big time battery problems

[am4x4]

I have been chasing what I thought to be a motor issue but it turns out my batteries are the problem. All three packs are TCS 8cell elite 1500 split packs. They are less than 2 months old and have been charged apx 10 times each. I tested each cell and this is what I found.

Pack #1 2 revered cells
Pack #2 2 dead cells (apx .2v)
pack #3 1 reversed cell

I had been charging them at 1.5a until batt temp reached 130deg. One time I wasn't paying attention and pack #3 got to 200deg. The last time I charged them before I started having problems pack #1 and #2 had alot of temp variation from cell to cell (88-150deg) I am guessing the hot ones were the damaged ones

long story short, can any of these damaged cells be saved?? I guess worst case I could break down the packs and build two good ones but I would like to save all three if possible

BTW, yes I read the battery info in the stickys, along with the last 95+pages of threads in this section

[Espeefan]

I think most would tell you that 1.5 amps is to much for these packs to be charged at. The life expectancy of these 2/3A cells is less then sub-C packs already, but charging them at 1.5 amps probably shortens their life even more.

[treday619]

Originally Posted by am4x4

I have been chasing what I thought to be a motor issue but it turns out my batteries are the problem. All three packs are TCS 8cell elite 1500 split packs. They are less than 2 months old and have been charged apx 10 times each. I tested each cell and this is what I found.

Pack #1 2 revered cells
Pack #2 2 dead cells (apx .2v)
pack #3 1 reversed cell

I had been charging them at 1.5a until batt temp reached 130deg. One time I wasn't paying attention and pack #3 got to 200deg. The last time I charged them before I started having problems pack #1 and #2 had alot of temp variation from cell to cell (88-150deg) I am guessing the hot ones were the damaged ones

long story short, can any of these damaged cells be saved?? I guess worst case I could break down the packs and build two good ones but I would like to save all three if possible

BTW, yes I read the battery info in the stickys, along with the last 95+pages of threads in this section

The 1500 Elite are notorious for dying. I have about 8 packs. My 6 cell work fine but my 7 cell won't hold a charge to save their lives. I was thinking of doing the same and just break them down and make my packs
When I purchased them I actually heard you are supposed to charge them at .2 amps for the first 5 charges then you can charge them at 1.5 amps. I have been charging batteries the last few days to get some practice in before our next comp hooked up a battery and I had power for like 2 minutes then dead.

Time to switch to Lipo

[JasonJones]

Its been a while so bear with me...

In my 1/10 on-road days we ran a lot of nicad packs and to keep them in top shape would would put them on an integy discharge/conditioning tray for something like 168hrs.. (I think I still have that old tray too! vintage) it would take each cell down to super low point w/o letting it reverse. Doing this every so often would condition the packs. This worked by tapping into each cell in the pack and treating them as individuals. You might have some luck discharging each cell to the same nominal (at rest) voltage, then charging them all very slowly... 100mah or less. Once they are charged, cycle them per cell again and recharge slowly... this should bring the cells back to use, but its possible you may not get those reversed cells to come back at all.

[am4x4]

Originally Posted by JasonJones

Its been a while so bear with me...

In my 1/10 on-road days we ran a lot of nicad packs and to keep them in top shape would would put them on an integy discharge/conditioning tray for something like 168hrs.. (I think I still have that old tray too! vintage) it would take each cell down to super low point w/o letting it reverse. Doing this every so often would condition the packs. This worked by tapping into each cell in the pack and treating them as individuals. You might have some luck discharging each cell to the same nominal (at rest) voltage, then charging them all very slowly... 100mah or less. Once they are charged, cycle them per cell again and recharge slowly... this should bring the cells back to use, but its possible you may not get those reversed cells to come back at all.

These are nimh not nicads, does something like this still work?

[am4x4]

Originally Posted by treday619

The 1500 Elite are notorious for dying. I have about 8 packs. My 6 cell work fine but my 7 cell won't hold a charge to save their lives. I was thinking of doing the same and just break them down and make my packs
When I purchased them I actually heard you are supposed to charge them at .2 amps for the first 5 charges then you can charge them at 1.5 amps. I have been charging batteries the last few days to get some practice in before our next comp hooked up a battery and I had power for like 2 minutes then dead.

Time to switch to Lipo

That is exactly what mine was doing. Now that I know what I know now I bought a 1amp peak charger. guess I should have researched before I cooked them

[some87]

i 1 7 cell pack that only lasted a few weeks and then died out >.>. same thing happend to my trinity 1600 pack i built myself. im thinking maybe these sells are not the best for what we use them for and maybe its time to go back to sub c packs. is there a way we all could work up a recall on these packs since they die so fast?

