How to Charge a Single Cell in an Unbalanced Multi Cell Lipo Pack

When a single cell in a lipo comes out of balance far enough that your charger won't recognize it, you probably have a bad lipo, but if not, here's how you can try to recover it, OR you can use this process to try to get your cells to a closer match, or balance.
This video shows how I charged just ONE cell of a lipo using a special built cable. Please be very careful, as you CAN start a fire if you don't do it right. Some people have been hurt, and others have burned down their homes. Even if you do everything right, sometimes things go wrong, so very carefully try at your own risk. If in doubt, do this process outside, away from flammable materials, or safely dispose of your battery and replace it with a new one. Use as short an extension cord as you can to get the job done, and make sure you're circuit breaker is working, if you end up with a dead short. This would be bad, but at least you could yank the cord out of the wall.
"4S" means 4 cells in SERIES. The "C" refers to CHARGE/DISCHARGE rates. The bigger number "C" is the Discharge Rate, and the smaller "C" is the Charge rate.
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[@TheSkyPod]

Nice video, but you are explaining info on how to charge just the 4th cell. How do you know what wires to use if its the 1st , 2nd , or 3rd cell? There are only 5 wires , not 8 , so which are hot and which are negative? I have a 3 cell battery that is showing the 1st cell is under and need to charge just that one . Which wires would I use to do so if you are looking at it top down at the battery checker . My wires are from left to right black, red , red, red . So you would think the first wire is negative and then the rest are positive for each cell . But if I just use the checker on the last to red wires , its showing the 3rd cell only , which is a normal cell , but yet its hooked up to what I believe to be 2 positive wires. A bit confusing.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Okay, good question! There are 4 Cells in series, meaning one cell attaches to the NEXT cell, and that cell attaches to the NEXT cell, and so on and so forth, until you run out of cells to hook to and so you have the NEGATIVE.... So I'll try and do this in TEXT-O-VISION.... Each of the SETS are actually the wires attached to the induvidual cells in a multi-cell pack, so you can charge just ONE at a time. Colors are tricky, since some MFG's like to use Black, Red, Red, Red while others will use Black, White, Yellow, Red....but the trick is - BLACK is always your "NEGATIVE" lead for the SET of cells, and the FURTHEST away is the "POSITIVE" for the SET of cells. These two wires will be common with your larger "Discharge" leads....the ones attached to your XT60, or EC3, or Deans, or whatever battery style you have. Two examples of types of color codes... B- means the last cell, or the actual "negative" lead....while the other ones are the positive of the following cells...let's start with 1S, then we'll show 2S, then 3S, and finnaly, 4S like in THIS video.... 1S (meaning one cell in series...a misnomer, there's NO series, since it's ONE cell - LOL) (B-)(R+) ( - 1 +) 2S (meaning 2 cells in series) (B-)(R+)(R+) ( - 1 +) ( - 2 +) 3S (meaning 3 cells in series) (B-)(R+)(R+)(R+) ( - 1 +) ( - 2 +) ( - 3 +) 4S (meaning 4 cells in series) (B-)(R+)(R+)(R+)(R+) ( - 1 +) ( - 2 +) ( - 3 +) ( - 4 +) 4S (meaning 4 cells in series, but with some other colors, to help you see it's the same) (B-)(W+)(Y+)(O+)(R+) ( - 1 +) ( - 2 +) ( - 3 +) ( - 4 +) As you can see, these are the same patterns for ALL multi-cell packs. ...but might be helpful for you to watch these short videos, to see a deconstruction of a 3S pack, for you understanding... Part 1 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gp-alH-nqNenbdk Part 2 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKeUe3pspLqtibM Hope this helps!

[@TheSkyPod]

Thanks for the detailed info. I figured it out soon after watching the video.

[@stickboyfpv4742]

Or you coulda said. 3 s.. 1 lead in red and the 1st cell plug black next to positive! Do you keep the positive in re for any cell orrr?? I think he was wondering. Well I still am... letss start a fire now😅 Edit! So yeah cell 1 "I believe starts from the negative side"... cell 1 is negative and the one next to it cell 2, just move both over once, and same for 3, 4, 5 etc... BUT! My bat was too dead to jump start in Lipo on 1 s, I am now charging .1 amp in NIHM setting tho and ITS WORKINGGGG!! 20 min we shall see!

[@ng-iq4kx]

A simpler way to look at it is, left to right, negative-first red wire= cell 1. First red wire - second red wire= cell 2. Second red wire - third red wire = cell 3. Some use blue and yellow as the second and third wires.

[@jermayneclark848]

@@BrianPhillipsRC great explaining with this saved me some time surely Thank you

[@nicholasfrank2428]

This is the second time I have referenced your video here to save a battery from possible death! Thank you for posting this video!!

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

AWESOME! Glad to help, but just be safe. If in question, get it out of the house/garage to protect you and your family.

[@ryanwilliams8842]

Very helpful. Thanks. I am purchasing a voltage alarm right now. You were spot on with description.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Thanks Ryan! Glad I could help!

[@billinphoenix255]

I buy double ended balance leads for building batteries. I cut off the female end and save it just for this purpose, I modify the end to take different size plugs. I have all the wires to measure and connect to, just hook to the low cell to charge. Easy as that, no little pins, no shorting out !

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I have all sorts of wiring stuff, and this was just a tip I stumbled on....

[@flymachine]

"The simplest solutions are the easy solutions" quote of the day

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

yep!

[@johngowing2252]

Good explanation on how to fix an unbalanced battery plus funny one liners 😅. Awesome Brian!

