ChillyWilly72

Hello,

I bought a TR Arena and a Mirco-T about a year and a half ago and barely used either one. Due to work and my son moving up north I had not touched my cars for about a year and a couple of months. I just moved up North to be with my son, I moved from LA to Sacramento and actually just started college. I decided to break out my mirco-t and have a little fun only to discover that my batteries do not seem to be working. This got me a bit concerned as I had planned to break out the truggy and I am worried these batteries are messed up to. I am currently not working, so I cannot afford a huge battery expense at this time. I need your help. What can I do to bring dead/weak batteries back to life? Is there some device that I can use to refresh them or something. Don't say charge them, that is obvious. My problem is charging is not working. Also, what needs to be done to batteries when they are going to be stored for long periods? Is there anything or is storage doom for batteries?

Thanks

Jerry

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

If they sat that long without cycling them they will most likely be toast .

rcktpwrd

I agree with Dawman, but a slow trickle charge might get a bit of life out of them...
I had some old NiCds that all I used on them was a quick charger, then they sat for several years... I quick charged them and they worked but not like before. I charged them on my buddies peak charger at a slow rate and that brought a good bit of life back to them for a short while... long enough for me to get some use and have fun till I got new packs and a peak charger of my own...

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Well , you are comparing apples to oranges . Nicads are stored at an uncharged stated which doesn`t hurt them . Nimhs need to be stored at least 50% charged and maintained often to keep them from sitting at a discharged state . Once Nimhs are stored and not maintained they will discharge and if kept that way they will have a very low chance of getting anything out of them .

Druss

Ya, I say try a trickle charge with 5 cycles, each cycle charge at a slightly higher rate. Need a good charger for this though as most stock RTR chargers you cannot set the charge rate.

rcktpwrd

True, but the OP didn't state what type of batteries he has so I was just throwing that out there...

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

LOL , show me a Nicad rx pack and Nicad mini-t pack . They don`t exist anymore .

ChillyWilly72

They are all nimh with the exception of the pack that goes into my controller. I read a little about something called a zapper. What is that and would it help. I am off to trickle charge my packs, hopefully they will come back to life. Also is there a good CHEAP place to by batteries, cuz these damn things are a little pricey. Also, can you guys recommend a nice charger (I have a duratrax pirhana digital) that I could just leave all my batteries conntected to until I get around to playing so I don't go through this crap again.

rcktpwrd

cheap battery packs is a good source for packs...
http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com/?sid=1334604

I don't know of any charger that you could leave your packs hooked to for any extended length of time... The Piranha is a decent charger especially for the price.

ChillyWilly72

Any good info on how to build your own. I am pretty good with a soldering iron. I need a good resourse that would give me the data that I need to take into consideration (capacities, wiring config, the ins and outs of using high than spec batteries for the various car components) when building as well as instructions. Any suggestions?

ChillyWilly72

Anyone?

ChillyWilly72

Can anyone please point me to a source, perhaps another forum, where I can learn about battery storage, maintenance, service and most importantly building.

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Storage has already been explained in this thread . Maintaining nimh packs you want to cycle them at least once a month if you don`t use them . Nimh packs need to be stored at least 50% charged and if you plan on not using them longer then a week , I`d fully charge them . Building packs is pretty simple , you need a high watt soldering iron , solder , flux , battery bars , and of course the cells . You want to rough up the surface on the cells a bit with either a wire brush or dremel . Pre-tin the cells , put a battery bar on and solder it and repeat .

I`m sure if you go search google or you tube you will find a video .

BuzzBomber

My Feedback: (4)

chillywilly, look at this [link=http://www.batteryuniversity.com/]link[/link] for a site that I usually recommend to anyone wanting to learn about the various battery chemistries and their proper usage. [link=http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/]Red's Battery Clinic[/link] is another good site. The information on these may not be 100% up to date, but these are pages written by people who have made a living out of understanding and applying their knowledge of batteries and electronics in general, so they will not steer you wrong.