[bob1961]

Originally Posted by treday619

The 1500 Elite are notorious for dying.

why are people saying there are the best battery to have for crawlers then ....i'm getting ready to purchase a 50pc bulk pack of them to build 5 more 10 cell packs....so i have enough to charge then at .5a so they last longer and won't need to charge at a higher rate....i won't need to charge them fast so i have some ready as soon as they are used....i'v been reading up on lipo's and the burst rate that should be used cost close to 100 bucks for one pack, plus the care one needs to charge and store them....for 100 bucks i'll have 5 packs of the 1500 elite and not have to worry bout them over lipo's...........bob

....

[One-eyed Jack]

Originally Posted by bob1961

why are people saying there are the best battery to have for crawlers then ....i'm getting ready to purchase a 50pc bulk pack of them to build 5 more 10 cell packs....so i have enough to charge then at .5a so they last longer and won't need to charge at a higher rate....i won't need to charge them fast so i have some ready as soon as they are used....i'v been reading up on lipo's and the burst rate that should be used cost close to 100 bucks for one pack, plus the care one needs to charge and store them....for 100 bucks i'll have 5 packs of the 1500 elite and not have to worry bout them over lipo's...........bob

....

For that same 100 bucks you can get 5- 1800 mah lipo batteries . You don't have to cycle these to maintain performance. These are 20c rated batts with 36 amp continuos discharge rating. If you run your crawler that hard you are going to have esc and motor problems also.

[am4x4]

When I went home for lunch I checked the bad cells again and all of them went positive, only to .2v to .8v, but at least they are not reversed anymore. I stuck one on my peak charger at 1A and I will let it trickle for a while when it is done. I guess we will see if it comes back. If they stay dead I will bypass the dead cells and turn them into 6 cell packs.

[MtnBkr]

I had the same problem with these 1500mah 2/3 cells. I ended up breaking down the packs and remaking good ones. I've found that if you don't measure at least 1.2v from each cell, the entire pack won't take a charge.

I also learned that I was running the packs down too far... the packs aren't balanced so it is easy to burn a cell or two if you run them down too low. As soon as my rig starts to stall, I discontinue use and recharge it. I've had a lot better luck with these cells since I stopped discharging them.

Originally Posted by bob1961

why are people saying there are the best battery to have for crawlers then ....
....

Who says 2/3's are the best batteries for crawling? I doubt most people would say they are the "best" batteries for a crawler. I would guess that Lipo's would get most peoples vote for those who have tried them.

I've recently gone the Lipo route and I don't think I'll ever go back to 2/3 cells. After all the trouble with 2/3 packs, Lipos are definitely what they're hyped up to be. Drop in a 3S Lipo and you'll never worry about wheel speed again!

[ohmyCLOD!]

Have you tried "zapping" them back to life? The idea is to to send a very high current through the cell to zap the crystyline structures which short the cells out, therefor making the cell functional again. I think you can see it on youtube...

[Harvo]

the 2/3A cells are finicky. They will work great one day and suck the next. If you try to charge them right after you discharge them, you get significantly decreased run time each time you do so. They need to cool for about 30 minutes between dishcharge and charge.

Also... don't run them completely dead.

I went lipo just so I could recharge at any point in the cycle with no harm. Also... you can get a 50 amp burst battery 25 amp continuous for under 30 bucks (2S) and under 40 (3S).

[GaBronco]

I hate to say it but, cut your losses bro and go Lipo! I just did and the hype is a reality, I ran a full 3 course comp with my Bully Rig on sunday and then played some more before the single 1500mah 3s called it a day. I love my Lipos!

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

Originally Posted by ohmyCLOD!

Have you tried "zapping" them back to life? The idea is to to send a very high current through the cell to zap the crystyline structures which short the cells out, therefor making the cell functional again. I think you can see it on youtube...

Actually zapping cells can cause more damage than good in most cases.


As far as the Elite cells go, they are the best 2/3A cell on the market. But like any other place out there, sometimes there are bad batches. We had a bad batch and everything else was good. It sounds like you got on a bad batch. Problem is, with smaller battery busines, they sometimes get the leftovers to the larger companies. We fight this every time that we order cells to make sure that we get the best product to our customers. Dont lose faith in them. I have run the same cells with no issues. But I do agree. A good cure to the comon Nimh issues, is going lipo. You can get into something good cheap these days.

[ohmyCLOD!]

Originally Posted by Chris_The_Battery_Man

Actually zapping cells can cause more damage than good in most cases.

How much more damage can you do to a dead cell??

[Chris_The_Battery_Man]

Originally Posted by ohmyCLOD!

How much more damage can you do to a dead cell??

Lol good point. Brain fart

[am4x4]

Turns out this story has a happy ending after all (not that kind, get you mind out of the gutter). I sent a message to TCS and told them my sad little story. Without any argument they told me I could send them in for a replacement OR refund. I sent them back on tuesday and my new ones are already on the way. These guys are awsome, if you want to buy something and have the company stand behind it, buy it from TCS. THANKS TCS FOR THE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.