitable test equipment.. I would remove each of the caps and check their ESR values.
Orbiter Electronics thank you so much for your prompt reply. I don’t know much about electronics. No I haven’t used it with DC actually I don’t have any suitable DC adapter brick . Can I send you the photos and a short video if there’s any chance? Maybe you can quickly find the problem...
Orbiter Electronics PS. Capacitors look good nothing is seemingly leaking. Can it be a blown fuse? But I can’t clearly see the wire inside the fuse glass?
@@altafhasen4739 If you have power to the board and LED's it's unlikely to be the fuse. Just send a couple of very high quality pictures so that I can see the board on both sides.. Go to the 'ABOUT' section at the top of my youtube channel. You will find the address to send to.
Ahh the typical problem with switchmode psu's, boiling the electrolitics. Im still not sure about switchmodes john, they seem more efficent but kill capacitors in the process, sometimes wrecking the psu. The old linear supplys last donkeys years but consume more power. it's a trade off that im not sure is worth it. I may be too negative lol.
Hi Harvey.. Yes it's a shame really that switchmode psu's don't seem to last very well compared to linear ones.. If they could be made less susceptible to failure whilst producing less noise etc it'd be good.. Saying that though I'd have nothing to fix :D Cheers friend, John
Ahh, now i didn't think about that.... ok i like switchmodes LOL :-D I built a 13.8v 2A linear supply for my frend back in 1987, he has given it pure hell over the years, i checked it recently and it's still spot on, i really didn't expect that. The insides look the same as the day i built it. Sorry john, i don't mean to torture you he he :-)
LOL.. :).. Ah so your still dabbling a little in electronics my friend.. I want to see these things your making and looking after.. I'd definitely be interested. Please do start uploading vids.. Pretty please. *Waits for upload notification* :D Cheers, John
I was speaking about a power supply i made in 1987, but i never was deep into construction, i spent most of my time repairing radio equipment/psus and odd things thrust at me by people i barely knew lol. The psu was a request from my old mate, i tryed to make it tough enough to cope, just a very simple double 7812 based unit with protection diodes on the output. Nothing special or complex, but i think i made it a bit too good 1987 to 2017, and the dam thing still works, nothing replaced. Im not a video maker john, my life is so boring now, even i fall asleep thinking about it LOL :-D I was the electronics repair section of a factory untill stress really made me very ill. Sorry im waffling again :-(
Sounds like you made a proper workhorse PSU there *Thumbs up*. It's ok Harv, I was only joking.. I remember us talking about our issues etc a good whilst ago now. I'm surprised I remember with all the pills I take :D Waffle all you want.. It's ok by me :) Cheers friend, John
hmmmm just happened similar experiece with new i4 from yday night the outgoing power is extreme low over 24 hours 5% charge rate and a silent high frequence beep leaving the unit, I have no soldering equipment as you have and for me replacig and finding the right capacitor would be harder than a new charger, but interesting it just malfuctionin few months later than the 2 years warranty, shame on Nitecore :( ... if I saw well the incoming DC can work, but i have no 12V DC unit fix so I will never know, will look after on vaping sites to get a good charger name and forge nitecore ....
I have new i2 nirecore charger Mine have buzzing sound and not charging Its only blinking the first led all day . I opened it and didn't found any thing burned or broken ( check by eye) What t do .plz help
Nice job! However, this type slot malfunction not only caused by caps, but also the 9926A mostfets, there are 4 of them, 2 above, 2 at back. If your problem still exists after cap replacing, better check those 9926A out. Since there are too many bad qlt 9926A on chinese market....they even sell it with different labels (small chip: means the short life one; big chip: long life one...god)
Hello, anyone got any idea what the thermistor is just behind the power supply NTC1 (black) ? Chip viper22a, the thermistor and the fuse blew when electric companies neutral came loose sending 380V through the charger. That was a few years ago, thought I'd repair it now, but can't identify the thermistor half blown away. I can see a TC and a 1. Thank you in advance.
