Century 7 Radio won't charge after getting new battery.
03-06-2012, 11:10 AM
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Century 7 Radio won't charge after getting new battery.
Ok so I have a Century VII radio system with reciever. I bought a new battery for it because the old one didn't work at all. This battery to be exact if it makes any difference at all:
http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-2000mA...060385&sr=1-17
After an hour of soldering the connector on to this new battery which was previously on the old one, I plugged it in and it worked just fine.
The battery held up for about a week until it needed to be recharged. The charger I have goes into the radio controller. There is no easy way to get the battery out of there. But anyway, after leaving it charging overnight, it worked for about 2 minutes but died.
The old batter was nicd and the charger is nicd. This battery is nimh but nicd chargers are supposed to work on nimh batteries anyway. So I dont understand.
If I buy just any nimh charger will it damage my radio controller? Do I just need to quit messing with it and get a new radio package? (i'd really rather not)
Thanks
http://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-2000mA...060385&sr=1-17
After an hour of soldering the connector on to this new battery which was previously on the old one, I plugged it in and it worked just fine.
The battery held up for about a week until it needed to be recharged. The charger I have goes into the radio controller. There is no easy way to get the battery out of there. But anyway, after leaving it charging overnight, it worked for about 2 minutes but died.
The old batter was nicd and the charger is nicd. This battery is nimh but nicd chargers are supposed to work on nimh batteries anyway. So I dont understand.
If I buy just any nimh charger will it damage my radio controller? Do I just need to quit messing with it and get a new radio package? (i'd really rather not)
Thanks
03-06-2012, 11:43 AM
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RE: Century 7 Radio won't charge after getting new battery.
If the charger is working, the battery should charge. I know JR uses a reverse polarity on the tranmitter charging plug, from the other brands. So make sure your chrger is JR. brand. If, by chance you used a reverse polarity charger on the battery, then you fried the new battery. Check your charger with a meter for polarity and to make sure it is working.
Also, some transmitters have a diode in the chrging circuit as a short protection. I don't know if the Century VII has that or not, but it's something else to check. It would be in the transmitter attached to the charging jack some where. If it has shorted it would prevent the charging circuit from working.
Also, some transmitters have a diode in the chrging circuit as a short protection. I don't know if the Century VII has that or not, but it's something else to check. It would be in the transmitter attached to the charging jack some where. If it has shorted it would prevent the charging circuit from working.
03-06-2012, 02:14 PM
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RE: Century 7 Radio won't charge after getting new battery.
I currently have a JR charger. If I buy a new charger, will it be ok if I reverse the wires? I'll look to see if my transmitter has one of those diodes. How would I replace one? I don't know for sure if it doesn't work but the light on my charger has never lit so it could of been blown all this time.
03-06-2012, 02:33 PM
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RE: Century 7 Radio won't charge after getting new battery.
That 2000 mah battery pack is four times the capacity that most of those old Century, Circus and JR systems came with. There is no way an original wall wort that they came with with, which were 50mah chargers is going to be able to fully charge and maintain that 2000mah pack.
A charger capable of at least 200mah charge rate which is the proper overnight charge rate for your new pack is what you are gonna need. Now the problem is you will not be able to charge through the Transmitter, if the charger is a peak detecting type as it cannot access the reverse current. It will be neccessary to remove the battery and connect directly to the charger.
All the JR's and I am pretty sure that includes the Century as well as Circus transmitters used a glass tube fuse in the charging circuit and as Steve mentioned If you reverse the current even for a fraction of a second it will blow. I have replaced many and it is placed internally in the transmitter. There is a possiblity that this may have occured.
If you really want to save money and actually learn how to fly with your trainer you are fixing up then it deserves at least a modern radio if not a new set. I think this is only the tip of future frustrations using this old system.
John
A charger capable of at least 200mah charge rate which is the proper overnight charge rate for your new pack is what you are gonna need. Now the problem is you will not be able to charge through the Transmitter, if the charger is a peak detecting type as it cannot access the reverse current. It will be neccessary to remove the battery and connect directly to the charger.
All the JR's and I am pretty sure that includes the Century as well as Circus transmitters used a glass tube fuse in the charging circuit and as Steve mentioned If you reverse the current even for a fraction of a second it will blow. I have replaced many and it is placed internally in the transmitter. There is a possiblity that this may have occured.
If you really want to save money and actually learn how to fly with your trainer you are fixing up then it deserves at least a modern radio if not a new set. I think this is only the tip of future frustrations using this old system.
John