[@lectro88]

AGAIN no room for error on this practice, I have shorted lipo's before "And It AIN'T PRETTY" it's instant torch Hot. Welding and copper splattering instantly. Great video but again I thunked smart chargers were doing this already in balance "Mode" I will pay a little closer attention to my cell "Count Capacities" and Parameters.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

yep, better to be safe than sorry ;) As for sparks, ohhhhh yeah, I've done it too, and it's a QUICK move unless the cells are at 0VDC, which almost never happens.

[@jeremyoshea7941]

That is such a good way of framing. The junk is junk defense miss placed, unable to find the current situation. I’m in an organized, but when organized it turns in the another thing I came really close to throw in everything I have a way because I’m frustrated with being disorganized but all I have to do is organize it. I’m glad I saw this video. I’ve been thinking about it for the last two months since Christmas getting out there and organizing, what a difference five seconds max in one life.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

What?

[@jeremyoshea7941]

I know it, sorry I didn’t read my thoughts before pressing comment… I meant that it was a good way to put into words “it’s just junk, if it’s not organized “ I almost threw out many of my hobby things because I wanted to take the clutter out of my life. When it was just being able to stay organized. It gives patients to whatever your working on. Battery’s for example, if your in a rush and have a mess, unable to find what you need, most are just out the grab and make do with what they have. Thank you for the video and I apologize for the comment and how mixed up everything read..

[@kidmetal1369]

Thanks so much for that explanation. It helped me confirm what I was thinking 🤔

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Glad it was helpful!

[@flymachine]

Great method. I use mini deans with two pins and plug it straight into my swallow charger and charge as a single cell, if it won't pick up the cell I first charge it to storage voltage in NIMH mode and then over in Lipo mode again as a single cell - at the lowest C rating and amperage possible as slow as possible and 90% of the time, I recover the batteries. I always charge my batteries inside a metal case in a safe area especially for this I recommend doing the same. I've recovered a pack with a slightly puffy cell this method and it worked but I was too chicken to use it so it's been my setup and tester battery and has gone through multiple cycles hassle free since.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Yeah, I hear you on "being chicken"....I've been there, done that!

[@bencrawshaw1227]

I have a 2 s lipo battery one of the cells is completely dead does that mean I can't fix it?

[@PaulGrc]

Good info Brian , I have been doing this too for a long while and saved lots of lipo's

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I've been thinking about this forever, and never made the adapter, for some stupid reason (13 part flap mod series might have had something to do with it - LOL)

[@Lee.gRC27]

Awesome I'm so glad I found this post I have a 4s but only the 3rd cell was way low , so I put my neg 3rd wire down and my possitive on the 4th , works a treat , thanks for sharing

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Sure thing! Keep in mind, if it's near 0 or won't hold charge, THAT CELL is probably bad, and you can remove it. Just be REAL careful, and decided if you want a 3S from a 4S, or a 2S and another 1S, or to make a sacrificial lamb for spare cells for other packs that have similar deaths. I just wish the tabs were easier to work with...HARD to get solder to stick sometimes.

[@Lee.gRC27]

@@BrianPhillipsRC cheers for the advice , I'll keep an eye on it , iv got use for a 3s if needed , It was 2.8v

[@bryanlendroth2548]

Little late to the game here, but for even more added safety, solder a male balance connector socket (JST-XH male) to your floating wires on the special cable you built. This will help in two ways. One, it will prevent those wires from accidentally shorting together when plugged into the battery. Two, since the sockets are keyed, it will prevent someone not paying attention from plugging them in backwards (reverse polarity). You would have to snip off the left and right sides of the male balance connector's plastic shroud to be able to plug it in, however.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I thought about that, but then how would you do different cells? I could just do 6 different connectors off the end of the XT60, and then you could just pick the one that's labeled "1" "2" "3" "4" "5" "6"....and that would help protect polarity. One note, my charger does check polarity before starting...but some might not.

[@bryanlendroth2548]

@@BrianPhillipsRC my last sentence solves that issue but may not contain enough information. What I failed to mention was to use a TWO pin male balance connector. Then, if you use horizontal cutters to snip off the left and right sides of the plastic shroud covering the pins (leaving the top and bottom shroud intact) you should be able to move that 2 pin connector to any cell on the female battery balance connector without losing the polarity protection. (I'm sure if you jam it in backwards, you could force it in, but at least it's somewhat protective). I've also seen a video where someone took a servo extension wire and removed the plastic shroud, then snipped off one of the end pins, leaving two pins. Snip off the opposite end connector and solder the two wires to an XT60, or whatever mating connector your battery uses. No polarity protection though. Another option (from Bruce, RCModelReviews) is to use 0.100" pin headers (www.amazon.com/0-100-2-54-Breakaway-Male-Header/dp/B019NIPFP4/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=.1+inch+pin+headers&qid=1584107700&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-5) and break off 2 pins and use them. No polarity protection though. My charger also has polarity protection built in, but I tend to never rely on built in protections to save me. Start with good safety practices, use them all the time and they will become good habits (in all situations, not just RC stuff). Ironically, I learned one of my good habits from you. I always vocalize, "Throttle cut on, and tested." after I do exactly that. Every. Single. Time. Now it's just habit and I don't even think about it. So thanks for that!

