eista:
Hello, I have now testet "clone" LipoFuel Gauges from 3 different Chinese sellers, and all are not working.I have cross checked with 2 batches from SparkFun, an all units from SparkFun works perfectly. I have tried with a number of libraries and also direct commands to the boards: All the symptoms point to the "clone" boards having defective or fake Max17043 chips.
The Sparkfun boards have a black jst battery connector, I think the older ones from Sparkfun might have been white (their web page shows white battery connector, but they are shipped with black ones).
The "clones" all have white battery connector. All the "clones" came with an incorrectly wired jst battery cable - so they might all be from the same production batch from the same manufacturer. So, if you see a board for sale with an included battery cable, stay away....
All the vendors just do the usual "crap" when confronted with these issues:
- They loose their english knowledge
- They ask if it's user or operator error
- They finally after a lot of mails will offer refund if I return the goods
Since the postage is higher for a return than the value of the boards, the only option is to toss these fake stuff into the garbage can and stay with the Sparkfun ones.
$10 is a little expensive, but better to spend more for a working item than spending a lot of time and grief dealing with fakes from vendors with no scruples or customer support...
So, if any one can find a source of these boards working - and at a price of $5, that would be great. Until then I will spend $10 for the Sparkfun ones...
This ebay seller shown in these two video on the MAX17043 looks promising. I haven't tried it myself yet. Will post back if I do.
