Staggered Charging Issues with Ergotron Mobile Computer Station

Summary: Follow the guidelines provided in this article to troubleshoot and resolve staggered charging issues using the Ergotron Mobile Computer Station.

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Symptoms

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Cause

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Resolution

Ergotron Mobile Computer Station staggered charging.

The Ergotron Mobile Computer Station (Figure 1) may experience an issue with charging all the systems in the station simultaneously.

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Figure 1: Ergotron Mobile Computer Station

Working within the design limitations.

The Ergotron Mobile Computer Station is designed with safety features to prevent the Station from drawing excessive current from the wall outlet. This is the process that occurs when the station is connected to a wall outlet to charge the systems loaded in the station.

  1. The 30 outlets in the station are divided into six banks of 5 outlets each. The top 5 on one side would be bank one, then the top five on the opposite side is bank 2. The near side is banks 1, 3 and 5, the opposite side is banks 2, 4 and 6.
  2. When the station is first plugged in, it performs a scan to determine the power draw required. After the scan, a determination is made if the station can safely send power without overloading the wall outlet to which it is connected.
    1. If the load is low enough that the station can send power to all 6 banks, all systems charge at once.
    2. But if, for example, bank 1 requires a larger amount of power and sending power to more than bank causes an overload, then power is sent to only bank 1 for 10 minutes.
    3. After the first 10 minutes if banks 2 and 3 can charge together at a safe load, those two banks will get power for the next 10 minutes. This rotation of banks continues until all banks receive a 10 minute charge. Then the charging cycle repeats
    4. Once the power load for each bank is low enough the cycling stops and then all banks charge simultaneously.

If charging issues are occurring that do not follow this scenario, then it is recommended that you contact Ergotron and troubleshoot the station.

All support comes directly from the vendor Ergotron.

Here is the contact information for Ergotron:

When calling Ergotron for support, you must provide the Serial Number from the unit. This can be found towards the bottom of the Station right above the external cable management bay (Figure 2.

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Figure 2: Where to find the serial number on the Ergotron Mobile Computing Station

Affected Products

Dell Compact Charging Cart - 36 Devices
Article Properties
Article Number: 000140576
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 07 Jun 2024
Version:  4
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