Lipo balance issue

[kratonwatch]

I’ve got a 4S power hobby 8000mah 100c battery that will balance all cells but one. I was wondering what my options were, If any, aside from throwing it out. It would be nice if power hobby had a trade in program for even 5% the purchase of a new battery, but I’m sure that’s wishful thinking.

 

[jkflow]

Your charger should be able to charge it i.e. it doesn't have a low cut-off that prevents it from charging.
My opinion, dispose of the Lipo in a proper manner.
Consider the risk before reading on, get a decent pack for $50 (Amazon or CNHL) vs setting stuff on fire.

--
Other options pending your level of risk acceptance.
Do not do any of these inside, the Lipo can go up in flames, almost guaranteed if you are doing it wrong.
Again, do this in a fire safe environment that won't be impacted by smoke or fire. You need a Lipo checker

1. You could change to 'NiCd' setting ~16V and 5A charging.
Do NOT connect the balance connector only the main battery leads. Connect the Lipo checker to your balance leads and monitor the voltage.
Start charging in NiCd mode but only for a max of 10-15 min. If the one cell crosses 3.3V stop, disconnect and charge as a normal Lipo, should come back to life. Under no circumstance let the 'good cells' go beyond 4.2V, fire or smoking will happen shortly thereafter.

2. You could build your own Lipo, de-solder the 1 bad cell and you have a 3S. Unless you are an expert in soldering, not recommended. Watch some videos even if you are an expert. Dispose of the bad cell.

Wear some protective gear like glasses and gloves, if it goes bad it will happen quickly.

 

[kratonwatch]

Your charger should be able to charge it i.e. it doesn't have a low cut-off that prevents it from charging.
My opinion, dispose of the Lipo in a proper manner.
Consider the risk before reading on, get a decent pack for $50 (Amazon or CNHL) vs setting stuff on fire.

--
Other options pending your level of risk acceptance.
Do not do any of these inside, the Lipo can go up in flames, almost guaranteed if you are doing it wrong.
Again, do this in a fire safe environment that won't be impacted by smoke or fire. You need a Lipo checker

1. You could change to 'NiCd' setting ~16V and 5A charging.
Do NOT connect the balance connector only the main battery leads. Connect the Lipo checker to your balance leads and monitor the voltage.
Start charging in NiCd mode but only for a max of 10-15 min. If the one cell crosses 3.3V stop, disconnect and charge as a normal Lipo, should come back to life. Under no circumstance let the 'good cells' go beyond 4.2V, fire or smoking will happen shortly thereafter.

2. You could build your own Lipo, de-solder the 1 bad cell and you have a 3S. Unless you are an expert in soldering, not recommended. Watch some videos even if you are an expert. Dispose of the bad cell.

Wear some protective gear like glasses and gloves, if it goes bad it will happen quickly.

Appreciate all the info!e easier and safer to dispose of it properly and buy a new one. Not worth the risk to me or my family.

I’m not even an amateur at soldiering - I don’t even own one yet!

as an aside - if anyone followed or saw My thread from the summer re: overheating my K8S this may confirm the suspicion that it could have been a battery.

 

[olds97_lss]

Just curious, are you plugging the balance plug of the battery into a balance board or directly to the charger?
Also, have you tried using both ports of your charger to balance it?

My hitec D7 stopped balancing well for me. I bought it used, but it should have been a pretty good charger, which it was for a year or so for me (20A x 2/200w x 2). Regardless how good it should have been, I stopped using it. I contacted hitec and they told me to send it in to get it repaired at my cost. Consider it's size/weight and age... I tore it apart and used the PSU in it for a while to drive a DC charger... then I just got a couple decent separate DC chargers and a proper PSU, then put the D7 back to how it was and threw it in the closet.

Anyway, my balancing issues ended up not being the packs I was using (which were a few sizes, brands and C rating), but was the charger failing to do it's job.

 

[kratonwatch]

Just curious, are you plugging the balance plug of the battery into a balance board or directly to the charger?
Also, have you tried using both ports of your charger to balance it?

My hitec D7 stopped balancing well for me. I bought it used, but it should have been a pretty good charger, which it was for a year or so for me (20A x 2/200w x 2). Regardless how good it should have been, I stopped using it. I contacted hitec and they told me to send it in to get it repaired at my cost. Consider it's size/weight and age... I tore it apart and used the PSU in it for a while to drive a DC charger... then I just got a couple decent separate DC chargers and a proper PSU, then put the D7 back to how it was and threw it in the closet.

Anyway, my balancing issues ended up not being the packs I was using (which were a few sizes, brands and C rating), but was the charger failing to do it's job.

Interesting you mentioned this.

To answer your first question, I plug my balance leads into the balance board.

Just out of curiosity I checked all my batteries on both terminals since it’s a dual charger and the same pack that seemed to be giving me issue, and why I started this thread, appeared to be balanced.

While I’m A little sketched out by the battery, it seemed to be okay. If I didn’t break a CV on my truck I was going to charge them up, run them down, and try the process over. Now I’ll have to wait until I repair and service the truck.

 

[jondilly1974]

Check your connectors. I had this issue and it turned out my balance lead extension was to blame.

 

[kratonwatch]

Thank you!

 

[olds97_lss]

Thank you!

Or the board, which is why I asked about that. I have one that is a little flaky, so I took it apart and retinned all the solder joints, now it's fine. Must have had a cold solder joint in it.