[@Taematoe]

I did something similar, I used a new JST connector to the low cell and used a 1s wall charger to charge it to 4.2. I hot glued the wires in place while charging. It took along time but did the trick. That cell drains faster than the other so that"s a bummer.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

That's a good quick and dirty trick, but be careful the contacts don't get too hot, melting the hot glue, then allowing the wires to short out. Not trying to be preachy, just don't want to give the impression that this exercise is without some level of risk. If your cell is sagging bad, you might just think about cutting out that "bad cell"...it sucks to do, but when your chemistry is uneven, you'll almost never get them to balance or discharge evenly....which is SUPER annoying, since I have a "Balance charge" mode on my charger!!! Shouldn't it balance the cells??? LOL

[@ecwhite3621]

Why not use the “balance charge” function of the charger?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You can do this, but the balance chargers don't usually work very well, even on the expensive ones. Also, when there's a large cell voltage differential, you are actually being fairly hard on the higher voltage cells, in the way the balance chargers charge and discharge them (high cells) to get the lower voltage cells up to 4.20 VDC. Also, you can get a cell back from below the "bad cell" level if only one is low (sometimes).

[@ReX-jo6hb]

@@BrianPhillipsRC could you elaborate why "you are actually being fairly hard on the higher voltage cells"? I would imagine that the individual balance wires are used by the charger to charge each parallel independently. So in your example, only the 4th battery was going to receive a charge. Maybe initially the charger would try to charge the whole pack, until at least one battery reaches the desired voltage, then it turns off the main charging and uses the small wires to charge the individual cells. Isn't that what happens with balance chargers (just guessing here, as I don't have one!)? By the way, I watched the video because I just replaced 8 18650 cells in a vacuum cleaner battery pack but it still won't charge and someone suggested that I should balance or at least individually charge the 4 parallels. I think my mistake was to solder the batteries before giving an initial charge (they are new but only 3.7V)...

[@marshal7102]

I always connect the opposite gender plug on an XT60 connector before i solder it to keep the plug straight and to also protect the plastic from warping from the heat of the solder. I NEVER solder an unsupported XT60 plug. FYI

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

yes, this is a good idea. I do it too, but evidently I didn't in this video? I also usually try to grab onto the "support XT60" with something like forceps and that helps to sink the heat away from the plastic connector a bit too. If I have one with leads already soldered on, that can help too, but just have to be careful not to short out a live pack.

[@thercadventurer4422]

What if you do this and the battery after getting up to 4.20v and then you check it again and it is only at like 4.10v does this mean the battery cell is bad? It's only been used a hand full of times over it's life so I don't understand what is going on

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

How old is it? Sometimes when they get to being a few years old, they will just lose their chemistry...pretty annoying!!!

[@LeonardoCostaUSA]

Hi sir, great tips 🙌🏻. Please Would you tell me if The battery 3,7v 1800mah Lipo xh Ly works for receiver wth 5 servos Futaba 3004? If not what would work? Tks

[@howtheheckru8102]

I had two 2 cell batteries and 1 on each one went bad. So I put the 2 good ones together. When testing each battery with multi-meter each one shows 3.9 volts but when testing them together they show 0.11 volts and with battery tester it only recognizes one cell. Any suggestions.

[@ranadeepmahendra8507]

i have a 3 cell 3300 mah 35c 11.1 v lipo battery.. my second is totally discharged and shows 0v so can i charge that single cell with a B3 imax rc charger? or how should i recover the dead battery cell , i only have the B3 imax rc charger with me.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you're at 0Volts, identify what CELL is dead, and if the other TWO cells are also at 0VDC...if only one is low, get that one to the same place as the others...but it's very unusual to go to 0VDC...if it's 0VDC you might be looking at an OPEN (cut cable or broken at the solder joint on the cell?). I have no idea about your B3 imax charger.

[@blueromanunicorn7338]

Hi Brian. Thank you for a great video, I don't have much of the bits and pieces is everything available in the links you have shown, oh and I will remember the kaboom bit.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

This was more of a build / how to...but I can share some generic site links if you're looking for some of the bits and pieces I used, that you lack... Help Us Horizon Hobby bit.ly/38ZFade Tower Hobbies bit.ly/2XqHt45 Bitgo Hobby bit.ly/3kfe45L Hobbyking goo.gl/TynFdU Titan bit.ly/3eXH9R7 Amazon amzn.to/2BGynZt RCGoing bit.ly/3tcTY1F Banggood bit.ly/3cEiP5d TheMagicHome bit.ly/35rhfTi Camera Crew Nails bit.ly/2LGO4EJ

[@InfinityDrones]

Am I right in thinking that another way would be to take an existing XT60 lead (if you have one) plug red wire from the XT60 lead/pigtail to the red lead on the balance plug and the black one to the dead/faulty cell? I've got a 4S battery with Cell no 1 reading 0.0v...

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

No...you'll cause a fire if you put that lead on any of the other leads... Measure between the Negative on the XT60 and all the other leads and you can see what I'm talking about. You COULD use ANOTHER pack and make one cell bring up the OTHER cell, but you'll run the risk of doing it too quick and melting the wires. The higher the differential in Voltage, the higher the Current will be trying to nominalize the cells to the same level....this would also potentially cause a fire. Be careful ;)

[@greyraven2636]

Nice job.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Thanks :)

[@michaellaframboise7646]

Good video, my comment is that I would have been patient and only set .1 amp instead of a higher level of current. Like you mentioned, so expensive and sensitive

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you can get it to charge slow, the slower the safer.

[@nutleighgrove3658]

Hey Brian, these winter months in UK are keeping me busy indoors with micro helis.. I’m getting annoyed with paying top dollar for Turnigy 3.7v 200mAh or any small single cell lipo for that matter.. They all seem to swell up after only 4 or 5 charges - and lose their flight duration :( I take care of them, letting them cool & only using 0.2A slow charge..what’s going on? 😤 Martyn 👍🏻

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Sorry to hear that. I wonder if you're accidentally over-charging them, not so much YOU, but the charger's volt meter???? Have you tried a different charger? I do also find ways to make my non-SMART pack puff, but since I made the switch to smart packs, I've pretty much let everything else just go... If the packs are getting over 4.20VDC during charge, you can expect to make them puff. Also, leaving them charged for a long time after you charge them, will cause them to puff almost certainly.

