Help - LBA10 balancer

Don't know is this is the right place, but I'm pulling out my hair concerning my 2 LBA10 balancers.

I'm trying to use them in 'Connection'-mode since I wan't to charge my lipo's and balance them at the same time. So according to the manual I think this is the correct mode.

Anyway, I follow the instructions :
- connect the balancer to the lipo comptatible charger (in my case a Robitronic Overloader set to lipo 2s 7.4v and 6000mah for my Maxamps)
- connect the correct balancing cable to the balancer (2s)
- connect the balancing cable to the battery
- connect within 12sec the batterly leads to the LBA.
- press reset button to go into 'Connection' mode.
- press 'charge' on the charger.

The charger starts to charge (I can see it pumping mah into my lipo) and the balancer starts flickering one of the leds of the lipo cells. However after some minutes the balancer shuts down and the charger gives the message 'battery disconnected' and thus cannot charge.

What I'm I doing wrong ?

Thanks for your answers.

[JerryF504]

Originally Posted by Bronco

Don't know is this is the right place, but I'm pulling out my hair concerning my 2 LBA10 balancers.

I'm trying to use them in 'Connection'-mode since I wan't to charge my lipo's and balance them at the same time. So according to the manual I think this is the correct mode.

Anyway, I follow the instructions :
- connect the balancer to the lipo comptatible charger (in my case a Robitronic Overloader set to lipo 2s 7.4v and 6000mah for my Maxamps)
- connect the correct balancing cable to the balancer (2s)
- connect the balancing cable to the battery
- connect within 12sec the batterly leads to the LBA.
- press reset button to go into 'Connection' mode.
- press 'charge' on the charger.

The charger starts to charge (I can see it pumping mah into my lipo) and the balancer starts flickering one of the leds of the lipo cells. However after some minutes the balancer shuts down and the charger gives the message 'battery disconnected' and thus cannot charge.

What I'm I doing wrong ?

Thanks for your answers.

It sounds like one of your cells is either too high or too low. Check each cell with a volt meter at the balance connector and make sure they are all over 3 volts and under 4.2 volts. Be careful not to short any of the together with the leads off of your meter. If they are then it could be a dirty balancer connection causing the LBA10 to see the wrong voltage. I usually just clean mine out with brake cleaner and that clears it up.

[jhautz]

Its been quite a while since I used a LBA10, but I think it shuts down if the pack is too far out of balance, or one cell is under or over voltage. Try doing a stand alone balance to equalize the cells before putting it on the charger.

[BrianG]

Stupid question, but did you set the master/slave switches correctly on both LBAs?

Yes the switch is set to Master.

Using Stand Alone does this mean each cell will be discharged to the minimum voltage ?

Is a pack is out of balance, wouldn't I notice this when driving (punch, acceleration) ?

As someone mentioned, if you have a cell that is too far out of balance or one cell with low voltage, sometimes the balancer will shut down. You have to direct charge without balancing for a little bit or try to stand alone balance until the cells are back in line.

I have this problem with a couple of Zippy lipos I have if I run them down hard to the LVC.

[JerryF504]

Originally Posted by Bronco

Yes the switch is set to Master.

Using Stand Alone does this mean each cell will be discharged to the minimum voltage ?

Is a pack is out of balance, wouldn't I notice this when driving (punch, acceleration) ?

No, it won't discharge to the minimum voltage it just discharges the highest cells down to the vlotage of the lowest voltage. So if your cells are at say 3.8/4.1/4.1 your balancer will discharge the 2 cells that are at 4.1 down to 3.8 making them all equal.

You will not be able to feel if a pack is out of balance because the esc only sees the sum of all the cells.

So, its best to do a standalone balance first and then charge with the balancer connected to the charger, yes ?

Originally Posted by Bronco

So, its best to do a standalone balance first and then charge with the balancer connected to the charger, yes ?

If the charger is not registering, you will need to. Otherwise, charge through the balancer. The couple of times it has done this to me, I just standalone charge to get the voltage of the pack back up and then finish up charging through the balancer. Or you can try to let the balancer get all the cells back in life first before charging. It can take awhile sometimes though, so I prefer just charging without the balacner first.

[BrianG]

Or, measure the voltage on each cell (through the balancer plug) and charge individual low cells at ~1A rate to get them balanced enough so the balancer will accept them...

[JerryF504]

Originally Posted by Edumakated

If the charger is not registering, you will need to. Otherwise, charge through the balancer. The couple of times it has done this to me, I just standalone charge to get the voltage of the pack back up and then finish up charging through the balancer. Or you can try to let the balancer get all the cells back in life first before charging. It can take awhile sometimes though, so I prefer just charging without the balacner first.

I wouldn't charge without the balancer especially if the battery is that far out of balance. That will cause the high cells to charge to way over 4.2 volts possibly causing the pack to swell or catch on fire.

Originally Posted by JerryF504

I wouldn't charge without the balancer especially if the battery is that far out of balance. That will cause the high cells to charge to way over 4.2 volts possibly causing the pack to swell or catch on fire.

You don't completely charge the pack... just enough to get the balancer to recognize it with the low cell. Assumign the problem is that one cell is too low. After about 30 minutes, hook it back up to the balancer and finish off the pack with the balancer in place.

[JThiessen]

Don't you also need to use the network cable when you use two LBA10's together? This allows them to communicate with each other (as best as I understood it).

I'm currently doing a standalone balance on both my Maxamps 6000mah.

One is balancing with cell led1 quickly flashing (discharging that cell at low/medium rate)

The other lipo however was fully charged and when I connect it to the balancer the status led flashes twice meaning this is an error (battery voltage higher than expected).

Does this mean I have to discharge it a bit for the balancer to be able to do its work? Or is something wrong with that lipo?

How do I measure the voltage of each cell in a lipo ? Do I have to take it apart or do I measure it at the balancer plug ?