Lipo balance charge wire

[J@mes 2326]

The problem I’ve made myself occurred when trying to remove a Gens Ace 2S hardcase lipo from my Twin Detonator.

The battery wasn’t hot & hadn’t swelled but it was stuck fast with sand from beach running. 

 

The battery was wedged in tight & whilst I pulled one end & pushed the other I must’ve broken the balance charge wire or connection as that feature no longer works on the charger. 

So before I take the battery apart to attempt a fix I would like to know;

 

a: is it doable, has anyone got experience of this kind of repair they could share?

 

b: can the battery be charged without balancing & what are the issues with that?

 

As the car is a 2nd hand runner and came to me in a sad state anyway I will probably just file the battery hole in the chassis  wider to hopefully prevent this happening again.

 

[Falcon#5 594]

Is the wire broken at the battery end or the plug end?

 

[J@mes 2326]

I can’t tell, it’s intact so I guess the battery end, inside the case.

[Fabia130vRS 2098]

So if it is a 2S battery, it has two cells. Balance charges are recommended. 1 cell will get more V and probably get damaged or explode.

 

Red + wire goes on the top cell, and two black - wires go on both cells.

if I am correct? 

 

 

[howaboutme 247]

Don't mess, get rid of it safely and move on.

[ChrisRx718 4470]

As above, not worth the risk in my opinion. 

As a last-ditch attempt, try to prise open the casing outdoors - if it's a very obvious broken connection, perhaps it can be repaired. But I would only attempt this outside and probably behind a bomb-proof screen 

[GooneyBird 938]

I did it once. I had a broken balance lead inside the hard case. I pried it open using plastic tools, soldered it back on outside with my hand at the ready to chuck it at the first sign of trouble, and got the job done. Nerve wrecking, though if you know what you're doing not all that scary.

[Wooders28 4719]

On 6/14/2020 at 1:42 PM, J@mes said:

: is it doable, has anyone got experience of this kind of repair they could share?

I could be repairable, but it all depends how accessible, and how good at soldering you are. (Thinking, bomb disposal, nerves are required too)

I reverse shorted an Absima Lipo earlier on in the year, rushing to make the final, I plugged it in the wrong way (I'd cut the wires so I couldn't normally, but then moved the Lipo forward ,as it was high grip...😟) , and it went down to 1 cell.

Worryingly easy to split the casing, and on inspection, couldn't find any damage, but clipping a croc clip onto the the Lipo itself, I was able to discharge both cells to 0v.

I didn't peruse it, it would have meant delving deeper into the circuit board at the end, but I presume there must be a kind of, fuse, somewhere in the design.

 

 

 

Charging without the balance lead is possible, the only downfall, is you've no idea what each cell is at, I've got a , budget Lipo, that when the Lipo cut off kicked in at 6.4v, one cell was at 3.6v and the other at 2.8v , so if I'd thrown that on charge ,without balance charging, 8.4v could have been 3.8/4.6v ,or 🔥

 

[J@mes 2326]

thanks everyone for the replies. l’ll have a tinker & if I survive I’ll come back & share my experience 

 

[LongRat 616]

On 6/16/2020 at 11:09 AM, Wooders28 said:

Worryingly easy to split the casing

 

Not as worrying as if it had been really difficult.

IMO cases should resist heavy external compression and puncture but should rupture easily from internal pressure.

To the OP, you may find 4 cells in there depending on the battery you have.  There are lots of 2S2P packs out there.  Then you'll really wonder what that balance lead is for...

[Wooders28 4719]

2 hours ago, LongRat said:

There are lots of 2S2P packs out there.  Then you'll really wonder what that balance lead is for...

I was under the impression, manufacturers where heading away from the 4 cell ,2S2P packs? 

I've a few that are a few years old, but all my new packs are 2cell 2s.

[LongRat 616]

Still loads of 2S2P out there - not always labelled as such though.  Hobbyking's Turnigy Nanotech and Ultimate batts for example (although not all of them are).  Also, plenty of 1S2P.