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Anyone here repair batteries?

Joined
Nov 25, 2017
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So far I've had two batteries mysteriously fall below the minimum voltage and now they're paperweights. With batteries becoming scarce, is there anyone on here willing to repair my batteries if I ship them?
 
Hey skarz,

I’m assuming you get a blue flashing light from the charger. Try this to see if you can bring them back Battery blinking blue light.
 
Hey skarz,

I’m assuming you get a blue flashing light from the charger. Try this to see if you can bring them back Battery blinking blue light.

I don't think I'm handy or experienced enough to attempt that. Also I don't have a multimeter or wire splitter (well I do at work, anyway). That's why I'm trying to find someone to do it for me...
 
How old are your batteries?

As a rough estimate, how many charge discharge cycles do you think you have on them?

Also not sure if shipping charges would be worth trying to salvage them. If you know someone with a multimeter, have them measure the voltages for each cell and record them and post here. It will give us a better idea of their condition.
 
Round trip shipping is $10+. It's better to buy the cheaper aftermarket GiFi battery that flew the Breeze just fine.
 
How old are your batteries?

As a rough estimate, how many charge discharge cycles do you think you have on them?

Also not sure if shipping charges would be worth trying to salvage them. If you know someone with a multimeter, have them measure the voltages for each cell and record them and post here. It will give us a better idea of their condition.
I got them in November. I've flown less than ten times total. I'm picking up a multimeter from a friend later on today and I'll post the results.
 
Skarz - You don't want to do this!... I promise you, this is not a wise thing. The tabs on the LiPo are aluminum meaning very difficult, if not impossible to solder to, and most have some sort of compression weld. Also, you need to match the battery internal resistance to make them more reliable and not fail sooner than later. If you are having issues, the GiFi are a POSSIBLE replacement - but results around this forum are they are "OK". Also on the above, it's more than likely that 1 cell is down, not all 3, meaning only 1 cell would be replaced - this is also a bad idea even if someone would want to do it. Ideally you / someone would replace all 3 cells not just the bad one. Trying to refurbish the cell almost never works for any extended period of time. It's best to just dump the cell into a heavy solution of salt water for 24 hours then throw it away. That will discharge the battery safely.
 
Skarz - You don't want to do this!... I promise you, this is not a wise thing. The tabs on the LiPo are aluminum meaning very difficult, if not impossible to solder to, and most have some sort of compression weld. Also, you need to match the battery internal resistance to make them more reliable and not fail sooner than later. If you are having issues, the GiFi are a POSSIBLE replacement - but results around this forum are they are "OK". Also on the above, it's more than likely that 1 cell is down, not all 3, meaning only 1 cell would be replaced - this is also a bad idea even if someone would want to do it. Ideally you / someone would replace all 3 cells not just the bad one. Trying to refurbish the cell almost never works for any extended period of time. It's best to just dump the cell into a heavy solution of salt water for 24 hours then throw it away. That will discharge the battery safely.

Wait what? I'm not trying to replace anything I'm just trying to charge the battery lol.
 
Alright, just checked my voltages. They are:

0.03
0.0
1.53

What do I do now?
 
Repair batteries? Does not tell me you want to charge them but repair them. Funny. You can bring cells up to a chargeable voltage but the are low for some reason. It will happen again

Good luck.
 
Just an update on this thread. I MacGyver'd a charger following @DoomMeister 's example and successfully raised the voltage on my battery. It is now charging properly. :)
 
Great. Be sure not to run them down past the first low voltage warning in Breeze Cam. It puts a lot of strain on the LiPo’s.
 
After doing this how long does the battery stay in balance charging? I feel like it's been taking forever.
 
If it is blinking green it is in balance charge cycle, if blinking red it is still in normal charge mode. Normally full charge time is less than an hour with the last 10 to 15 minutes being balance charging.
 
This makes no sense to me - and I get interested when things don't make sense. Its stated above the battery voltages are:

0.03
0.0
1.53

Each cell is roughly 4.2V charged. To have any cell below, say, 3.6V means the battery kept discharging somehow - and this can't happen as the Breeze would never fly when the battery reached, say 9V (3 cells x 3V (very low)). So how did the battery get this low? and why such different voltages? If the Breeze is left on 'forever', would it continue to drain the battery to 'zero'? I doubt it - but have not tried this. I would think the Breeze electronics would shut down and the Breeze would turn itself off at about 9V - but again, I have not tried this. So, how did the battery voltage get this low? If cells are truly bad, charging them will not fix the issue. You may think you have fixed the problem but it's not the case. The issue will come back.

You mention above the battery is charging - and hopefully balancing. The balancing may take a very long time if cells are somehow draining prematurely.

Point is, LiPo cells are nothing to play around with. They provide lots of current instantaneously (100A or more) - this causes instant fires if terminals are shorted or if one cell is not charging properly. If balancing takes a long time - and you need to note this - stop charging that battery. There is something wrong.
 
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I have to agree with Scott on this subject. He and others on this forum have been using LiPo batteries for years and are well acquainted with their use and the hazards they can pose.

I am very new to using LiPo technology and the charger I modified was intended to be used only with a cell that was slightly low, only a few tenths of a volt lower than the others and not on anything that was lower than 3.5 VDC.
 

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