Patrick_

I've got 2 brand-new packs of IB4200 6-cell's. The one pack, when connected to the 960, shows around 2V. The other shows 0.00V, and it won't start charging. The screen shows "Err". Why is this? How can I "trick" the charger to charge the pack, or do I have a dead IB4200 pack? I haven't tried the other one yet. Help!

Patrick_

UPDATE: The battery that showed a voltage is now charging.

I tried moving the connector, wires, smacking the other pack a bit, but it still won't charge, and it still doesn't show any voltage.

Tim@MRC

If the charger sees 0 voltage, then it doesn't even recognize the battery as being there. You have to get a little voltage in it in order for it to charge. I would first charge the second pack that show a little voltage in it, but charge it at the lowest setting (0.5 amps) until you see the battery hit around the 7.2 volts. You can then safely charge it at 4 amps. It's probably going to false peak during these charges, but keep hitting the start button until the battery has a full charge in it. It should take about an hour at the 4 amps to fully charge this battery, so keep track of the time before you re-start the charge. The battery should be fairly warm when it's done. For the battery with no voltage, you either have to find a regular timer charger to put a little voltage in it, or connect it to another battery + to + and - to - for a few seconds to put some juice in it. Just be very careful if you do it this way. When you have a few volts in it, then the 960 should pick it up, and then follow the directions from the first battery.

Tim Sandor

Patrick_

Cool, thanks a lot.

Since after just 5 minutes at .5A, the one pack peaked (using auto-detected delta peak settings), I set the delta peak all the way up to 70mv. I then calculated the theoretical time it will take to charge, which is 4200/500 == 8.4 hours, and after that time has elapsed, I will stop the charge. Do you think this method is safe enough, or should I disconnect it as soon as it reaches 7.2V (I would think after a fresh charge it could be a bit higher)? I'd rather not keep having to press "Start" again every 5 minutes.

I've got a AA-cell NiMH cell charger... would this be okay to use? I'd think that the battery -> battery method would be safer.

Tim@MRC

Once the battery reaches the 7.2 volts and holds it, then you can put it on at 4.0 - 4.5 amps, from there it should take about an hour. If it has the same connector, then you can try using the AA charger first for a few minutes just to see if it puts any voltage in the pack.

Tim

Patrick_

One more question: on the 960, is the delta peak threshold setting per cell, or total?

Earlier, my 960 was using 35mv on a 6-cell. 5x6 == 30.

Patrick_

Ok, I tricked the charger by putting the battery with no voltage in when the other battery, which I charged at 2A, was trickle charging. It started to charge it at 2A. I stopped the charge, and set it to .5A for the new battery. However, the voltage has been sitting at around 1.8V for a long time... not moving much at all for an hour or so. Why is this? I upped it to 2A but it's still moving very sluggishly, not even at 2V yet.

Patrick_

Ok... I was able to charge it using 4.5A. However, the pack only lasted a few minutes before it died. I successfully charged it at .5A overnight, and again today it lasted only a few minutes. Here's the weird thing: this morning it's voltage reading was around 8.2V. After I used it, it was around 7.5V, but it keeps increasing as it sits. My other pack lasted nearly half an hour on the second charge, and it peaked around 8.8V.

I'm going to try charging it one more time at 2A and see how it does. I hope I can recover it without having to return it.

Tim@MRC

It may take a few cycles for the battery to recover fully. Be patient, they'll probably come back. Now that you have somewhat of a charge in them, you can charge them at 4.5 amps with no problem. They should take almost an hour.

Tim