Hi mate, I'm not sure if this is 100% correct as there are many variations of these i4 PCB's. However, I did find a PCB on Nitecores website that had an NTC right on the edge of the pcb next to the yellow input capacitor and fuse. This NTC was labelled NTC 5D-7, which is easily available. The 5D-7 NTCs are used on both i4 & i2 PCB's Hopefully, the input protection on your device saved the rest of it 👍 Cheers mate John
@@OrbiterElectronics Thank you very much. Yes I could try that. I think is identical i4 to the one in your video.. Looking at the data sheets it seems the 5D-7 means 5 ohms diameter 7. Mine had a 1 at the end so probably diameter 11. Possible NTC 5D-11.Whatever happened it blew and the fuse and the chip viper22a, but all the traces seem OK. I have another broken Nitecore charger which I have deemed a no fix. Its the New i4............. It just stopped charging on the first battery, but the other 3 charge OK. Looking inside there is a small burnt area of twisted traces, pads etc. Looks like there must have been a transistor/mosfet there that has vapourised. I'll keep it for spares or last resort. These chargers seem to get quite hot. Thanks again for taking the time to answer.
@@johnherrington5 No problem mate 👍Just out of curiosity I took one of my very old i4s apart to have a look at it's design, as I believe it was one of the first models. And It seems that these had no NTC at all, overall they seemed a more basic design. IIRC one of my units was replaced under warranty as it failed almost immediately following a few days of running very hot indeed 🔥 I got a couple more i4s (one of which is in the video).. And I've only just noticed 😂.. this one, like the one on the Nitecore site has an NTC labelled 5D-7. Your right.. The i4 chargers do indeed suffer from heat issues. My other early units are also showing signs of heat damage in certain areas. Diode D7 along with two adjacent 0402 capacitors on the bottom of the PCB (below the DC input jack) look to be running very hot, as is Q7 judging by their colours 🔥 Cheers John
@@OrbiterElectronics hi sir my nitecore intellicharger i4 stop working when suddenly it had spark inside however after the incident happened it work for a while and after that is stop working what do you think is the problem with it its not charging properly when i put batteries charging level just becomes full and stops working then works again and starts working what do you think is the part that is needed tobe replace?
@@giancastelo6010 .. Visually inspect the PCB first on both sides, check for burning, damaged or holed IC components. Also check the input circuitry, start with the fuse adjacent to the main input jact, then check for bulged/leaking capacitors, especially the larger filter capacitors.
Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately they use cheap components in these chargers, so many of them don't last that long. I hope you have better luck with your new one.
@@sajidkhanmahmood I always try to reply to my subscribers and commenters 👍 If you could solder and had the equipment, the first place to check inside your unit would be the electrolytic capacitors, as they tend to overheat and boil dry inside these chargers, resulting in failure.
@@OrbiterElectronics thanks again my only concern right now is that I won't be able to vape for the next 3 days until the new charger arrives but this is certainly useful information.
basically, i cheap mod an old 120mm fan and a broken micro usb cable so it can run as a usb fan.. and i placed it on my hot nitecore i4 , and it significantly reduced the heat from the charger .. will try it out with a 9v battery later on
Perhaps try it when you're charging 4x dead batteries. As thats when the most load will be consumed by the charging system, and thus most heat produced. If the fan is still keeping the temps down then all well and good 👍
This is exactly like with my D4 it bad something lose in side and now one of the components is blown can't identify it because there's nothing left to read. Anyone got a schematic?
These chargers suffer terribly with heat related issues, mainly you'll see capacitors leaking within the first few months, possibly followed by associated component failure. IMHO these devices are a cheapo design, and there's only ever one outcome in such cases. I can't remember now how many people have contacted me regarding failures on these chargers. If you can see what your failed device ID is (printed on the silkscreen.) I'll have a look at my boards and try and identify it if possible.
Get any water out. Use a hair dryer if necessary to remove every last bit of moisture. Then check the fuse in the corner of the PCB, It should be labelled 'fuse' on the solder masking. If you're not used to working with electronics, please ask someone who is to take a look at it for you, as these are mains operated units that can store & produce high voltages & shock.
