Problem while charging my battery? Any suggestions?

[Yannik]

Hi,


I have a question concerning the Onyx 220 Battery Charger. I have a new receiver battery (6v, 5000Mah) that I just started to charged so I put these settings (below):


Bat. Type: NI-MH


Capacity: 5000Mah


Current: 0.9A


S_Timer: off


Peak: 3-7mv/c


Trickle: Auto


I've been told to always put the S_Timer Off and the Trickle on Auto. I don't if true or not?


After charging 5hrs and at 300min, the charger started to Bip and the display showed Circuit Error. It was around 4100Mah charged when it started to bip. I unplug it from the wall and plug it again but it didn't saved the work already accomplished!


I truly don't know what to do with this issue? Any suggestions??


Thanks,


Yannik

 

[Deluge]

You have to bump up the current. It's beeping because the charge is taking too long. Try 1.5A.

 

[rampage idiot]

Deluge is correct if it takes too long it will error out that happened the first time I charged a new battery, just put it on 1.5 amp

 

[Yannik]

You have to bump up the current. It's beeping because the charge is taking too long. Try 1.5A.

OK, I understand that but when I put the charger On, it doesn't say how long the battery needs to charge and the capacity where I was before it stops (4100Mah) Remember, I already charged around 4100Mah out of 5000Mah. It look like the charger wants to start all over again, it didn't save the data where I was before and if I press start, I might burn my battery because it doesn't remember where I was (at 4100Mah) when it stopped so how is the charger going to know when to stop??

Also, when I put my transmitter battery, the charger recognize automaticaly the battery setting but with this receiver battery, the charger don't seem to recognize it so I put the setting by myself. Does it do that to you Deluge??

Is it OK to always put the S_timer Off and Trickle on Auto??

Thanks guys for your help!!

 

[Yannik]

Deluge is correct if it takes too long it will error out that happened the first time I charged a new battery, just put it on 1.5 amp

Hi,

Do you always put the S_timer Off and Trickle on Auto?? I do that because I'm not sure what to put!!

 

[Deluge]

OK, I understand that but when I put the charger On, it doesn't say how long the battery needs to charge and the capacity where I was before it stops (4100Mah) Remember, I already charged around 4100Mah out of 5000Mah. It look like the charger wants to start all over again, it didn't save the data where I was before and if I press start, I might burn my battery because it doesn't remember where I was (at 4100Mah) when it stopped so how is the charger going to know when to stop??Also, when I put my transmitter battery, the charger recognize automaticaly the battery setting but with this receiver battery, the charger don't seem to recognize it so I put the setting by myself. Does it do that to you Deluge??

Is it OK to always put the S_timer Off and Trickle on Auto??

Thanks guys for your help!!

It doesn't show the time when you turn the S_TIMER off. As long as you put the correct capacity of the battery, it won't over charge it. It'll automatically detect when the peak charge is reached. You have 5 memory banks available within the charger, I'm assuming you saved the transmitter battery to one of them. If you've used all 5 banks, you'll have to enter each new battery manually. You only need to turn the S_TIMER off when you're doing a slow charge. But you can turn it off and set the TRICKLE to auto. You shouldn't have to set that manually, though. The TRICKLE is set to auto by default.

Try these settings...

Bat. Type : NI-MH

Capacity : 5500mAh (This should be set to 110% of the packs rated capacity. So, 110% of 5000 is 5500.)

Current : 1.5A

S_Timer : off

Peak : 3-7mv/c

Trickle : Auto

 

[Yannik]

It doesn't show the time when you turn the S_TIMER off. As long as you put the correct capacity of the battery, it won't over charge it. It'll automatically detect when the peak charge is reached. You have 5 memory banks available within the charger, I'm assuming you saved the transmitter battery to one of them. If you've used all 5 banks, you'll have to enter each new battery manually. You only need to turn the S_TIMER off when you're doing a slow charge. But you can turn it off and set the TRICKLE to auto. You shouldn't have to set that manually, though. The TRICKLE is set to auto by default.Try these settings...

Bat. Type : NI-MH

Capacity : 5500mAh (This should be set to 110% of the packs rated capacity. So, 110% of 5000 is 5500.)

