NMeyer

I have been trying to run these rayovac hybrid batteries in my rc but they just die after about half the life a normal battery would have. So just out of curiosity i put one in my MP3 player and watched the battery meter. the MP3 player is supposed to run for 19 hours on a standard battery but the hybrids run out of juice in about 6 hours. I notice that the battery shows a normal rate of decrease in power untill about half way then it seems to drop off the map and die. if i let the MP3 player sit for a minute then turn it back on it runs for another 30 seconds then dies again. I then wired it into a simple circuit with a small electric motor and when it reached the point were it loses reliability it will continue to turn as long as i turn it off and on multiple times. It really is strange because these batteries were brand new and not supposed to develop memory but it seems like it has in the same way a NiCd battery would. so what should I do? I have tried batteries from 2 different packs that i bought weeks apart but they all fail. I am trying to drain the batteries all the way and charge them from dead to full and see if it helps. any other suggestions?

TenergyRep

How long have you have the cells? I read the Rayovac website about the batteries, they seem to be typical NiMh cells. Some times it can take a few cycles for cells to reach a state of full charge.

NMeyer

I have used them tell they reach the point were they lose power about 5 times but i have been unable to get a full drain so i did hook them up to a little motor so they can drain all the way... maybe that will work

TenergyRep

If you drain them to less than .9 volts per cell you can damage the cell causing it to swap polarity. You can swap the cells back, but after that you might as well buy some new cells because they will never be the same. If they have swaped polarity and you continue to use them you can damage the device they are used it.