@@lomotanrhenielemhelc.9667 Inspect the pcb visually for blown components, if you find any, replace them. Use a multimeter and test all components for open/short circuits etc
I didn't have to do all that but give it a bit of a clean as it was dirty and had a piece of crumb inside I broke some bendy metal thing I think I have a older model as I don't see it in this so maybe it's not necessary maybe it's just to make a clicking noise or for feel Hopefully it's not needed and I don't fry my batteries or burn my house down 😂
Great video John, thanks. My charger started playing up yesterday so I opened it up today and saw I had exactly the same issue.
Just swapped out the cap for a couple of £ and all sorted. Many thanks for sharing this great repair.
Good job there Mike, and thanks for the feedback buddy 👍
Nice video John, yeah, the most common fault on the switching power supply.
Electronics repair school .. Hi Sorin, thanks for stopping by and for your comments 👍
Cheers, John
This was exactly what I was looking for, thanks. I really like those pointed pliers, they look sturdier than mine, I'll be trying to get a pair like you got now, thanks for that too.
Dominique Hebert. Hi Dominique, thanks for the kind comments. Glad the video was helpful 👍
Cheers
John
Thank you! my nitecore i4 has the same issue, its showing yhe charge of the battery is full but in reality it was all empty. I disassambly the charger and the capasitor was like a baloon. İ had no spare capasitor to change but i had one 12V 1A adaptor. Plugged in the adaptor and magic, Charger works!. Thank you again!!
You're welcome, glad your up and running again👍
Hi John,
Nice repair. I like to bend the component leads over cut and then solder. It tens to leave a nice fresh copper surface for the solder to bond too. Also I think the bend adds some mechanical strength.
Keep up the interesting videos.
Cheers Dave.
Yes bending the lead ends will add some strength to the joint my friend and is a good idea. I wasn't too worried here though as the caps were virtually jammed in between their adjacent components ☺️
Appreciate the comments as always David, thank you 👍
Cheers, John
I have UM2 and one side stopped working. Opened and identified 10ohm R100 smd resistor blown. Replaced that and started working.
Good to hear you got it working again 👍
I wonder if the resistors are suffering from heat too, even they should Not behave Like capacytors. I will Return my "new i4" but don't know what to Order instead. I only have a working 2 Slot Litokala
@@HeyJoe89 there are other good brands just look for. If you only want to charge li-ion without knowing how much energy is transferred then get TP4650 and install 10k or 5k Trimpot if you want to control amps. My UM2 wasn't fixed with a resistor. Charger is unable to detect voltage of the battery and therefore keep on charging the cell never gets full.
I had to do a similar repair on a Nitecore D4 recently. Opened it up and found a bulged 16v 1000uf low esr cap. Replaced the bad cap with a new one of the same specs and it's been working fine for a couple weeks now. With the bad cap, mine would refuse to charge with the charger powered by mains but would work fine from the 12V DC input.
Caps give all sorts of symptoms when they fail. Glad you sorted it out though 👍
@tonyz2897 exactly cause the 12v bypasses the internal circuit to convert the ac to DC and goes straight to the 8bit processor and charging circuit. Basically you brought the internal power supply outside and the 12v in picks up where the internal left off
Nice one. This reminded me on my Nitecore D4 which in 5% of cases shows the 26650 batteries as fully charged while the cell is actually about 3.6V.. It happens while charging, never immediately after inserting the battery. Removing the battery and inserting it again somehow fixes it. In 95% of cases it's working perfectly with the same batteries. There are no such issues with 18650 batteries. I guess I'll have to open it up and inspect it.
discoHR.. Hi & Thanks for commenting. Yes just look for bulging capacitors on both the AC and DC inputs, they're normally the tell tale sign that there's a problem.
Cheers, John
I saw another video like this one. Too many people in the comments saying they have the same issue. I won't be buying one after seeing this second video about this problem and reading the comments.
Yes these chargers have an inherent issue with poor quality capacitors, whilst the design to reduce internal heat could be far better too.
I have the updated version of this i4 that's basically the same, but has a separate board for the charging LED, and its messed up. There's clearly a bad R500 smd resistor, and possibly the 1000uf cap bulged out top that needs replaced.
I also have the "new i4" that's supposed to be better that also crapped the bed from a bad capacitor after a year or two. The 1500uf is bulging and the 220uf one lifted itself off the internals of the cap.