[@nutleighgrove3658]

@@BrianPhillipsRC Aha, thanks Brian! 😊 that last bit about leaving them charged for a few days/weeks is interesting. I’ve been deliberately using the supplied usb cable with these micro helis. Smart packs - not familiar with that term? Can you tell me more? 🌈

[@kokoslegend4850]

So if one cell is low it will damage the others? they should stop charging right?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

This method prevents the OTHER cells from having to be brought up with the "low" cell.

[@kokoslegend4850]

@@BrianPhillipsRC thank you, but your charger should always stop the other cells right? Otherwise they will overcharge and get dangerous.

[@South-Texas-Drones_5801]

Will this work on a brand new 6s that has 3 cells with 0-volts

[@mohammedawad6806]

Hi, good video..i had also diferend voltages, after i did storage charge, all my cells are correct now..thnx, i learnd to do this :)

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I will try this too! I bet the charger won't have to fight as hard either...since you wouldn't be charging each cell up, so the simple circuitry may be able to draw down each cell to 3.8 VDC more efficiently. Am I crazy to feel like I'm throwing away money (electricity) when discharging lipos???? :)

[@gauravs4950]

Hi Brian, I have a 6s 15 Ah pack and 2 cells are off by .4 v. I use a Turnigy accucel charger and while doing your method. Do you turn the capacity cutoff on or you turn it off ?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I'm not sure what you're talking about "Capacity Cutoff". Are you saying, do you set the mAh capacity? I would, but this process is just to get the cells back to 2.8 or 2.9VDC, then you can get the cells to charge "normally" again. I know that 15Ah is pretty HUGE! Since I'm not 100% sure I'm giving you good advice, please use care when you get ready to try it.

[@wadedittus3552]

Great information, I have question "restance" I'm. Using imax v2 on my 7.4 1800mah batterys one cell is single digits other is double. Voltage is with-in. 4 is this a problem do to age or????? Thank you for your attention to this matter 🚁🚁

[@shaibazkhan866]

How to charge particular 1cell in 3 cell battery with compact charger ..?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I don't know that you can do it... Sorry for the slow reply, your message was stuck in "Spam" for some reason..

[@Tinnntin]

Hi Brian, thank you for sharing your knowledge. I have a big problem. I have a 6s 22000mA for my drone and only used it to calibrate the drone (new build) and tested the motors etc. After that I did not use the battery for a while. Now 1 cell has fallen to 0.70v. Can it still be saved?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I've had this before, and I'd be lying if I told you yes. You can try, but be careful! If you want to, you can also do surgery (i have videos on this too, FYI) on the pack, remove the bad cell, and add in a good cell. 6S packs are pricey, but be careful whichever direction you decide to go.

[@Tinnntin]

@@BrianPhillipsRC I think I solved it. I only managed to charge the bad cell to 3.3v with a NiCd charger. Now it loads well. thanks for your quick message!

[@dannycooper1574]

Hi brian, I have two new turnigy 2200mah 3s 11.1v, used them one time each and I left them for about a month and now one cell isn’t taking charge in both of them, there just not being recognised by the voltage meter, the balance charger and the plane but they still work, are they broken now yeah

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Try getting the charge up with just ONE cell at a time, and you might be able to get them working. This occasionally happens, and you'll have to use your best judgment, but I suspect you'll be able to get it fixed.

[@dannycooper1574]

@@BrianPhillipsRC what amp should I use Brian

[@nicholashernandez8151]

my 1st cell reads 2.8 the rest are fine if i do this to fix it should the issue linger or be back to normal with regular use? made mistake of leaving battery plugged into xmaxx havent forgot since. Have a trinity hc bullet 6000 mah 4s true 60 C pair @$140 each

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you get it balanced, and it comes back, TWO things to check on... 1) Question your test fixture. Use a DMM and test the voltage across that cell in question. 2) If the cell stays balanced after a few uses, you're good to go, if not, consider yanking the bad cell? I've done this with a bad 6S, and made a good 3S and 2S...which worked out well for me. Just a thought.

[@NickDQuick1]

Brian Phillips well it’s a hard case and the balance port is mounted flush with the case of the battery, it’s recessed on the end of the battery so I dunno how I would do that, I was hoping to be able to charge that one cell with my charger but I need a 1s balance connector or I need to make one like you have in this video

[@nicholashernandez8151]

@@BrianPhillipsRC could I use jst connector?

[@nicholashernandez8151]

i have one of those 9 in 1 adapters to fit a variety of connectors

[@ribvicky]

Hello. Need your help! I have a 2200mAh pack. 2 cells are in good shape but one cell is totally zero. I checked with the multimeter and it shows zero. That's why I am unable to balance charge it. I watched your video but I don't have that charger "board" u used. I have a IMAX b6. Please help. Thanx

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you have one cell at 0VDC you will probably have a bad cell, or a damaged connection behind the protective covering on the lipo. If you choose to open it up, BE CAREFUL!!! You can get hurt, or burn down your house - Now that I've warned you, if you do investigate, use a multimeter, or a cell tester to ID which one is bad, then simply cut off the sheath (knowing that you'll probably have to wrap it back up with the same shieth and packing tape), then simply look at where the balance wires enter each side of the individual cells, and I bet you'll see what looks like corrosion, but that will be the white dust that's released from inside the cells....if NOT, then you might just have a cut cable or a damaged end, either would be easy to fix. Good luck, but please, seriously, BE SAFE! I don't want you to get hurt - I need all the subscribers I can get (LOL....but seriously)

[@ribvicky]

@@BrianPhillipsRCman.. that's scary 🙃 let me gather enough courage!! 😁 Thank you so much!

