How to rescue a dead lipo battery that won't charge - voltage too low, drained, discharged error

[@RCReviewChannel]

Gens Ace Imars charger - alnk.to/esTlCSC Chargers at Amain - alnk.to/4BCUHcG Batteries at Amain -alnk.to/cHJLOKG

[@twisterzman]

So... let me say this: I ran a hobby shop, and been doing rc shenanigans for 30+ years. I've saved countless batteries for customers this way, but didn't tell them how (for safety reasons). Most ran their cars until they wouldn't move, which once explained, they didn't have any more issues. Some did leave them on, but again, explaining to them proper care it's critical. I have saved many with a good ole lectron pro. Excellent job on explaining!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thank you , thank you for real-world industry experience. Yes, there are so many new hobbyists that I felt it important to repeat this message and rescue clearly. I gae mini rc cars to a couple family friends and they both killed their lipos. Never ran them again I visited and fixed. This is a key problem of the hobby since it's all too easy to do. In the future, all rc vehicles will have an onboard battery management system that will prevent this. Looks like most drones already ahve it.

[@twisterzman]

@@RCReviewChannel Absolutely! Going back to when nicad was the only choice, you monitored those constantly, and before digital metering, you gauged how charged they were by cell temps. (Good warm battery was charged). I'd you unplugged it early, or only ran it half, the cells would develop a false charge memory. With 6-10 minutes being the max, you couldn't afford to do that. When I raced in the 90s, sanyo released their 1700mah scrc cells, which were the best! Then they bumped to 2000mah, which was "unheard of! ". Ohhhhh how times have changed, and for the better. We need the drone battery tech for our new enthusiasts tho, couldn't agree more

[@RandoManFPV]

I have a cnhl black 6s lipo battery. 1500mah (I think 100c). I've owned it for like 2 weeks or a month. I flew it/charged it about 10 times. I've never wrecked it. I balance charged it to storage last time I flew(3.8v). Then I set it on my kitchen table for 2 days since we have had bad weather I couldn't use my drone. Today when I plugged it in to charge I see one cell is at 1.1v! All the other 5 cells are still at 3.8v What the heck happened? This was a 30$+ battery I can't afford to keep making mistakes for this cost. Can I possibly save my battery? Should I jus follow this video instructions?

[@twisterzman]

@@RandoManFPV.... yes. Try it

[@RandoManFPV]

@@twisterzman is there any risk of the battery catching fire while on my drone? I don't mind risk while charging, I'll keep an eye on it and throw it out the window if it gets sketchy lol. If it fires off mid-flight tho I can't afford to fix the drone it'll ruin 😅😬

[@MrSkylightOffical]

Thanks bro.. I just revived a battery that I thought was completely dead and wouldn’t charge for months! The error I was getting was “no balance lead detected” so I wasn’t sure if this would work. Did it at 2 amps for about 2min and boom. Back to Lipo and it’s now charging!

[@andreweckard778]

Great info! My only recommendation is putting a lipo checker on the balance plug before charging on nimh settings. I work for a LHS and we do that so we can monitor the cells coming back. It helps eliminate some of the guess work of wondering if you have a bad cell.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Great suggestion!!!! My other technique for safety is to connect the balance port to a second charger to view the voltage of each cell while it's charging with the first one.

[@dee1251]

Would this work if one of the cells are dead ?

[@twinklinglicin]

Can’t do any of that with a traxxas battery :(

[@henrikcsuri]

This only works when all cells are at the same level. If one or more cells are dead while one or more cells are charged this could be very dangerous.

[@TheGutshotpro]

Great tip!@@RCReviewChannel

[@ShoeboxSnow]

Thank you so much! Saved 3 of my lipos. Took a break from the hobby for a year and this revived them thank you

[@PianoManPaul]

I am new to FPV, I had 4 batteries that I let discharge to the range of 1.7 to 2.4 volts, and wondering for a few hours why they wouldn't charge - 2 were Tattu R-Line 1400mah 6S's, the larger dead beasts were R-Line 2200mah 6S's - Didn't take me long to get the 'bad news' that these 10-day-old batts were cooked and done. I've since bought one of each new, and now when I'm working on stuff, there's a voltage checker with an alarm on each one at all times, and any other ones that are closing in on a 'must STO charge' situation. After finding this video this afternoon, I want to thank you for helping me salvage more than $320.00 CDN worth of great batteries. I understand how careful anybody must be with this solution, and I'd be content if I NEVER have to do it this way again, but hey - what I was convinced was lost, is now found! They are revived, alive and in safe storage, and I feel safer ... so what can I say - this is awesome friend ... I express a mountain sized THANK YOU to you sir!!!