It's the larger cap on both units that are bad, near the 12v power input. Ridiculous.
Also, I've never even used the DC power source, always the AC input.
@@A6Legit Bummer. You should have watched this video before buying one. You would have saved yourself some frustration. That's what I did. So thank you again to the guy who made this video and saved me some dollars. The charger that I ended up buying 3 years ago still works well today.
@@212days what kind did you buy? I definitely don't want to buy nitecore again but they're the biggest brand I know of
Great video! I will be switching out the caps in the morning and hopefully that fixes my charger. Same issue, wont charge past 3.8v
Thank you. Hope all goes well with your repair 👍
a very useful tutorial...thanks man.. at least it will save me from buying a new charger unit..
budak gendurt .. Thanks for the comments my friend..glad it helped a little 👍
I need to learn more about these repairs they look fun to do. I have a D2 digicharger, it does charge but if the cord is moved it loses power the plastic piece is loose in the housing of the unit. It's the same piece on yours but the one you have is purple mine is yellow it just rocks up and down on the housing. When its sitting flat if I push up on the cable it loses power so I will try to take it apart soon I just hope it's nothing broken inside. I'm not sure how I am going to tighten it but hopefully it's an easy fix. I haven't seen any videos addressing that part, I'll continue looking but your video was cool I always enjoying learning to fix things.
It could be that the block connector where it's soldered to the PCB has broken solder joints, this will cause the intermittent connection. If this is the case you should be able to re-solder the power block to the PCB. (assuming you can solder and are aware of the dangers of working around components that can be charged to mains voltages.)
If you are unsure please get someone to help or advise you with this. As incorrectly soldering such components can lead to short circuits etc which can be very dangerous indeed.
@@OrbiterElectronics Thanks for the reply, I do have a solder kit but never used it nor do I have the know how to properly do it. I will try to take it to a shop to get it fixed. I was unaware of the dangers so thanks for sharing that with me. It did take a fall and starting having this issue so it is possible the solder broke there. I don't know how much it will cost if its reasonable I'll get it done or just buy a new charger. I will try to learn more about solder for the future cause its very handy to know. I appreciate the help very much, thanks again.
Ah ok.. Well if its had a fall or some sort of shock, especially whilst still attached to its mains cable, it certainly could be physical damage or a joint fracture between the mains socket and PCB, or something like that.
If its just a solder joint or two it shouldn't cost too much to repair (perhaps £5 - £10) so don't pay any more than that.
Yes.. I always pre warn folk of the dangers of high voltages when working on their own equipment etc, as its often overlooked. Often people will only find out that there is high voltage present, even inside an 'unplugged' device, when they've been given a nasty shock by it. This is from the voltage stored in the units main filter capacitors, which can remain charged for hours, or even days unless already drained by bleed resistors or shorted manually before testing etc.
Cheers
John
Nice repair John, really like your rubber mat and would appreciate it if you could let me know where you picked it up as I'm fed up of screws rolling off the table!
+jason laverty.. Hi Jason, just search Amazon or ebay etc for 'silicone repair mat'. Watch out though, some folk are asking faaar too much for these mats.. About & £10 is reasonable or if you're prepared to wait they're around £5 from China.
Cheers
John
Thats cool as hell, ive never seen a desolder gun...
Can I have help in changing the damaged transistor? I want to know the alternative. I will attach a picture for you.
Great video, how do i know what size capacitor i need?
Hi Thomas.. Not usre if I can help now as I don't have this PCB in my unit anymore. I bought a new i4 charger a couple of years back and the newer PCBs are different. However if your board is different to the one in this video perhaps you do have the same PCB as me. So if you'd like to send me a pic of the capacitor side of your PCB, I'll see if it's the same as mine & give you the cap values.
To email me.. Just click on my channel name, select 'ABOUT'. Then down at the bottom you'll see an option to email for business enquiry. Send me an email & I'll get back to you.
Cheers
John
Hello..! I accidentally dropped my i4 charger and now it's completely dead. The blue light is not coming on. Do you have any idea what could be the reason? From your video it seems there is no moving part inside the charger.
At the moment I do not have any tools yet, I would have to borrow from my brother in the next few days.