[@bencrawshaw1227]

Where do you get the adaptor board

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I have a link here, but you have to get the one that has the right plugs for your batteries, of course ;) An excerpt from the "Support Us" section of description...but I've had to refine a lot of this out to make room for new stuff... Balance Charger amzn.to/2IxmRla Parallel Board amzn.to/2uduI1v (

[@holthaunt3907]

Thank you! You helped me out.

[@bhaibolte8052]

Bro, can we use 3s batteries if one cell is not working. My batteries is showing 8.4V. instead of 11.1. is it save to use it

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Not safe....unless you take it apart and fix it. The problem is that you are passing the current THROUGH the bad cell, which can cause that cell to heat up and catch fire under the right circumstances. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[@negaopiroca2766]

Very clear, thanks. Where do you get those pins? :)

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I get them from little 2 and 3S connector sets, but you can steal them from other lipo ends that are broken, as you collect broken gear.

[@ashutoshnale2097]

if we have one cell dead, can we balance charge the battery without removing the dead cell? In my case I have 6S 8Ah battery with 6th cell dead 1st cell 4.2V 2nd cell 4.1V 3rd cell 4.2V 4st cell 4.1V 5th cell 4.2V 6th cell 0V (dead cell) without removing the dead cell Can I balance charge it as 5S battery (using 5 pin battery connector male to female). Is any harm from Dead cell if I balance charge as 5S battery.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Probably not. You'll have to remove the cell or risk a fire, BUT if you don't mind the fire, you might actually be able to charge "through" the bad cells, if you set your charger to "5S"??

[@DavidToyotaHead13]

@@BrianPhillipsRC BAD idea as when your discharging those with 50 amp pulses depending on amp draw, it still has to go through the dead cell. It will Catch fire no doubt.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Good point! For what it's worth, I still think the best idea is to remove the 6th/top cell and make a 5S out of the pack. This would be totally safe, provided one has the skill set to safely remove it...which isn't too tough in my experience.

[@DavidToyotaHead13]

Correct. It's not to hard just expect a few sparks the first time and do it outside! Making a 6s a 5s is still 100% free.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

It might be kinda fun, now that I think of it.....I'll add it to my list of things I should never try, that I will definitely have to try now ;)

[@scottsigmon3007]

Can you use sandpaper

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Sandpaper for what? Sorry, we have over 1500 videos, so I can't recall what I was talking about. Can you TIME STAMP your question, and I'll know what you're referring too. If you're not sure how to do it... make a mark like this... Can you use sandpaper @ 1:15:02 (h:mm:ss) ...then I'll know what you're talking about. Thanks Scott. I value your quesiton, and will get back to you, but please do reply on a NEW COMMENT or I probably won't see your reply.

[@southpark4151]

Excellent vid!! Anyone here have any video links that explain the connection of that 'professional balance charger' module to the green-coloured charging board with all those yellow and white connectors on it? What I'd like to learn (or find out) is how the professional balance charger unit knows that the single cell (to be charged) is just a single cell. Is it like automated detection? At the moment, I can see that the professional balance charger in this video has what appears to be a 6S JST connector, which then goes to some kind of adaptor board, and a 6S connector comes off that board and into the green-coloured charging board. I had assumed that charging a single cell would require a single cell charger. But it appears that this professional charger has a 6S JST connector being used. I know I'm definitely not understanding a few things here. I figured that I'd ask about this.....as it is obviously important. Can somebody explain why the pro balance charger is configured with a 6S JST connector in the video, and how it eventually 'knows' that it is going to be charging a single cell? I realise that a 1S setting is 'manually' set, but just not understanding the 6S connector side of things. That is..... is that pro balance charger got a feature that allows a 6S JST connector to be used, and a manual setting allows it to just focus on charging one (out of a possible 6) chosen channel? ======= UPDATE: ---- after looking at this video some more, I can see that the other 'output' of the pro balance charger (with the thick red and black pair of leads) is hooked up to the green charging board. So it looks like the '1S' charging option is handled by that pair of leads only, so that the 6S JST lines are not actually used in this case, right? Thanks!! ======= Thanks!!!!

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

yes...each cell is 1S (one cell "in series") so you're charging the battery cell to 4.20 VDC

[@southpark4151]

Thanks a lot Brian! Greatly appreciated! Thanks for showing us these excellent methods to top up a single cell. Definitely learned a lot and will remember all the important recommendations.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You're welcome! Hope you come back for more. Thanks for watching!

[@chrisallen3603]

How can I charge the first cell if a 2 cell Lipo if there are 3 balance wires?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You can charge only one cell, since you're only attached to the positive and negative of that cell on the balance charge plug.

[@swaldoski]

I love u man...lol thanks.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

LOL - thanks ;)

[@amirmotalet361]

Hi man, I'm learning a lot from you, thanks for everything, I have a question you might find stupid but Its a real question for me , I would appreciate your help, I want to know in which way I'm spending more electricity when charging lipo batteries please? for example let say I want to charge (12) 4S 1500 mah batteries and I have a 200w 12A charger with 2 spot for charging ( like isdt D2 charger ) I can charge all 12 batteries at once by using parallel charging in just one hour,, also I can charge them one by one and each take one hour in parallel charging the fans of charger blow all the time , but if I charge them one by one the fan just work few minute once in a while, I like to know in which way I'm using more electricity ? thanks a lot