[@RCReviewChannel]

You are most welcome my good man. It is so key to learn how to ressurect batteries that won't charge. And it's good to know when they're dead and dangerous as well.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Video got cut off. Here's the info: Proceed at your own risk and be very careful if a cell has died or is defective. Reasons why battery won't charge: 1) no lipo cut-off on esc 2) ESC was left on. Or ESC switch is electronic and slowly leaks energy from battery. Must unplug the battery always 3) One cell in the pack has died. If this is the case, DISPOSE OF THE BATTERY. Check each cell with a balancer and monitor that it stays balanced after recovery. Can use a balance checker or a 2nd charger to monitor cell voltage while doing this NIMH method. Be very careful, monitor the battery closely after recovery and proceed at your own risk.

[@uncleandysmobilemechanics]

Literally just used this advice to reincarnate a 48v battery from my daughter's sherco enduro bike, you're a brilliant man and a saint

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thank you. It's so much better on the wallet and environment if an expensive lithium battery can be recovered safely.

[@lucaserickson3835]

I need to do this to a 36v battery. Did you just charge it at 12v or what charger did you use to be able to do this on a 48v?

[@anant]

WOW! You're awesome. I was getting ready to throw away my second dead lipo and your video helped me recover it! Thanks for also highlighting the precautions one needs to take to do this safely.

[@punisher9489]

Thanks a lot, just saved my Spektrum 7.4v 4000mah 2s. Cost 50-60£. Good content and thank you for helping us out here.

[@seancoffey6982]

Thanks for the advice. I left my lipo plugged into my crawler for a few days. This vid helped recover my Lipo! I would have liked to have done this outside or Lipo in a Lipo bag for safety.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Glad I could help. Yeah, outside is better since there's some nervous moments there if this is the first time doing it.

[@Johnbrown-v6g]

This is so rad I was so worried I wasted a battery it’s fantastic he shared this information for free 👏🏼

[@seanjordan1907]

Definitely worked for me. Left battery connected to car overnight and it drained my battery - 2nd time it happened. First time I chalked as a loss. This video brought me back this time.

[@robertschepka527]

WOW BRO !!!!! You are Awesome!!!! I literally had a 3S lipo battery that stopped charging 2 yrs ago and your EXTREMELY informative video just saved my Lipo battery THANK U THANK U ...that was absolute genius!! I would have never ever thought to try it on NimH ...it totally worked exactly like u said 🥳🥳🥳🥳

[@makeitcloudy]

it did the trick, my battery flat out to 0.53V, it took 1:30min for the cell to rise up to 9,6V, switched to lipo charging and it just went alive again. thank you for the great tip !

[@mrfoamiercplanes6859]

I have just recovered an almost new 3s 1300 lipo using this method and was surprised how fast the NiMH recovered a completely dead cell at 0.4 charge rate so beware anyone trying this as it only took a few minuets ! I have used this method before with same results and used this video as a reminder for safety Thanks.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Great tip. Yes, when the battery is in good health, the voltage comes up to 3 V very quickly in a few seconds.

[@triptechb]

Totally saved my day!! Accidentally left a battery plugged into my Slash, thought I roached a battery I’ve only used for a dozen cycles or so. Thank you!!

[@Shreddylife]

Thanks a lot!! I ordered a Losi mini B that came with a Spektrum 810mah smart battery and ran the car one time. I charged it back up and left the battery plugged into the car. I went to turn the car on to go play with it a few days later and it was completely dead. The lipo was at 0.7volts when I tested it with my volt meter. So I decided to order a replacement. The replacement came in the mail but would not take a charge either and after testing the voltage the new one was at 1.1 volts... I was pretty bummed out to say the least. This method brought both packs back to life and I cannot thank you enough for sharing this info.

[@RCReviewChannel]

So good to hear!!!!

[@Shreddylife]

@@RCReviewChannel I will always make sure to unplug my batteries from the esc from now on lol thanks again 🙏

[@silverminemotors783]

Wow thank you so much. I’ve been trying to resurrect this $200 battery for the past four days after watching your video and trying your method it is fixed. I really appreciate this video.