Hi, If you're lucky perhaps the internal glass fuse element has broken due to the drop. You can check the fuse quite easily by looking through the glass part of it. Or try and get hold of a multimeter from your brother.. Check the fuses continuity to make sure it and it's connections are good.
If the fuse is ok, start checking the the heavier internal components. Especially the main power connection sockets for broken solder joints etc, Also make sure all solder legs and joints are ok, check for breaks / cracked joints etc.
*These should have fans built in, they run so fuckin hot*
Nice fix !! wish if i can really do that.
i just got mine an hour ago, and when it charges two batteries , it get fairly hot .. and i've been thinking of maybe mod this charger with a small fan to push air into the PCB or pull the air out along with cutting the front side to allow airflow... those caps can get damaged if they exceed their rating temps.. which im really worried about right now
They still run rather warn even with new caps fitted, A fan would help though. If you do replace the caps just use the correct ones with a temperature rating of 105°C, this should give them a better lifespan.
thanks for the info mate!
will try first with a single fan and some few holes on the charger .. and hope things will be just fine :)
cheers !
Have you seen a charger which some of the lights don't come on at all with the correct battery orientation? I have ports 1 and 3 which do not recognize a battery in normal orientation and do nothing. Ports 2 and 4 are okay. What's really strange is if I reverse the battery in ports 1 and 3 it starts showing it's charging? Any idea what's going on? It wasn't this way when I got it.
The only time I've seen batteries not displaying anything at all is either when they don't have a good connection in the slot, or when the batteries have been
dead or faulty. If you have tried known good batts in slots 1 & 3 and the same thing happens then you likely have a failed component/s on the PCB.
There are many things that go wrong with these charges, mainly capacitor failure due to heat. In your case I would take a look inside (unplugged from mains) and just look for any burned or damaged IC components on the board along with bulged or leaking capacitors etc.
Hi. Whats the name of the capacitors that you replaced? I dont know what i should search for. I have some experience with soldering but only beginner stuff. Im having the same problems
Hi..You mean the name of the new ones I used? IIRC I used some Panasonic and some Worth branded caps. I can't remember their values.. Just head over to the likes of RS Components or Farnell (UK links Below) and select the same values and size as the ones your removing.
Make sure that as this charger runs quite warm and is susceptible to cap overheating, that you choose caps that are rated for 105°C. This will mean that they will last longer in their enclosed environment.
Before you remove the old caps, try and get their values etc beforehand, OR mark where each cap comes from and make a note of..
1. Its position and orientation
2. It's voltage rating
3. Capacitance Rating (uF/microfarad)
Also don't forget that these caps are polarised so they're only installed one way around, you will see a minus stripe down the side of each capacitor & a hatching type mark below each one on the PCB to denote its polarity.
goo.gl/NzX7TL
goo.gl/WfXiKr
Thank you John!
You're welcome :)
My UM2 had resistor blown for 1 slot. I replaced the resistor but problem isnt fixed. Charger detect the battery and its voltage and shows its charging but have zero amps. No matter if i set it to 1A still zero amp output. Battery never gets full. Any idea which component to loot at to fix this CC or amp output issue? Many thanks to you.
I would check all capacitors on the failed channel too, including the SMD caps. They seem to be a common failure point as heat is an issue inside these things.
@@OrbiterElectronics thank you so much for your reply. I will look at it and let you know if fixed.
Fixed it. It was sense resistor R100 0.1 ohms which i replaced with 10 ohm normal resistor due to which current wasn't flowing. I pulled that same sense resistor from working slot to non working slot to confirm if everything is good and yes its working now. Now need to buy one. Thank you.
@@3012paul Good to hear you got it fixed 👍🏻
I wanted to repair mine because one of the springs broke but when I turned it over mine is a sealed unit no screws.
If its the same model as this one check for screws under the rubber feet, and also under any product stickers etc.
@@OrbiterElectronics thanks for the quick reply I'll take a deeper look when I get home.
i managed to open it by removing the rubber bits on top of the screw holes but i could not re attach the springs back on the metal slider contact thing. I found small pieces of metal had broken off the springs inside the casing. Not a very good design the springs look very flimsy. I think its time for a new 4bay charger.
