Getting Race Ready! - Page 5 - RC-Monster Forums

nbcaznmaster · 11.04.2006, 10:47 PM

OH GREAT! now mY PS shuts off every 5 seconds! WT!!?!?

BrianG · 10:51 PM

OK, then maybe the black wires are out of order. Do you have a voltmeter? If so, I'd like you to measure the voltage on each cell.

Put the red voltmeter lead on the red balancer wire. Put the black meter lead on the black balancer wire right next to it. The meter should read something like 3.7 volts give or take.

Then, put the red vmeter lead on the black balancer wire right next to the red wire. Put the black meter lead on the last black balancer wire. It should read ~3.7v.

Post results...

The PS shutting off is known as cycling and usually the result of a current overload or something like that. Make sure none of your wires are shorting!

nbcaznmaster · 11.04.2006, 10:58 PM

intresting, i get 3.7v for teh first black, and when i mvoe to 2nd i get 7.4v. same with both bats.

BrianG · 11:06 PM

Ah ha! There's your problem; the last two black wires are reversed.

If possible, switch the two black wires in the battery balance connector so they are "correct". This will make them at least a standard layout. BE CAREFUL NOT TO SHORT THE WIRES WHEN YOU REMOVE THEM!

[EDIT] HOLD on a minute....

Actually, it sounds like none of the wires are right. Both measurements should have been 3.7v. What do you get when you measure from the red wire to the last black wire? I bet you'll get 3.7v

nbcaznmaster · 11.04.2006, 11:09 PM

i got 7.2v, lemme get the pick to diagram

BrianG · 11.04.2006, 11:22 PM

Oh ok, they're right then. None of those values are negative right?

nbcaznmaster · 11.04.2006, 11:30 PM

nope all are positive, so what do i do now to get them working?

nbcaznmaster · 11.05.2006, 12:09 AM

no1???? curse IT! how am i suppose to keep up with nitro with sh$tty gp3300s that only last 10 minutes!

BrianG · 11.05.2006, 12:42 AM

I really don't know what the error is about then. The connector on the pack is right, the balance adaptor connector is right, maybe the balancer is bad?

Disconnect the balance adaptor cable from the balancer and check the battery voltages there. Maybe there is a break in connection somewhere.

If it's just one more race, maybe you can just charge your packs without balancing. While you probably don't want to do this all the time, at least your packs will be charged for the race. This will give you some time to find the cause of the problem and/or get a replacement balancer.

nbcaznmaster · 12:51 AM

how can i charge it at about 90% on apache 25? i do not want to overcharge any cells. Also, can i still charge even though there is an eror in the balencer? There is no error sign in the apache 25, so does that mean its charging? I do not have time to solder, i actually gotta sleep rigth now and gotta wake up early tom, with my crap gp3300s.

BrianG · 11.05.2006, 12:58 AM

The apache 25 charger is a lithium charger. As such, it will charge at your desired current until the pack reaches 8.4v, then it will switch over to constant-voltage charge until the charge current drops to a small value. The only bad thing is the charger doesn't know if one cell is at 4.25 and the other is at 4.15. It just "sees" 8.4v. The balancer's job is to make sure that each cell is equal. Since your pack is new, the cells should be very close to each other and all should be OK. I say "should" because there is always a chance for error and I want to make sure you understand the risks, however small.

BrianG · 11.05.2006, 01:03 AM

I have a question for you: Are you sure you are having an error? I just looked at the description of the balancer and saw these two last bullet points:

- LED of the lowest voltage cell: Off. LED of higher voltage cells: Flashes.
- Err/Check LED will flash, if you choose unmatched adaptor.

It sounds like the error light flashes if there is an error. A solid LED might just be a "power on" indicator. When you have it hooked up in your error condition, does the charger still charge or does the charger display an error of some kind?

nbcaznmaster · 11.05.2006, 06:23 AM

ohhhh, it doesnt flash and it doesnt show an error on charger, but how do i know its charging?

BrianG · 11.05.2006, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nbcaznmaster

ohhhh, it doesnt flash and it doesnt show an error on charger, but how do i know its charging?

Isn't there something on the charger display which shows the charge voltage, current, and/or mAh put in?

nbcaznmaster · 11.06.2006, 07:34 AM

nope, but i think i got teh charger working, the red light was on! BUT! they said that the error/chk will be green when fully ballanced and charge. which is what happened on the balencer. The apahce on the other hand still says its charging... Odd thing is that the the direction where it said its full charged, is right before the direction which says, than connect to teh charger and begin charge..... So i dont know if it means my pack was balenced and was still in middle of charge or that it was balanced and charged. charge time was about an hour or so if i went by the balencer.