Bad battery rescue?

[deforestdiamond]

I recently got my TH and wjen I went to charge the batteries, one of them gave an error message on the charger. I notified the company I got it from and they sent out another battery, however I still have the bad one. It is a new battery, really I think it has been stored a while and went below voltage. Once I find my dc meter I will test the cells.
There is no swelling of the battery and nothing seems physically wrong with it. It just won't charge. In your opinion do you think its worth pursuing to try and salvage this battery. It would be great if I can, 3 batteries are always better than 2. Let me know what you think.

 

[Phaedrus]

Can you check what the individual cell voltages are? It is possible that there is a bad cell, it happens. Generally it is not worth it to "save" a bad pack.

 

[deforestdiamond]

Can you check what the individual cell voltages are? It is possible that there is a bad cell, it happens. Generally it is not worth it to "save" a bad pack.

As soon as I find my meter that can measure dc current, I plan on checking the individual cells.

 

[DoomMeister]

You want to check dc voltage not current.

 

[deforestdiamond]

You want to check dc voltage not current.

Yeah I meant voltage. Long day today

 

[Paul PEECH]

I posted a thread under typhoon h battery

 

[TyphoonPete]

which charger do you have??

 

[Photo]

Never ever gamble with a suspicious battery! It will cost you a crash or save you 60$. Your exclusive choice.

 

[deforestdiamond]

A big thanks to Paul Peech. Found his thread and did what he did. Battery is now charging in my charger. Bringing it up to storage voltage now. Checked the cells, they were really low. 1.8v, 1.7v, 1.7v & 1.6v. Put on my 12v charger and brought it up to 14.8v on my meter. I will check this battery a few times before I actually put it in my TH. But that looks like it will be a few. Weather here where I am is not cooperating with flying my drone. Again thanks everyone for your help

 

[FlushVision]

A big thanks to Paul Peech. Found his thread and did what he did. Battery is now charging in my charger. Bringing it up to storage voltage now. Checked the cells, they were really low. 1.8v, 1.7v, 1.7v & 1.6v. Put on my 12v charger and brought it up to 14.8v on my meter. I will check this battery a few times before I actually put it in my TH. But that looks like it will be a few. Weather here where I am is not cooperating with flying my drone. Again thanks everyone for your help

I revived a Phantom 2 battery last week. Only 7 cycles on it but was showing signs of failing by having rapid voltage drops once it reached 50%. Following dji's procedure to rejuvenate the Phantom 2 smart battery (normally done every 20 to 25 cycles) I was able to rectify the problem such that when I flew the battery last week it performed well.

Note. This procedure will not work with a TH battery. If you try it with a TH battery you will probably kill it.

 

[Phaedrus]

A big thanks to Paul Peech. Found his thread and did what he did. Battery is now charging in my charger. Bringing it up to storage voltage now. Checked the cells, they were really low. 1.8v, 1.7v, 1.7v & 1.6v. Put on my 12v charger and brought it up to 14.8v on my meter. I will check this battery a few times before I actually put it in my TH. But that looks like it will be a few. Weather here where I am is not cooperating with flying my drone. Again thanks everyone for your help

I'm sorry to tell you that lipo cells that fall to that voltage are toast. While you may get them to charge, they will fall off quickly under load.Minimum voltage for a lipo is around 3 volts per cell, discharge below that absolutely results in damage to the cells.

 

[AH-1G]

I agree, you may get 20 to 30 seconds of flight.
This has happened to me. Fully charged to 16.4 and my flight lasted less than 30 seconds.

 

[Steve Carr]

If you decide to do a test flight, remove the camera and just hover a few feet above a soft surface until the battery drops to the landing voltage. A comparison to your other batts will give you an indication of the battery condition. If the flight time is short, only use that batt for preflight warm-ups or bench testing.

 

[Phaedrus]

And be very mindful while charging. The cells have been damaged. Use at your own risk.

 

[Paul PEECH]

tested battery in h today and got 15in flight and temp was -8c did not have camra on unit

 

[Phaedrus]

Well, then you have defied the odds and the experiences of a fair number of people who have bricked packs due to low voltage.

 

[AH-1G]

tested battery in h today and got 15in flight and temp was -8c did not have camra on unit

Surprise , surprise. Glad to see it worked and you had a lengthy flight. Just shows, even the most experience of us are not always correct!?

 

[Mrgs1]

Surprise , surprise. Glad to see it worked and you had a lengthy flight. Just shows, even the most experience of us are not always correct!?

Were all learning, we just started on a different day.

 

[AH-1G]

Your's day started before mine, so you slightly ahead of me.

 

[FlushVision]

tested battery in h today and got 15in flight and temp was -8c did not have camra on unit

Respectable flight time given the temperature but that, of course, would have been far shorter if you had your camera mounted on it. What voltage did you have when landing?