@@sajidkhanmahmood Sorry to hear that.. Does sound like poor manufacturing.
Orbiter Electronics I have the same charger and on 240v I have to wobble lead in socket input to get a connection and then when I eventually get it to stay connected you can hear it cracking and shorting I think. I swapped over to 12v and everything lit up lovely but charge lights just keep flashing and not staying on so don’t think they are charging on 12v. Can you offer any advice please
Hi. If you're wiggling the mains jack and getting intermittent contact, its possibly the mains jack that's developed a couple of bad soldered joints where it connects to the motherboard. If your used to soldering and are aware of the risks and safety precautions when working around mains equipment, then it may just require a little resoldering back to the mainboard.
On the other hand it maybe that the mains jack is loose and coming into contact with something within the unit, the mains input capacitors are a common failure on these chargers. The caps can fail by either leaking electrolyte or drying out. If they've failed they'll need replacing.
Be aware though that as your having issues with the 12v side too, their could be other issues with the unit.
Orbiter Electronics yes mate that’s what I thought with other issues as well and after having a quick glance at ebay and finding a similar unit brand new for £20 I decided to just buy a new one but me being me I’m still gonna have a go at repair over weekend so cheers for the advice buddy and very much appreciated. 👍
@@MrJuep76 You're wecome mate, Hope all goes ok with the repair, and you can get it going again to perhaps use it as a spare etc 👍
Had the same problem with my I4, not surprising as these nitecore chargers run far too hot. Replaced it with an Xtar which barely gets warm.
My i4's blue power light is flickering dim and when I put the batteries all 3 charging lights of all the 4 bays start and keep blinking.... Any suggestion what could be the fault? I have opened the charger today and removed the circuit board but there noting visually wrong.. Please help!!
Does it have the same problem when both mains and 12v powered?
Are any of the capacitors leaking or bulged at the top or bottom. If so replace them.
If everything looks ok & you have suitable test equipment.. I would remove each of the caps and check their ESR values.
Orbiter Electronics thank you so much for your prompt reply. I don’t know much about electronics. No I haven’t used it with DC actually I don’t have any suitable DC adapter brick . Can I send you the photos and a short video if there’s any chance? Maybe you can quickly find the problem...
Orbiter Electronics PS. Capacitors look good nothing is seemingly leaking. Can it be a blown fuse? But I can’t clearly see the wire inside the fuse glass?
@@altafhasen4739 If you have power to the board and LED's it's unlikely to be the fuse. Just send a couple of very high quality pictures so that I can see the board on both sides.. Go to the 'ABOUT' section at the top of my youtube channel. You will find the address to send to.
Orbiter Electronics 👍
Ahh the typical problem with switchmode psu's, boiling the electrolitics.
Im still not sure about switchmodes john, they seem more efficent but kill capacitors in the process, sometimes wrecking the psu.
The old linear supplys last donkeys years but consume more power.
it's a trade off that im not sure is worth it.
I may be too negative lol.
Hi Harvey.. Yes it's a shame really that switchmode psu's don't seem to last very well compared to linear ones.. If they could be made less susceptible to failure whilst producing less noise etc it'd be good.. Saying that though I'd have nothing to fix :D
Cheers friend, John
Ahh, now i didn't think about that.... ok i like switchmodes LOL :-D
I built a 13.8v 2A linear supply for my frend back in 1987, he has given it pure hell over the years, i checked it recently and it's still spot on, i really didn't expect that.
The insides look the same as the day i built it.
Sorry john, i don't mean to torture you he he :-)
LOL.. :)..
Ah so your still dabbling a little in electronics my friend.. I want to see these things your making and looking after.. I'd definitely be interested. Please do start
uploading vids.. Pretty please. *Waits for upload notification* :D
Cheers, John
I was speaking about a power supply i made in 1987, but i never was deep into construction, i spent most of my time repairing radio equipment/psus and odd things thrust at me by people i barely knew lol.
The psu was a request from my old mate, i tryed to make it tough enough to cope, just a very simple double 7812 based unit with protection diodes on the output.
Nothing special or complex, but i think i made it a bit too good 1987 to 2017, and the dam thing still works, nothing replaced.
