4s lipo shows as 3s

[Abraksan]

one of mine 4s lipo’s shows, when connected to the charger, as a 3s lipo.

i did not do anything strange with it. The esc cut it of with low voltage, because motor and esc where hot, i let the car on so the fan would keep working.

im guess that lipo is done for, it had about 4 chargers on it.

i just had some bad luck with the lipo?

 

[Grimbles]

Sounds like. Have you got a battery tester/does your charger show cell levels? If one of the cells is showing as 0v you have a dead cell (or potentially a broken wire but I'm guessing you don't fancy dismantling a lipo).

 

[Yas]

The ESC will likely still read it as 16.8v when fully charged. My guess is that one of the balance lead connectors or wires has become disconnected

You can try either sending it back as it's still fairly new but honestly you'll have to be very lucky; have it opened, checked and repaired by someone competent once discharged (but will void any warranty); or carry on using it without balance charging it

Find out the total voltage of the pack first by using a voltmeter between the main +/- battery leads

 

[Jackske]

Probably one cell dead.
You can test each cell apart with a voltmeter trough de balance connector, en see wich cell is dead.
Be careful do not shortcut!!!

 

[Engineer]

Another possibility is a balance lead that wasn’t properly soldered on that came off or suffered some sort of abrasion damage. Check the overall voltage from the main connector and compare it to voltage readings from the balance leads

 

[AIan]

Did you try to discharge it, then Balance charge it over again?

 

[jondilly1974]

When you left it on to run the fans, one cell dropped below the safe range and is now not showing up. What you can try to do is revive it on a NIMH 4 cell charge for a few mins to bring that cell back up to at least 3.0v so the charger will see it. Now put it back on a lipo balance charge and it might be ok.

Do this with extreme caution and have a bucket of water or sand nearby in case of a fire. Throw that sucker in the bucket if it starts puffing.

 

[Abraksan]

This are the values im getting. I didnt try anything with the lipo yet.

don't realy want to do anything unsafe with a lipo. Guess i can try to discharge it and balance charge it.

3th cell is on this one just below 3V

 

[jondilly1974]

This are the values im getting. I didnt try anything with the lipo yet.

don't realy want to do anything unsafe with a lipo. Guess i can try to discharge it and balance charge it.

View attachment 158824

Discharge means destroy in lipo terms. Never use discharge on any pack you don’t intend to throw away. Also, this cycle is the most dangerous as a lipo can puff up and blow. Take extreme caution.

That said, the NiMH charge for 5 mins is way less dangerous than using a discharge mode. I always tell people to be careful and keep an eye on your packs as they charge because some take it lightly and walk away.

 

[Abraksan]

Then the lipo is dead i guess. don't want to take any risks with it now or have a possible unstable lipo later.

 

[Grimbles]

Then the lipo is dead i guess. don't want to take any risks with it now or have a possible unstable lipo later.

Safe move

 

[BashTillBroken]

So your telling me my smart 3s lipo can be fixed by charging it the wrong way I have the same problem but it’s not a 2 cell instead of a 3 cell

 

[Abraksan]

Well i did plug it in my charger. Set it to nimh, but charger refused to charge, had the balance cable also connected as normal. Decided not to try further and take my loss.

 

[BashTillBroken]

Don’t put the balance cord in nimh don’t have balance cords

 

[Abraksan]

Seems that did it. Charged it for 5 mins on nimh. Went past 14V then took it out. Lipo didnt get hot or puffy. Now it shows 4 cells.

 

[BashTillBroken]

Do you all think mine can be fixed like that it’s pretty high though

Also it doesn’t detect the smart when plugged in without the balance cord unlike my other one
It does this with it plugged it correctly

 

[jondilly1974]

Seems that did it. Charged it for 5 mins on nimh. Went past 14V then took it out. Lipo didnt get hot or puffy. Now it shows 4 cells.

View attachment 158881

Awesome! What I usually do now is exercise that pack a few cycles, just to get it all "flushed out". Do a full balance charge, then run it to LVC (not past!) and then balance charge again, run to LVC, then storage charge it. Check the next day and make sure that one cell isn't drifting down again. Chances are you're good to go, but time will tell.

 

[BashTillBroken]

Awesome! What I usually do now is exercise that pack a few cycles, just to get it all "flushed out". Do a full balance charge, then run it to LVC (not past!) and then balance charge again, run to LVC, then storage charge it. Check the next day and make sure that one cell isn't drifting down again. Chances are you're good to go, but time will tell.

Do you think I cAn fix my battery even though it’s very high on the voltage and it’s a smart battery

 

[jondilly1974]

Do you think I cAn fix my battery even though it’s very high on the voltage and it’s a smart battery

Not really sure but it’s worth a try

 

[BashTillBroken]

I’ll get the sand ready ironically I have 2 bags of sand