My drone is new maybe 4 flights why are my batteries not charging the red and green just keep blinking the whole time???? Help
New drone batteries not charging
- Thread starter Pensacola Droner
- Start date
Had the same exact problem... the battery voltage is below a minimum threshold for the charger, so it can't/won't charge it. I took another 12V LiPo and connected it with a couple of stripped wires together for about 2 minutes and the voltage came up just enough to get it to charge. Be careful, it should only take a couple of minutes and stay with it while you "jump" it.... should be fine.
I had my original battery show a solid red when I first charged it. Upon investigation, I found the following readings
Cell 1: 4.12 Volts
Cell 2: 3.74 Volts <--
Cell 3: 4.15 Volts
Being a LIPO charger, cell 2 was too far out of balance for the charger. I took a universal charger, attached wires to the end and labeled + and -. I then used it to trickle charge Cell 2 to 3.94 V. This took 3 hours. I then plugged it into the factory charger. It took 4 hours to balance the cells and finish the charge. It flashed red and green the entire time. It finished with a solid green. I now have 4 good batteries. Yeah. At $145 per battery, and being an electronics tech, I wasn't willing to dispose of a battery before trying to fix it.
Cell 1: 4.12 Volts
Cell 2: 3.74 Volts <--
Cell 3: 4.15 Volts
Being a LIPO charger, cell 2 was too far out of balance for the charger. I took a universal charger, attached wires to the end and labeled + and -. I then used it to trickle charge Cell 2 to 3.94 V. This took 3 hours. I then plugged it into the factory charger. It took 4 hours to balance the cells and finish the charge. It flashed red and green the entire time. It finished with a solid green. I now have 4 good batteries. Yeah. At $145 per battery, and being an electronics tech, I wasn't willing to dispose of a battery before trying to fix it.
Mine has been blinking now for 30 mins. Will it ever stop blinking and be a solid green? This is a battery I am charging for the first time. Although it is from a refurbished unit I've just purchased.
Although it shouldn't be so, you really need to invest in a better charger. It's one of the first things i did. I bet a better charger would charge it. I don't know why they would include such an inferior charger in the package.
Chuck, and anyone else who wants to chime in. I too am electronics inclinded . Did you have to open the case to do this? I assume so.any tricks to that? Sorry I don't have mine yet to be able to inspect it yet. And my second question, has anyone tried to rebuild their battery packs using new cells purchases and replace the bad one in the pack.
And what better chargers are out there that service this particular style of battery and connector? Please make some recommendations .
Much appreciated.
Tks
And what better chargers are out there that service this particular style of battery and connector? Please make some recommendations .
Much appreciated.
Tks
Good Morning,
No, you don't have to open the case to do this. When you attach the balance cable, you have 4 connection points on the end of the cable. the first two are pos and neg cell 1. Points 2 and 3 are pos and neg cell 2, and 3 and 4 are pos and neg cell 3. Use a meter to determine which one are which. I simply attached some 24 ga wire to the charger I used, set it to 4.5 volts and put the wires on the appropriate connection spots. I then monitored it with 2 meters. 1 meter in parallel to monitor voltage and I put 1 in series with the positive to monitor the current. You do not want the current to get too high. Reading the threads, it seems that the cases are hard to open. They would be glued together. If you open it, photograph the connections before disconnecting anything. You don't want to mess with a short on a LIPO battery. It could potentially cause a fire. As for an aftermarket charger, I use a ONYX 255 dual balancing charger. It doesn't put batteries into storage charge though. It is significantly faster charging than the factory charger.
Have fun with your new drone!
No, you don't have to open the case to do this. When you attach the balance cable, you have 4 connection points on the end of the cable. the first two are pos and neg cell 1. Points 2 and 3 are pos and neg cell 2, and 3 and 4 are pos and neg cell 3. Use a meter to determine which one are which. I simply attached some 24 ga wire to the charger I used, set it to 4.5 volts and put the wires on the appropriate connection spots. I then monitored it with 2 meters. 1 meter in parallel to monitor voltage and I put 1 in series with the positive to monitor the current. You do not want the current to get too high. Reading the threads, it seems that the cases are hard to open. They would be glued together. If you open it, photograph the connections before disconnecting anything. You don't want to mess with a short on a LIPO battery. It could potentially cause a fire. As for an aftermarket charger, I use a ONYX 255 dual balancing charger. It doesn't put batteries into storage charge though. It is significantly faster charging than the factory charger.