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I can't say for 100% sure, since I don't have this type of configuration exactly, but generally speaking you can just add up how much power is being consumed with each charge... ..but I DON'T do this. I don't calculate how long it's gonna take. This would be a huge waste of time. I just plug them in correctly, and setup the charger, and start the cycle. If I were charging the lipo's with another much larger lipo, I would better understand the rational for the question, but since I'm plugged into an AC outlet with much greater power capacity then a pair of chargers (I happen to have two of them on this circuit) could ever reach (Even in a failure condition, due to the fusing) I will never be allowed to "overload" the circuit. My recommendation to you... If you have 12X packs, just start with a 4X parallel board ON EACH side, then see how things go, if it's all good, step it up. You will only be allowed to push so much current (amps) into a single parallel board, since you set that into each charger you're running...like for me, I can set 5000mAh on my smaller one, or 6000mAh on the larger. As you know if you were charging 12X 1500mAh, you'd have to input a value of 18000mAh for the charge limit...which I suspect you can't do on your charger, so you would reach a certain limit, and you'd have to act accordingly to keep within your particular setup. I suspect you can set up to 6,000mAh per "Side" since you're rated for 12amps...so you'd set up 4X 1500mAh cells on each side and charge at 6000mAh limit, keep in mind there's a "counter" which will act as a safety on your charge cycle, then you will also set the actual RATE to about 3 Amps...for about a 1/2 "C" charge rating, per each side with 4 lipos charging. Times will vary based on how low you ran the packs. I suspect you'd run between 0.5 hrs and 1.0 hrs per cycle. Good luck. Keep things safe ;)

[@crazyforhalo1]

so i just got 2 6000mah 6s lipo batteries, i parallel charged them properly... they both only charged up to 24.6 instead of 25.2 so then i charged them the rest of the way individually and now i checked the cells are the are abit unbalanced and i have no idea why, is it normal for a 6s battery to not be perfectly balanced when brand new? one of the cells in the 1 pack is at 4.27 and the others in that same pack are at like 4.15 and 4.17

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You might had a lemon? My buddy Esteban had one that was basically DOA, except the Arrival part included sitting in his basement to get old for like 7 months :(.... I'd try to balance them manually, like I show here. Then discharge them and "exercise" (use them) them for a few cycles, before you get too worried.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You MIGHT have a bad balance charger, also, but I doubt that part is the problem.

[@crazyforhalo1]

@@BrianPhillipsRC thanks for the reply, so like is my battery safe if 1 of the cells charges up to like 4.28, like i just bought these yesterday.... i bought them to build a 12s2p pack for an electric skateboard and i dont want to have issues with the batteries, also i am having this problem with both batteries i dont know if i said that earlier, i really doubt i bought 2 brand new bad batteries

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Technically, the chemistry is only rated for 4.20 VDC, but if it's NOT puffy, I suspect you have a good chance of success. You will have to keep a close eye out for sagging during flight, since when the chemistry is off, you may experience issues. Here's the real issue, keep an eye on the charger. Make sure you're not over charging them...which IS happening, but if you're not even 0.1VDC over (@ 0.08 greater than "fully charged") I suspect you are well withing a true "safe limit"....BUT, you need to be the one to make that call...fire from a lipo, especially a big one, would be one of the most REAL safety concerns in the hobby, second only to a prop cutting your hand, in my opinion. Be safe, and try a different charger. If the problem persists, you might need to give my "one cell at a time" method here and see if you can coax it back into "normal". Good luck!!!

[@crazyforhalo1]

@@BrianPhillipsRC Hey thank you for the in depth reply! Im ganna try discharging it back to storage voltage and then charge it up again and see what happens, if that does not work i am probably going to try your method as shown in the video also the battery isnt puffy at all looks fine

[@jacobstech1777]

mine only works at 0.3A, is it because the wire is too thin?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Does the charger stop you from doing it or does it get too hot and stop?

[@richardfoster3242]

Hey Brian love your videos,when charging the 1 cell to get it to 4.2v at .5 amps how long should it take?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Depends on the amount it was discharged. If it's a 500mAh cell, it would presumably take 1 hour. There's four factors - 1) Voltage 2) Current 3) Time 4) Chemistry The one we can't control is chemistry...so if the cell's actually bad, you won't be able to restore it. The charge will not "take". Fortunately, you can save many lipos that come out of balance. You need to be super careful though, as people do burn their houses down, so play it safe ;)

[@richardfoster3242]

@@BrianPhillipsRC Thanks Brian, big fan

[@nazmisofiansuhaimi4807]

Can this setup be used to discharge the LiPO batteries as well? I noticed all my LiPO have been really imbalanced when charging where my 3rd cell is highest and my 4th cell is the lowest of the 4S.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

should work just the same. Sometimes you just need to charge each one, then use them and see if they keep sagging on the same cells....you might have bad chemistry on that cell, and this means, time for a new pack in my experience.

[@bencrawshaw1227]

How would I do this on a three pin because irrespective of were I put in the pins it charges the same cell what am I doing wrong.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean? This operation can be kinda dangerous, so if you're not sure what you're doing, stop! You can easily cause a fire! Each cell is hooked up in SERIES. When you measure the voltage on each cell, you will see about the same voltage, if the battery is working, but that's the whole point of this video...balancing an out of balance cell...I.E. hooking up the + and - of that CELL rather than hooking up the WHOLE GROUP OF CELLS

[@v4zzy219]

Thanks so much!!!

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You're welcome!

[@pradeepj.b8962]

bro my battery is lipo 5200mah 3s 11.1v ...i want to charge individual cell one by one kindly tell me the voltage and current parameter ??

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You'd set it up as a 1S lipo, then charge at SLOW, so your small wires can handle the current. I'd do maybe 1000mA (1Amp), but you need to be careful since the balance wires are pretty small. Good luck!