Current : 1.5A

S_Timer : off

Peak : 3-7mv/c

Trickle : Auto

Ho I see what you mean by the 110%. Just to make sure, even though my receiver is charged 3/4 already, so if I put the new setting you gave me, the charger will know when to stop??

My other battery, the transmitter, I didn't apply the 110% of 700Mah??

 

[Deluge]

Yes, it'll detect when the battery is fully charged. The capacity setting is basically like a failsafe. It helps prevent overcharging. Setting it to 110% of the packs rated capacity will ensure a full charge. Just use the transmitter battery as it is and set it to 800mAh the next time you charge it.

 

[Yannik]

Awesome, I will try that tomorrow because it's 1h40am here in Canada!! Btw, I just painted the diff. Cover black and put small holes in it, it looks great after all!! I will take a pic and show you went I'm done. Thanks again bro!

Talk U later...

 

[Deluge]

Awesome. Looking forward to the pics, dude!

 

[Yannik]

This charger really hates me!

Try these settings...

Bat. Type : NI-MH

Capacity : 5500mAh (This should be set to 110% of the packs rated capacity. So, 110% of 5000 is 5500.)

Current : 1.5A

S_Timer : off

Peak : 3-7mv/c

Trickle : Auto

When I put these settings above exactly how it is, the charger shows on the display that it will take 264 min (S_Timer) to charge the battery which it doesn't make sense because I've already charged approximatively 3/4 (4100Mah/5500Mah approx, I think) of it. I am not sure what to do from now because my battery is not fully charge and I don't want to overcharge it!

It's bizarre because the first time I turned On my charger (after I pulled the plug off the wall when I had the error message), it was showing S_Timer: 45 min so it is when I changed the capacity from 5000Mah to 5500Mah and the current from 0.9A to 1.5A that the S_Timer was now showing: 264 Min! I turned Off and On my charger, thinking it would restart the settings but it didn't, the charger kept the new settings.

It seems like the charger don't recognized that my receiver battery already been charged 3/4 (5hrs) so that's why I'm a bit nervous when I see that it will take another 264 Min! I just want to make sure I don't overcharge my battery. Do you have an idea on what I should do (settings) in order to finish charging the 1/4 left that needs to be charge on my 6V Receiver Battery without overcharging it ??

Thanks in advance,

Yannik

 

[Deluge]

You can clear the settings. Unplug the charger, hold the start button and plug it back in. This will restore the factory defaults.

The settings I suggested are settings for a slow charge. So the S_TIMER needs to be turned off. Like I said before, the capacity setting is basically a failsafe. It'll stop the charge process if peak charge is not detected. It won't allow you to overcharge it.

 

[Yannik]

You can clear the settings. Unplug the charger, hold the start button and plug it back in. This will restore the factory defaults.The settings I suggested are settings for a slow charge. So the S_TIMER needs to be turned off. Like I said before, the capacity setting is basically a failsafe. It'll stop the charge process if peak charge is not detected. It won't allow you to overcharge it.

OK, I understand but is the charger supposed to display the progress I already done or show the time it will take to charged the rest of the battery? The reason I'm saying that Deluge is because the charger doesn't seem to remember the progress already done because it show that it will take 264 Min (S_Timer) to finish charging the battery. It's almost impossible, it can't take that long, I already charged the battery 5 full hours already that is why!!

So even though it says that it will take that much time to charge the battery, you think I should not bother with it and push start? Does your charger do that?

 

[Deluge]

264 minutes is just an estimate. It's not saying it's going to charge for 264 minutes regardless of whether or not peak charge is detected. It's saying with the current settings, it shouldn't take longer than 264 minutes. You won't overcharge it. The peak detection circuit will detect when the pack is full. Push start, dude. It'll be fine.

 

[Yannik]

Hi Deluge,

I did what you told me but I had to stop the charger after around 90 min because the battery was becoming hot! I had a feeling it would do this!

The first time I charged the 6V, 5000mah battery, it started to buzz at approx 3/4 of the battery charged (4100mah/5000mah).

