hchytd

I have owned a Blade MCX2 for 6 months without an issue - until now. Despite fully charged li-po battery and brand new controller batteries, it will only hover for 30 seconds or less until it loses hovering power (all else remains powered on and working). I have swapped out batteries to make sure it wasn't a faulty battery or not charged, etc. - to no avail. I took it to a local hobby store and they thought it might be a defective circuit board (every once in awhile it will work fine - with same batteries). Sent in a warranty/repair request to horizon hobby today (where I bought it 6 months ago) and am hopeful they will cover it. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

hottrk51

[>:] I've had a couple of boards go bad. Horizion replace them under warrenty. On the last one to fry, thet told me they don't replace the board and it was most probably a bad motor. They would not replace it. Good luck.

hchytd

Did you have the same symptoms as I?

Any hobby stores out there have a 7 or 30 day full refund policy with opened item if I buy another copter?

hottrk51

Not quite that short a flight time, maybe 2 min. It would spin hard to left at full throtle.

millermax

I have several of horizon hobbies models and they have honnored every problem ive had.It could be your motors like oh boy said.SE 180 motors are a really good upgrade and are cheap,only 12.90 a peice.I think you can get them on ebay.just talk to horizon and watch how you word things.good luck.let me know how it works out for ya.

hchytd

Good news - horizon hobby sent me a brand new copter (great customer service).

Bad news - same issues (?)

Conclusion (after much frustration and confusion) - I must have fried/blown all 3 of my lipo batteries I had stored. Bought a new batter and no issues.

What are the proper methods in charging/storing an e-flite 150mAh lipo battery for a MCX2 helicopter?

Not sure what I did wrong - overcharged them, charged them before they were fully drained, stored them in too cold of temperature?

I am using the stock charger that comes with these batteries (so I know I am using the correct charger) - and after they are charged the charger still blinks (trickles) as if they are charged and then supposedly shuts off charging (so overcharging should not be the issue - am I right?). I may have charged them again before they fully drained (but never knew this was a problem - is it?). Also, the only other thing I can think of is that I have had them in the helicopter box in my trunk for awhile in cold weather (could that be it?). Finally, these batteries were fully charged/not drained and stored for several months (is that okay?) Any others with these batteries issues? Are they supposed to last many years? Thoughts?

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

airmayle

Here is a site that will help with understanding lipo.

http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/rc-lipo-batteries.html

As for storing your lipo's they will self discharge and die.

acdii

Chances are you over-discharged the batteries, OR you flew the crap out of them. It appears they have a short shelf life, kind of like early rechargeable batteries, where they could only take so many cycles before the capacity dropped off. Iused to own a Prius, and Camry Hybrid, and learned quite a bit about battery life and proper charge/discharge rates. Never, Ever fully discharge a battery, if you do, you shorten its life. Never fully charge a battery, you will shorten its life. Recargeable batteries perform best when kept between 40 and 80% charge. Never below 40%, and rarely if ever above 80%. The Hybrid system on the cars does this automatically to prevent battery failure. The chargers for the LIPO batteries are supposed to be able to do this as well, but since they are low end chargers, dont put too much faith in them. The one that came with the mCX, Idont use anymore, it uses 4 AA batteries to charge other batteries, and as the aa's deplete, the energy availble to properly charge the Lipo is depleted, so the battery being charged does not get a proper charge. Ibought a mSR that came with the 4 slot charger, and it runs off an AC adapter, so it should provide a much cleaner charge rate start to finish. Eventually I will get a charger that has a brain to know just how much charge the battery needs, and can perform draw down tests like the one that Iuse for my Porter Cable drill. Batteries for that cost upwards of $80 a piece, so a cheap charger is a no-no.

Read that link above, lots a good information.

hchytd

Thanks for your replies!

That site makes li-po batteries out to be extremely sensitive and prone to risk with average use?

Given my specific situation: e-flite 150mAh batteries for MCX2 and the e-flite charger that comes with them, I am still uncertain how I could have overcharged or discharged them too much? There is no discharge feature on the charger? I fly with them appropriately each time until they run out, and then charge them after they have cooled off (20 minutes) until the charger trickles and automatically stops charging again. Sounds like too cold is not a problem. I have never heard other micro heli users talk about only charging them 60-80%, not storing uncharged, and/or buying a balancing charger, etc? My only thought now is that I must have either overheated them by either charging them immediately after a flight or storing them fully charged and my trunk of car got too hot one day? Though again, only 2 out of the 3 batteries are fried. Still baffled, but appreciate all the info...

acdii

When you say run out, do you mean when the blades no longer turn, or to the first blink of the LED? They do have a limited lifespan of 3-400 cycles. Also that little battery powered charger doesnt condition the battery, it just charges. A battery conditioner would tell you if the battery is good or need to be replaced.

hchytd

Considering these copter fly for about 8 minutes on a full charge anyway, I run the copter until it begins to lose power and unable to hover - there is no LED notifier on the MCX2. You are right, the charger does not tell me if the battery is good or not - in fact, the 2 batteries that no longer hold a charge still act like they are being charged - and the charger blinks (within minutes) and then stops as if the batteries are fully charged (just like the good batteries). Am I correct in thinking that this e-flite charger stops charging when it senses the battery is fully charged (hence the blinking light)? If so, leaving a battery plugged into it for long periods of time (days) after it is already charged would not negatively affect the battery? Thanks!

airmayle

If the battery sits for two or three weeks it will self discharge on its own. You should check the batteries periodically to make the sure the voltage doesn't drop below 3.2v. If the voltage is around that I would but it on the charger for little bit. Keep in mind if you overcharging and discharging below the recommended voltage for a one cell lipo that will decrease the performance and life of the battery.

As for your stock charger I would assume it has a shut off once it hits the full voltage, I would check the manual to be on the safe side.

Also temperature will affect the lipo greatly. Do not leave a lipo battery in the car for any length of time.

AH-64_d

Lost a CX2 for most of a hot summer weekend and when I finally found it, its battery had swelled up like a dead toad. Heat really hurts lipos.

Long term storage should definitely be at less than full charge. Batteries stored that way survive being ignored until needed. The batteries that I fully charged and then did not use all summer went bad by the time winter flying season returned.

I fly a new battery in my MCX, MSR or MCX2 until the toy blinks or needs more throttle to fly, and then make a note of how long that battery lasted. After that, I fly it for 1 minute less with the help of a cooking timer. When a battery fails to fly as long as usual, it is a good clue that it is beginning to wear out.

Scottsdale-Blade

I have the exact same issue and it is driving me nuts. My bird is only 30 days old and to make things worse I am beginner) Please let me know if your problem gets resolved.

hchytd

It actually was/is a lipo battery issue - all 3 were "fried" - seems these lipos die easily - especially if run too long - which apparently means run long enough for the copter to begin to fade. It's a ridiculous flaw in these batteries - and if anyone has some tips please let us know how to remedy - so we don't have to buy new lipos every month or so...

downunderdog

Replacement batteries are pretty cheap at hobby king.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=11893

hchytd

Thanks for the battery link - unfortunately, they are on backorder? Any other links or battery suggestions (for a MCX2). Also, any tips on how to make these batteries last (for more than just 3 months)?

downunderdog

This one should work, too (but I've never tried it... or the other one that I linked to for that matter. Hobby city is usually pretty good about stating what they are copying - I mean compatible with - though.)

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...dProduct=11857