[@sunshynff]

Great idea and video! Quick question, I have a pretty decent little whoop charger w/ multi battery connector board for 1s (1cell, i know..lol) batteries. So if I took your idea, fitting the two pins individually into two different wires, then on the other end, a female JST PH2.0 connector, like on 1s batteries, instead of XT-60. That way, once I isolate the bad cell on a multi cell pack and attach pins, I can hook other end into whoop charger. It's not that big of a revelation or idea, I was just thinking there would be less configuration on that charger, than if I hooked to my 1-6s Venom balance charger. Do you foresee any problems doing it this way with a whoop charging set up? BTW, the whoop charger allows you to set you amperage output between 0.1 and 3.0.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you made the connections safe, so that you could yank then out in a hurry, I'd see that as working well. Good luck - Try it in the garage, if you're not sure, so if there's a fire...but I suspect you'll be okay. Be careful! This is one of the actually "dangerous" parts of the hobby ;)

[@sunshynff]

@@BrianPhillipsRC I learned the hard way when I got into the hobby, cheap charger, no idea what a balance cable was for, and charged a 4s, 1300mah battery completely wrong. Almost burned my house down, and it was in a lipo bag. I've been a firefighter for 23yrs, never seen anything put off that much heat so quickly. Wish you could post pics on here, i'd show you the damage. Suffice to say, I now use a battery bunker (ammo can), with small sand bag on metal rack above it, on concrete table in the middle of unfinished room in basement..lol. And I read lots and lots and lots of articles about lipos soon after that incident. Thanks again, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I bet you've seen some stuff that makes you want to charge you batteries outside on the driveway!

[@Cliff_P]

I'm using a automotive turn signal bulb to discharge higher cells to the lower cell voltage . Is that a ok way? Or is charging individual cells better.i have a 5000mah 3s with one lower cell. Just got it this way used. Not puffed at all btw,

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I've heard of using a 100 watt light bulb, or maybe a 50 watt halogen bulb...whatever loads the circuit to an acceptable level. Then you can put them in series or parallel to get the proper amount to drain the cell, BUT I would personally just use the charger. I have a discharge mode on my charger. It's kinda funny though, when you mentioned lighting a bulb, I got all excited about lighting rooms of my house with my lipos - I like the idea of not "wasting" the power...LOL...I'm so cheap ;)

[@Cliff_P]

@@BrianPhillipsRC lol, maybe if a giant LED light , halogen I'm using is not that bright. Using a wagner 4057kx build spare for my ford f150 the wires just pull out. Thrres two filiments in it . Outer 2 wires is " high power" if you will, inner 2 wires rather lower but both work. Have a cheap balance charger like the phantom 1 charger. Bulb Gets hot! Was worried about the heat overheating the battery . Only tried 5000mah batteries , smaller might drain to fast, really need to know what your doing .

[@Cliff_P]

Btw, the wires then just push into the balance connector, can discharge one or more high cells. Have only 3 cells to do 5000mah . 4 or more cells at a time might melt something :-P smaller battery's might drain to fast, Don't know.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

true;)

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you're doing like in this video, I'd just do one cell at a time.

[@royemunson100]

What size pin header (diameter) did you use to fit in the balance plug?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Casey, so sorry I can't say for exactly sure, but I think this read will be helpfull for you. www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1493712-JST-connector-confusion-the-real-story ...hope this answers your question in the first line or two.

[@ng-iq4kx]

You have quite the set up and you definitely know what your doing plus you emphasize safety. One of the better videos on this subject. Oh, you did use electrical solder.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

I believe I always use solder that's designed for electrical connections, rather than for plumbing, for example. I think the mix is the only really important thing, then the size of the solder is kind of a subjective thing.

[@lennywright9759]

Great video. Has helped me quite a bit. I have applied this method to my lithium ion pack and it seems to work with it as well. I was wondering if I could apply this to more than one cell group at a time. By cell group I mean my 20s 12p. I can charge/discharge only one p(arallel) group at a time. The same as you doing one lipo cell out of the pack at a time. Can you charge/discharge say 2 of the 4 at the same time or do they have to be done one at a time?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You can charge single cells in series, but then you will have a hard time ensuring they end up balanced.

[@lennywright9759]

Can you charge/discharge 2 of your 4 lipo cells at the same time using this method with one charger?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

If you have a DUAL charger, yes....but I don't have a DUAL, I have a SINGLE charger.

[@lennywright9759]

Your method is utilizing one cell in a 4 pack which is ground and positive to that cell's balance wires. If you went ground then positive and another positive would your 6S charger read both cells (2S) and in turn be able to charge/discharge as if it was a 2S battery?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

The charger is dumb....it doesn't really know anything except the voltage (sag). The number of cells doesn't matter, which is the whole point here. You can charge ONE at a time, even if it was a 12S pack. These cheap balance chargers don't do a great job of getting the cells to match, so this is a work around. If you wanted to do it, you could charge 3X 2S packs in parallel, or in series, but that's not really the point here....I was just showing how to get a pesky cell back into range with it's brothers and sisters.

[@bert1058]

Hi Brian, great video! I've wondered how to better balance cells on a multi-cell lipo. The name "balance charger" is an oxymoron. Mine doesn't do this job very well. My understanding is that the black lead at the end of the balance connector is the common/ground lead and the individual cell leads are colored, usually different colors for each cell. I think you were somehow charging cells 3 & 4. Wouldn't it make more sense to charge the cell using the ground lead as a return? BTW, love watching all of your videos.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

The black wire at the end of this particular pack does happen to be common (attached) to the Main Discharge lead, as well as the "lowest" lipo in the series of lipos making up the 4S pack in this video....however it is NOT common with each cell... These lipo cells are in Series, so the + of the first cell is the common with the - of the second cell, and so on an so forth. Hope this helps :)

[@iknowalittlesuttonsutton1380]

Appreciate the video but you really complicate such a simple process

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

okay

[@neilfpv]

Did you mean 4.05v and not 4.5v?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Probably. Sorry about that Neil!