[@mattpinter3351]

This saved one of my batteries it was giving me a balance connect error I used this tip and fixed it first try I appreciate the time you took to walk me through it I thought I was going to be out another $100

[@redblue40rc33]

Doing this to brand new out if the box 2s lipo..only 1 volt per cell..hoping it works Update it worked..thanks dude.. cheers from Arkansas

[@numbr17]

Great video! This helped me a lot! I thought I had to throw away this battery, but it is now functional again. Thanks.

[@timjohnson9406]

Thanks so much Francis, you just saved two spectrum smart packs. I was bummed but held on to them, been dead for months but are charging now.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Music to my ears!

[@nosh121081]

Did you use the spectrum charger..mine keeps saying abnormal loading turns off

[@MrHotjag]

My spectrum smart battery self distructed when left in storage. Did you experience the same problem?

[@jimmytaylor8370]

I can't believe it worked. I got a few lipos with the pur have of a used Arrma Felony. They were dead and wouldn't read on my charger. This just saved those batteries. So now with the two zeee 3s 7200mah and these I now have extras. Thanks man

[@AK-ct7gq]

I had to run the process twice ,but it saved my Ovonic 👍😀🔋(45€) thankyou. Best regards from Germany, Danke

[@roderickjamesriddick9869]

May I say A big thank you for that, you have just saved me £58 pounds. I went and left it inside my aircraft.

[@danielsrcgarage2642]

You are the man, saved three 2s lipo batteries, thank you

[@jaysencu937]

I appreciate the re upload ! Went on a weekend Camping trip with my wife and kids and just returned today, one of my sons 3S lipo won’t charge and keeps on saying error though the battery tester says it’s within the safe voltage . We’re not sure why, maybe cause it was a bit cold up in the mountain where we went and also while driving the Proline PRO MT 2WD . We never had this issue but thank you very much. I just got those for $80 a pc.

[@RCReviewChannel]

That is awesome! Hope you’re able to save the lipos

[@1982pantro]

OMG!! Thanks buddy,you saved my 2s batteries. Cheers from Arizona 🍻

[@RCReviewChannel]

Glad I could help

[@xothermik]

wow. u just saved my ass man. had lost my very first lipo to over discharging one cell when i didnt know much about that. now that i got a proper charger not the initial one i got that didnt even have a screen i thought to just try it out and viola. we dont have fpv shops here in nigeria and takes a lot of effort and waiting just for stuff to arrive so thanks a lot for the tip.

[@PitsToPeaks]

Man this helped so much. I was prepared to buy a replacement battery when I found this video. Quick and easy fix thank you.

[@BLCKBEARDJT]

Boss this information helped me so much with my drained battery I was just about to go and buy a new one thank you so much. 🙏🏽

[@davidpotter734]

This works like a charm. Saved two 1000Mah 3s Turnigy batteries!

[@Antoniosp10]

Nice job! Nice video! To prevent this, I like to use a buzzer, esc cutoff may fail. Thank You!

[@Dynaglide92rc]

This video just saved me about 6 LiPO Batteries . Thanks so much for sharing

[@thercbat]

Thanks for this sir. Just experienced this issue for the first time trying to charge a brand new battery an hour ago and was thinking the battery is faulty maybe. I will try this 👍

[@BradSimsCPT]

Awesome save! I just tried this with an Elite Force 11.1, 900mAh, 3S LiPO, using a Tenergy TB6B charger. No issues with the NiMH charging, although I went to over 10V (not 9.6 as you recommended), now charging on LiPO mode. So far so good! Originally discharged too far because left the battery plugged into my airsoft rifle overnight (tested as 3.4V). A new one of these specs tests at 12.3V when full.

[@RCReviewChannel]

So good to hear!

[@Xavierpropertyshow]

I freaking love you just bought a crazy amount of tv plane stuff from a garage sale 30 lipos all were low voltage and I saved them all

[@Anthony-ww8ml]

It worked! Saved me money, time, waste, and just for safety I put it outside away from the house until it was safe

[@RCReviewChannel]

Music to my ears. So many batteries saved now and a much better understanding of how these batteries and chargers work.

