The problem I started experiencing during my return from the UK last year with the DCDC converter not being able to keep the voltage stable got worse during the cold months.
Even at just 36W the controller was going below 10V and just a few seconds of any kind of load, blinkers included, would lower the voltage to a point where the inverter would cut out.
Time to get this 26-year old failing part out of the TWIKE!
There is not one SMD part on this board!
Further analysis showed that recapping the capacitors didn’t fix the problem. I wasn’t able to further troubleshoot nor did I want to start yet another project that would take ages and teach me things I didn’t really want to know in the first place.
So, to my trusted mechanic Andi I went and he had, unsurprisingly, already had a few customers with failing DCDC’s and a drop-in replacement which was way better than the unprotected old device – a fully covered, ruggedised automotive version which was able to produce way more power than the old one.
With a bit of double-sided tape the new DCDC found a great new place on top of one of the battery packs. The whole operation was over within 20 mins.
Let’s hope the new DCDC lasts another 26 years!