[@neilfpv]

@@BrianPhillipsRC I also make mistakes. And I've always been shocked "I really said that" 🤣 Thank you Brian! Great video!

[@edwincordero8]

Did the dead cell recover? Did it hold the charge?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

yeah, this cell turned out good, but I've had some that just sag right away and you figure out that the cell is toast. It's better to be safe than sorry, even if you're just talking about the potential loss of a sweet RC plane ;) If in doubt, I just pull the bad cell out and dispose of it.

[@edwincordero8]

@@BrianPhillipsRC Thanks for your help. I don't want to be sorry about losing my plane. I am going to be safe and remove the bad cell right now from a pack that's giving me headaches. I can use it in a buggy. I appreciate your video and help. Thank you.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Sure thing! I think you're making the right decision ;) P.S. They ALL go bad eventually, but it would stand to reason, and I'd appreciate if the cells would fail at about the same rate. Too bad there's not a better chemistry out there..if there were, we'd be looking at some full scale electric planes (well, MORE of them)

[@Krzeszny95]

It's better to make an adapter from 4s to 4x1s

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Why?

[@Krzeszny95]

@@BrianPhillipsRC Because you wouldn't be able to plug it the wrong way or short it.

[@payamnet]

I watched over 4 minute of the video and got me fostrated enough to let you . I belive long time ago before you start tweaking . You wore good at fixing things. But now all you do is tweaking and never finish fixing it because u never be satisfied with your work. You go indefinitely to make it better ....

[@andrewshaver5680]

You could do that or you could learn how to actually balance batteries without charging one cell at a time

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Why don't you explain how you can do this in the situation I outlined.

[@sahilmansoori3511]

How many volts and amps requires to charge only one cell ??? Please reply

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

That depends on what cell you're charging. Can you tell me what the size of your lipo would be?

[@sahilmansoori3511]

@@BrianPhillipsRC my lipo is a 2200mah 11.1v , thanks for replying

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

2200mah means you'll charge a cell at 2.2amps for 1C. When I charge pack like this, to fix a cell that's LOW, I will usually charge it a bit lower, like 1 amp, or 1.1 amps. Keep in mind, you'll be forcing some power through a small cable. Be careful! Keep an eye on it, and have a fire extinguisher handy (REALLY...not joking)

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Also, remember, you're always charging a lipo from whatever it's at to 4.20 VDC. If you over charge it, you will catch it on fire.

[@sahilmansoori3511]

@@BrianPhillipsRC thanks you very much bro u cleared all my doubts.

[@jaydedelyuenduroairsoft4x448]

How come my 3rd cell saying connection error huhu

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Probably because it's either "opened"...meaning it's not connected, OR it's out of voltage range, below where the charger will charge it.... That's part of the reason for this video...to show how to fix this issue, if the lipo is "Fixable", or you can very carefully remove a bad cell, and either make it from a 3S to a 2S OR you can actually replace the "bad" cell, but that's not something for everyone ;)

[@mohdaliff8259]

What type of battery you use when charging proses

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Not sure what you mean Mohd??? Typo???

[@mohdaliff8259]

@@BrianPhillipsRC I mean what kind of battery do you choose on the imax balance to charge the battery like that

[@mohdaliff8259]

Nimh, or lipo or etc

[@greavous93]

You could make a real helpful 5 minute video out of this if you got your thoughts together first.

[@badlilstang]

Is it me or is that battery puffing?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

Probably a little bit puffed.

[@thekaiser4333]

Back at the weird part of youtube again...

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

The Kaiser ???

[@MarcAntoine01]

No lol

[@bonyanthonyvlogs937]

Nic bro

[@bencrawshaw1227]

Why bother with the pins just strip the wire back and poke them in.

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

So you can make contact with the socket inside and minimize the chance for oxidation when you slid the wires in. Go ahead and try it without, but be careful.

[@oldestries]

Cell 4 - 3.99

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

not sure what you're saying

[@amirulamir2681]

USB

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

USB what?

[@sibujacob977]

All this to discharge the battery for 30 minutes or so ! I think it is a waste of time on electronics

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

None of this is to "Discharge" a lipo. The title of the video is very clear... "How to Charge a Single Cell in an Unbalanced Multi Cell Lipo Pack"

[@sibujacob977]

@@BrianPhillipsRC Hi , I was just replying to my own query to all the actions required for generally using a lipo. Nothing about your video...it is absolutely fine ..:))

[@francisdornfried8527]

Don't ever say "toasterific" again! Got it?

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

toasterific

[@bhaibolte8052]

Bro, can we use 3s batteries if one cell is not working. My batteries is showing 8.4V. instead of 11.1. is it save to use it

[@BrianPhillipsRC]

You can use the 3S pack if you take out the bad cell safely. The problem is that the cells are in series, so when you go to pull power, you'll be "pulling" current through the bad cell, which can cause it to heat up, depending on how it's failed. Sometimes you can just fix the cell, but generally, you'll find it's got a hole in it, or the lead is ripped out... Just, whatever you do, be careful and work within your capabilities. If it's not your thing, just play it safe. It's like I always say, the two most dangerous parts of this addiction are Lipos and spinning props.

[@bhaibolte8052]

@@BrianPhillipsRC i want to discharge the other two cell which are fully charged. Is it save to discharge, after discharge can i throw the battery into dustbin