Im not a video maker john, my life is so boring now, even i fall asleep thinking about it LOL :-D
I was the electronics repair section of a factory untill stress really made me very ill.
Sorry im waffling again :-(
Sounds like you made a proper workhorse PSU there *Thumbs up*.
It's ok Harv, I was only joking.. I remember us talking about our issues etc a good whilst ago now. I'm surprised I remember with all the pills I take :D
Waffle all you want.. It's ok by me :)
Cheers friend, John
Nice!
hmmmm just happened similar experiece with new i4 from yday night the outgoing power is extreme low over 24 hours 5% charge rate and a silent high frequence beep leaving the unit, I have no soldering equipment as you have and for me replacig and finding the right capacitor would be harder than a new charger, but interesting it just malfuctionin few months later than the 2 years warranty, shame on Nitecore :( ... if I saw well the incoming DC can work, but i have no 12V DC unit fix so I will never know, will look after on vaping sites to get a good charger name and forge nitecore ....
Yes I don't think they are made too well really and the components used are seemingly the cheapest.
I have new i2 nirecore charger
Mine have buzzing sound and not charging
Its only blinking the first led all day .
I opened it and didn't found any thing burned or broken ( check by eye)
What t do .plz help
If u can send me u mail
I will send photo of my charger
@@mohamedzidan1532 If you click on my channel name.. you will see the ABOUT section. You can contact me by mail there.
Nice job! However, this type slot malfunction not only caused by caps, but also the 9926A mostfets, there are 4 of them, 2 above, 2 at back. If your problem still exists after cap replacing, better check those 9926A out. Since there are too many bad qlt 9926A on chinese market....they even sell it with different labels (small chip: means the short life one; big chip: long life one...god)
Thanks for the info buddy 👍, I was fortunate with mine, in that it just had faulty caps, and is still functioning well even today 🙂
Hello, anyone got any idea what the thermistor is just behind the power supply NTC1 (black) ? Chip viper22a, the thermistor and the fuse blew when electric companies neutral came loose sending 380V through the charger. That was a few years ago, thought I'd repair it now, but can't identify the thermistor half blown away. I can see a TC and a 1. Thank you in advance.
Hi mate, I'm not sure if this is 100% correct as there are many variations of these i4 PCB's. However, I did find a PCB on Nitecores website that had an NTC right on the edge of the pcb next to the yellow input capacitor and fuse. This NTC was labelled NTC 5D-7, which is easily available. The 5D-7 NTCs are used on both i4 & i2 PCB's
Hopefully, the input protection on your device saved the rest of it 👍
Cheers mate
John
@@OrbiterElectronics Thank you very much. Yes I could try that. I think is identical i4 to the one in your video.. Looking at the data sheets it seems the 5D-7 means 5 ohms diameter 7. Mine had a 1 at the end so probably diameter 11. Possible NTC 5D-11.Whatever happened it blew and the fuse and the chip viper22a, but all the traces seem OK.
I have another broken Nitecore charger which I have deemed a no fix. Its the New i4............. It just stopped charging on the first battery, but the other 3 charge OK. Looking inside there is a small burnt area of twisted traces, pads etc. Looks like there must have been a transistor/mosfet there that has vapourised. I'll keep it for spares or last resort. These chargers seem to get quite hot.
Thanks again for taking the time to answer.
@@johnherrington5 No problem mate 👍Just out of curiosity I took one of my very old i4s apart to have a look at it's design, as I believe it was one of the first models. And It seems that these had no NTC at all, overall they seemed a more basic design.
IIRC one of my units was replaced under warranty as it failed almost immediately following a few days of running very hot indeed 🔥
I got a couple more i4s (one of which is in the video).. And I've only just noticed 😂.. this one, like the one on the Nitecore site has an NTC labelled 5D-7.
Your right.. The i4 chargers do indeed suffer from heat issues. My other early units are also showing signs of heat damage in certain areas. Diode D7 along with two adjacent 0402 capacitors on the bottom of the PCB (below the DC input jack) look to be running very hot, as is Q7 judging by their colours 🔥
Cheers
John
A very nice fix, maybe I can do the same for mine! :-)
+Steven Sawyer Hi Steven and thanks for the comments by, yes a repair would be advisable, preferably before any problems occur.