Have fun with your new drone!
Chuck many tks for that great information. I think I understand all you said but I'm sure it will make perfect sense when I get my batteries and look at them and can get my meter hooked up.
Here is a diagram that shows how I hooked up the circuit to charge cell 2.
Hope this makes things a little clearer for you. The meters are simply monitoring. The balance cable plugs into the battery and the charger. In this case, a universal charger.
Note change on pin 4. I had a senior moment. It should have been neg (-). I changed the diagram
Hope this makes things a little clearer for you. The meters are simply monitoring. The balance cable plugs into the battery and the charger. In this case, a universal charger.
Note change on pin 4. I had a senior moment. It should have been neg (-). I changed the diagram
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Great thanks for that added information. Like I said I have not seen the battery yet but with your help it makes perfect sense..
Hopefully you won't have issues with your batteries if they are new.
Here is a good midranged charger....
Venom 0685 Pro Duo 80W X2 Dual AC / DC 7A LiPO & NiMH RC Battery Balance Charger | eBay
Find a good lipo volt meter too.
Search around for your best price. Don't buy the cheapest as they don;t give very accurate readings.
We'll be here when your ready to go.
Until then, read, read, read and then read some more.
Jafo
Here is a good midranged charger....
Venom 0685 Pro Duo 80W X2 Dual AC / DC 7A LiPO & NiMH RC Battery Balance Charger | eBay
Find a good lipo volt meter too.
Search around for your best price. Don't buy the cheapest as they don;t give very accurate readings.
We'll be here when your ready to go.
Until then, read, read, read and then read some more.
Jafo
That charger should work. It's only drawback that I can see is that it will only support up to 3S (3 cells). If you purchase another drone with more cells than 3, then this charger will not work for it. For a Q500, it would work fine.
A LIPO meter plugs into the balance cable and will read each cell, one at a time, then total voltage. It is usually small enough to fit into a pocket. This is the advantage. Plus, with a meter, you run the risk of shorting the battery with your leads. No chance of shorting with a LIPO meter.
RC Planes, Helicopters, Cars, Parts and Accessories
This is an example of a LIPO voltage tester. Not the one I used, but similar.
A LIPO meter plugs into the balance cable and will read each cell, one at a time, then total voltage. It is usually small enough to fit into a pocket. This is the advantage. Plus, with a meter, you run the risk of shorting the battery with your leads. No chance of shorting with a LIPO meter.
RC Planes, Helicopters, Cars, Parts and Accessories
This is an example of a LIPO voltage tester. Not the one I used, but similar.
Ah I understand now and see the example. I did see one on a famous auction site named Gleo and wondered why we needed one. Makes perfect sense now to get a quick reading.
I'll keep on reading.
I'll keep on reading.
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Another possibility it's set up for 2-4. Has dual 2, single 3 And 4. But only $46
Venom 0683 2-4 Cell DUAL AC/DC LiPO Battery Balance Charger Life w LCD | eBay
Venom 0683 2-4 Cell DUAL AC/DC LiPO Battery Balance Charger Life w LCD | eBay
According to Venom's site, you can only charge 2 2S bateries at once, not 2 3S or 4S. So, for a Q500 with 3S cells, this is basically a single charger. If this isn't a problem, then it would work fine.
Venom 2-4 Cell AC/DC Dual LiPo Battery Balance Charger
"
This charger allows the user to charge up to a maximum of 4 cells at a time. The user can charge two 7.4V 2S packs at the same time*, or one 11.1V
3S or one 14.8V 4S pack."
Venom 2-4 Cell AC/DC Dual LiPo Battery Balance Charger
"
This charger allows the user to charge up to a maximum of 4 cells at a time. The user can charge two 7.4V 2S packs at the same time*, or one 11.1V
3S or one 14.8V 4S pack."
Yup I got that from the auction site and I noted it above too. But it did offer more flexibilty on the number of cell packs it could handle. Was just a thought for the price. I'll have to see as I get more batteries what my needs are.
