It appears that the early model ELF’s use a GV Boost by Genasun for charging the battery via the solar panel. It is located inside the “Brain Box” of the ELF
The GV Boost is what takes the 12-19 volt output of the solar panel and converts it to 53 volts needed to charge a 48-volt Lithium Ion Battery.
According to Genasun, it takes 10-volts to turn on the charging circuit . This voltage comes from the 48-volt battery
The Solar Panel input leads on the GV Boost should have a 7-volt pulse coming out of them . This is normal to see when you disconnect the solar panel.
There is a blinking Light on the solar charger that will give off codes that will tell you what the GV Boost is doing. Some of them include:
- Green Blinking every 2-seconds means the battery is connected properly and is ready to charge when a solar panel is available.
- Green fast short blinks mean the unit is charging the battery from the Solar Panel
- Solid Green light means it’s fully charged.
- Two RED blinks followed by a pause then Two more RED blinks means the Controllers inner temperature is too high
- Three RED Blinks followed by a pause then Three more RED Blinks means that the Controller is overloaded.
- Sets of 5 RED Blinks means the battery voltage is too high.
- Please refer to the Genasun GV Boost manual at http://genasun.com for a list of all status indication codes used on the GV Boost.
Also in the early model ELF’s is a QSKJ DC to DC converter. This is used to change the 48-Volts from the Battery down to 12-Volts for the Headlights, tail Lights and turn signals. It has a RED light to show it is powered up. It is also located in the “Brain Box” of the ELF.