OlRowdy01 V2 Grid Charger Build (Illustrated)

I'm starting a fresh thread on this because I'm going to be posting detailed step-by-step info and photos about my build of Ol' Rowdy's V2 grid charger. Spoiler alert: it works.

Ol’ Rowdy DIY V2 Grid Charger/Discharger
V2-grid-charger-discharger

Huge thanks to Ol' Rowdy for revising his design for current components and providing great support along the way.

0: BACKGROUND

When I bought my Insight (2002 MT) January 3, 2019, it had 248k miles and what the previous owner said was a weak battery. I reset the IMA by pulling fuse #15 under the dash and generally was okay driving around town, but any long hills or extended high speed interstate driving would eventually trip the IMA warning light and disable the system again.

After looking at the commercial grid chargers available, I decided to give Ol’ Rowdy’s homebrew charger a shot to save money. The cheapest reputable grid chargers seemed to start at $150 and go up. Ol’ Rowdy suggested his version could be built for about half that.

At the time, though, the key component to Ol’ Rowdy’s design – the current-limited LED power supply – was no longer available. Over the summer I got a local tech college to do a free battery conditioning on my car which worked wonders. By January 2020, my IMA was starting to act flaky again. Fortunately, Ol’ Rowdy now has a version 2 grid charger design using a widely available Mean Well power supply. Bonus – it is even simpler than his first version!

This thread documents my experience building the V2 Grid Charger, with extensive photos.

Baseline: I enjoy tinkering and building things, and can follow directions. The case construction was done using a Dremel, a drill, and some hand tools. I'm okay with basic circuits and soldering, but don’t understand electronics theory.

If this sounds like you, you can do this.