Cheers, John
@@OrbiterElectronics hi sir my nitecore intellicharger i4 stop working when suddenly it had spark inside however after the incident happened it work for a while and after that is stop working what do you think is the problem with it its not charging properly when i put batteries charging level just becomes full and stops working then works again and starts working what do you think is the part that is needed tobe replace?
@@giancastelo6010 Hello.. Firstly do you know why it sparked internaly, did something happen to cause this spark?
@@OrbiterElectronics i just leave at may charging spot and suddenly my friends told me it exploded or spark
@@giancastelo6010 .. Visually inspect the PCB first on both sides, check for burning, damaged or holed IC components. Also check the input circuitry, start with the fuse adjacent to the main input jact, then check for bulged/leaking capacitors, especially the larger filter capacitors.
mine has broke to after just over a year but i cant solder so i bought a new one
Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately they use cheap components in these chargers, so many of them don't last that long. I hope you have better luck with your new one.
@@OrbiterElectronics thanks I thought no one would reply. The lights just started flickering all the time and it was charging really slowly
@@sajidkhanmahmood I always try to reply to my subscribers and commenters 👍
If you could solder and had the equipment, the first place to check inside your unit would be the electrolytic capacitors, as they tend to overheat and boil dry inside these chargers, resulting in failure.
@@OrbiterElectronics thanks again my only concern right now is that I won't be able to vape for the next 3 days until the new charger arrives but this is certainly useful information.
@@sajidkhanmahmood That's a little unfortunate. I hope your new charger arrives quickly 🙂
my i4 went wonky, each bank's LEDs flash when no cells are in. alternating top & bottom LEDs then middle LED. Has anyone seen this? fix?
Same problem here, doesn't charge.
I'm going to open this and to check the electrolitics...
The caps do seem to be a common issue on these chargers, so you'll likely find them bulged/leaking.
basically, i cheap mod an old 120mm fan and a broken micro usb cable so it can run as a usb fan.. and i placed it on my hot nitecore i4 , and it significantly reduced the heat from the charger ..
will try it out with a 9v battery later on
Perhaps try it when you're charging 4x dead batteries. As thats when the most load will be consumed by the charging system, and thus most heat produced. If the fan is still keeping the temps down then all well and good 👍
This is exactly like with my D4 it bad something lose in side and now one of the components is blown can't identify it because there's nothing left to read. Anyone got a schematic?
These chargers suffer terribly with heat related issues, mainly you'll see capacitors leaking within the first few months, possibly followed by associated component failure. IMHO these devices are a cheapo design, and there's only ever one outcome in such cases. I can't remember now how many people have contacted me regarding failures on these chargers.
If you can see what your failed device ID is (printed on the silkscreen.) I'll have a look at my boards and try and identify it if possible.
Very nice job! But disappointed by Nitecore using very low quality components!!!
Thanks Phil. Yes.. certainly built down to a price these things.
Cheers, John
my charger have water inside pls help me
Get any water out. Use a hair dryer if necessary to remove every last bit of moisture. Then check the fuse in the corner of the PCB, It should be
labelled 'fuse' on the solder masking. If you're not used to working with electronics, please ask someone who is to take a look at it for you, as these are mains
operated units that can store & produce high voltages & shock.
the light is blinking what would i do
@@lomotanrhenielemhelc.9667 Inspect the pcb visually for blown components, if you find any, replace them. Use a multimeter and test all components for open/short circuits etc
Or you cound power it up on the 12v side if you do not have Electronic capabilities.
Yes, this is certainly an alternative option 👍
I didn't have to do all that but give it a bit of a clean as it was dirty and had a piece of crumb inside
I broke some bendy metal thing
I think I have a older model as I don't see it in this so maybe it's not necessary maybe it's just to make a clicking noise or for feel
Hopefully it's not needed and I don't fry my batteries or burn my house down 😂
Lol 👍👍
Cheap caps. Computer motherboards had the same issues with leaking. I would expect better quality from a known brand as Nitecore.
i have 3 unit, and all dead, i4, d2 and d4, its sucks, don't buy this device, #nitecore #charging