[@DabbathaHut]

Well I had to do this for a second time 😂 thank the rc gods for you man. Used your video first time this happened and came back because I don’t it again. Left my leads on all night after a drift session. Woke up to a 1.5 reading on each cell. I was sad for a split second 😂 then I remembered I could save it. Thanks again for the amazing content. I’m sure I’ll be back 😂😂😂😂

[@elliotbaltazar]

I have known about this method for a while, but thankfully haven't had to use it much. I bought 4 batteries from a reputable company about a month ago. They were 5200mah 4s 80c packs. Wouldn't you know that every single pack was dead! I mean too dead to even power the cell checker. I had never experienced this many dead packs in one sweep before. I was going to throw them out, but I couldn't help trying to revive them. End result? I charged and balanced all 4 packs! I also discharged them at 5 amps, charged again, and then discharged at 10 amps! I'm shocked honestly. No telling how long they were dead before I received them, but here we are.

[@dorianestate]

Thank you very much, it worked on Absima 3s 6000Mah battery. I connected the battery to HPI reactor 600 NIMH and it really worked. It charged it to be able to charge normally afterwards LIPO.

[@ScaleOverlanding]

Yet another good information video for me being a newbie to lipo the most important information being possible preventing it happening in the first place was at the end of the video which unfortunately cuts off before you finished your sentence. So now I'm really curious what was the 2nd reason?

[@RCReviewChannel]

uggh, cut off again. #2 reason - forget to turn off ESC. Or ESC switch is electronic and always draws power. Solution is to unplug the battery, always.

[@willpowerfpv3246]

Thanks to both of you, that cut off sentence just triggered the hell out of my OCD..😅 LIPO safety ain't no joke. Great content! 🙏🏻

[@The_VoidKnight]

This helped so much thank you for the video 🙏

[@Landos_authentic]

Saved my battery, I checked the voltage of each cell because it said there was a connection break, well it wouldn’t tell me a voltage of it was a connection break then I realized it was so low because it’s been in storage for years. I figured doing it this way would work but I wanted to look it up first and It definitely worked for me.

[@EM-ec8zo]

This video is very clear and useful! Helped me to save my dead LiPo battery.

[@byrddmann0113]

Just had this happen to me, I tried what you said in the video & it worked. Thanks 😊

[@philippshobbyecke]

Thanks a lot. Its working and safed a nearly new Lipo. Its my first 3s Lipo i bought a few weeks ago... 2s lipos are easy to rescue. You just need one of these cheap usb-chargers which are loading by using just the ballancingport.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Correct. Although when the voltage gets too low even the USB chargers don't work. But i do have those USB chargers for 3s as well

[@chrismatthews8318]

Thanks mate just saved my two batteries was going to expensive if I hadn’t found your channel 👍👍👍

[@kimihamalainen2111]

Thank you so much i saved 80€ battery

[@0134harley]

Thanks for this video , I am able to revive my 3s lipo from 0 voltage to charging it now 😍

[@hottestindasouff5112]

MAN, THANK YOU!!!

[@slkxs1a14]

Thank you sooooo much! Really recommend the video if you have the right charger! 😀

[@jeremyquattlebaum1332]

Whats your recommendation for a 6s battery that's 22.2v

[@YakAlien]

Awesome advice, did exactly as you said and it’s working fine, thanks for sharing, love the channel ❤

[@MUXLI-s3o]

thanksbro u saved me 185 pounds thanksdude ur the best i never new u could do that

[@BansheeFifteen]

I think you just saved me $81. Thank you.

[@amathma]

Yep it works ! lipos back to life. Thanks !

[@Fortes_RC_Adv]

Thanks. Your video is very important for our community 😉💪

[@thenibol1016]

Thank you so much. You saved $70 batteries

[@jefferyames4568]

This really saved a battery I thought was dead thank you

[@yoshioharuki5760]

6:36 Forgot to turn off my what?? I have a feeling this dude's camera died/ran out of battery 😅

[@Silvz79FPV]

Maraming Salamat sir!

[@RCRoads]

Thanks for sharing this great information to recover a LiPo. I accidentally took a battery that was in storage mode and garbed it to center a servo and test motor direction. Voltage dropped to a level that my charger wouldn't charge. It would be nice if someone came up with a charger that had a rescue button and circuitry that could monitor voltage during the recovery process. I'm going to give it a try to recover this battery as it's only been used 2 times. It's strange that the only 2 batteries that I have lost due to low voltage are the 2 that I put in storage mode. I only have 4 batteries in total and the 2 that I continuously use are in perfect shape. It could just be the charger I'm using. When I look at the voltage of the 3 cells 2 are at 3.8 and one is at 0.