I started charging the battery (1/4 left to go) again today with new setting, after 90 min and (1650mah), I stopped it, the battery was hot. I added the 4100mah + 1650mah = 5750mah. The total capacity was 5500mah so I was over. If I would not stopped it, the battery would of melt or something.

Now, I truly don't trust this charger. I check the voltage of my 6V battery with a multimeter, it says 7.31 V. Is it possible?

With your charger, if you charge a battery and let's say you stop in the middle of the progress and unplug the charger, when you plug it back, will the charger remember where you were when you stopped it?

As for me, it looks like the second time I charged my battery, the charger started from zero like if was a new battery with no charge in it! Next time I charge it if not damage, I will make sure to fully charge it in one time because at slow charge, it buzz after 300 min! With the transmitter battery, it went better to charge it.

 

[Deluge]

Keep in mind that NiMH's do self discharge. So, you could've had less than 4100mAh. Also, they tend to warm up a bit towards the end of the charge. If it was over 5500mAh, it would've shut off. The voltage of a freshly charged 6V pack should be a little over 7V. So, the pack is fine.

It has nothing to do with what the charger remembers, dude. It has to do with voltage. When the charger charges the battery, the voltage rises. When the battery is fully charged, the energy that the charger is pushing into the battery turns into heat and the voltage drops slightly. This is what the peak circuit is looking for. That drop in voltage. Once it detects that voltage drop, it stops charging the pack.

 

[REVOlutionary Rampage]

If I can chime in here

Yannik: if your 5000 mah battery is taking 5+ hours to charge you need to bump up the voltage. Read your manual that came with your charger. It should clear up any questions you have about charging your battery, settings, etc. My manual said(Onyx 240) to charge my 5000 mah battery at 5A.

(I charged it at 3A just to be safe.) Like I said before, unless your battery is making odd noises like sizzling or blistering hot your fine. I would still check it periodically IMO just so if there is a problem you can stop it before it gets out of control.

 

[Yannik]

Keep in mind that NiMH's do self discharge. So, you could've had less than 4100mAh. Also, they tend to warm up a bit towards the end of the charge. If it was over 5500mAh, it would've shut off. The voltage of a freshly charged 6V pack should be a little over 7V. So, the pack is fine.g

It has nothing to do with what the charger remembers, dude. It has to do with voltage. When the charger charges the battery, the voltage rises. When the battery is fully charged, the energy that the charger is pushing into the battery turns into heat and the voltage drops slightly. This is what the peak circuit is looking for. That drop in voltage. Once it detects that voltage drop, it stops charging the pack.

Great, a big thank you for your patience with my questions. I have more trust in the charger now that you clarified several things for me!!

 

[Yannik]

If I can chime in here Yannik: if your 5000 mah battery is taking 5+ hours to charge you need to bump up the voltage. Read your manual that came with your charger. It should clear up any questions you have about charging your battery, settings, etc. My manual said(Onyx 240) to charge my 5000 mah battery at 5A.

(I charged it at 3A just to be safe.) Like I said before, unless your battery is making odd noises like sizzling or blistering hot your fine. I would still check it periodically IMO just so if there is a problem you can stop it before it gets out of control.

Thanks Revolutionary Rampage for the advice. I already read the manual but there was a few things I needed to clarified that wasn't properly explained in it and I have my answers now!! About your 5000mAh battery, do you apply the 110% capacity from the quick reference chart in the manual which is 5500mAh??

 

[REVOlutionary Rampage]

Thanks Revolutionary Rampage for the advice. I already read the manual but there was a few things I needed to clarified that wasn't properly explained in it and I have my answers now!! About your 5000mAh battery, do you apply the 110% capacity from the quick reference chart in the manual which is 5500mAh??

No, my charger has peak detection. Plus a tone when it's done. I usually just go by this formula. usually a few amps under to have the battery last longer. Cordy sums up this formula up pretty good

I charge mine according to the mah of the battery pack. ie. 1600 mah=1.6 amp,3000-4,000 mah=3.5 amps ,5000mah=5 amps.

I haven't had any major problems yet and I've been charging my batteries like that for 20+ years. I would still go more for longevity than power plus I check my batteries to see if they are too hot how far along they are etc... while their charging every 10 to 20 min roughly just so there's no problems.