[@alankowalski8781]

I’m gonna try this right now. Thank you so much

[@AllConsumingJAWS]

Thank you, my friend. You helped save my battery. Keep up the great work. Thank you again. 👍👏✌️

[@CajunReaper95]

Bravo 🥳 I tried this and so far it’s working!

[@stilife1942]

Well, looks like it’s my turn to say…… you saved me $140!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

[@patrickkinequon7665]

Thank you for this, you saved my lipo, much appreciated...

[@RCReviewChannel]

Glad I could help

[@mikedizzle5273]

Mine still rejects my 3s lipo saying voltage to low scrap battery. Balance port not connected as you explained. I guess it's time to replace. Great video and explanation!

[@coryprejean5190]

Wow, this just saved me $140! Thanks for the video!

[@420DaBlunted]

Thank you for the info!! Saved my batteries!

[@ccfreakMetal]

Thank you! only needed to put it on NiHM for like 6 seconds, it charged fast even on 1A (5500mAh 13-ish Volt battery) xD now it s alive again

[@usethatflame]

Thank you for saving my battery! Awesome information

[@jeffnunnally7024]

Yes you saved 2 batteries for me! Thanks!

[@jakepeterson4888]

Thank you! You saved my battery!

[@RCReviewChannel]

You're welcome bud.

[@wackpackxj]

My so sons 2s has been sitting for a year. I’m going to try this thanks! I have a spektrum smart charger I believe I have the same capability.

[@michaeldorich4485]

This video provides Avery good practical information. This is a great video, but it cut off at the end.

[@RCReviewChannel]

So true. I'll pin a comment that contains all the missing info.

[@tomgutmann2795]

Thank you so much!!! You just helped me to save 120$ and I’m so glad that I found this video! Best regards from Germany :)

[@SwordoftheSpirit-qi2ox]

U saved my 6s with 2 dead cells lol. Thanks you so much

[@alexmartin8216]

Again, thanks for the content. Very helpful, since did not have a clue about this. Thanks again..👍🏼

[@DennisDillon-p2h]

Just fixed my 6s thank you so so much 🙏🏼

[@edwardharrison28]

It worked, thank you. I was about to order another battery!

[@B_Skeen]

I've been doing that for years but good info for novice enthusiasts

[@noobflyer1]

Thank you so much!!! This just worked for me!!! great video!!!👍👍👍👍

[@stellageldenhuys6295]

You saved my battery!!! Thaaaaaanks!!!!

[@MichaelLasater]

This worked great! Thank you so much!

[@rcbustanut2057]

Thanks for posting this, this info is worth gold! 😎 👍 My question is, will this still work when it's only one cell that has dropped way below the 3.2 mark? I have a 6S lipo which that happened to, a CNHL 6200mah 90C Racing Line lipo, not cheap lol. I was almost just gonna remove the bad balance lead & rewire it to a 5S (1x6 connector) and use it as a 5S lipo. Thanks again for posting this!👍

[@fiftyfivesyt]

Saved my lipo, thanks.

[@kdecesari]

Thank you, Francis!

[@DanielChirap]

Ok super !!! Am reușit cu 4 baterii !

[@twincam16seca]

You're the best! This saved my battery!

[@soulfly391]

Thank you so much, really thank you

[@goodmechanic]

You are the Man! Thank you!

[@keepitmoving5440]

I searched for how to revive a lipo , and " rc review was the first videoto pop up. You have just saved me £60. Also subscribed n like. Thank you legend

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thanks for the sub!

[@cameronsmalls6481]

I owe u dinner for the cost of my battery, 75$ Your a life save thanks for the advice

[@RCReviewChannel]

Ha, ha! Virtual fist bump is good enough! Enjoy that new battery life!

[@200MPHINTHEWRONGLANE]

It worked like a charm thanks

[@mrcollie242]

Life saver, thanks for the great video.

[@dhirajrai8486]

Just went through this situation with my 3s lipo. Watched some videos. I don't have smart charger. But I do have a pp3 9v battery. I recharged my 3s lipo with the 9v pp3 until about 8.4v. Took some 5 mins. Then, I plugged it into the charger at 200mA setting and it is charging now. So, the theory seems to be that the voltage must be raised safely to around above 8v (for 3s lipo) when it will start charging again!

[@TeslaNick2]

Amazing, this saved me. THANK YOU !