How to charge a drained lipo - rescue a low voltage lipo w/ battery error

Lipo cut-off still drains batteries recover a dead lipo with charging error to save a discharged lithium battery
Lipo batteries on Amain - snp.link/1fc280a7
Lipo chargers - snp.link/0d4f13c3
Lipo safety bags - snp.link/b2a1c1ce
Lipo connectors - snp.link/e093a0a5

[@Aries29ah]

IT WORKED! I rescued my brand new Drone by Venom 4s 1300maAh on HiTEC Pro Charger using this trick! Battery did not get hot at all, felt really safe. IM SO HAPPY!!! Thank you!!

[@nigelhopson2584]

This video just saved not one but 2 of my lipo batteries!!!! At $55.00 each this is much appreciated. This hobby is already expensive enough. Thank you Sir!!

[@gregbakke8296]

Thank you for these informative videos. I've been considering changing to lipos but reluctant due to the dangers of them. Thanks to your videos, knowledge is power and you explain in a language even I can understand.

[@RCReviewChannel]

In lipos, knowledge is power and safety. They're completely manageable once understood. And their benefits are immense.

[@dandieleman2715]

Greg, my man, make the switch already! If your nervous, literally just pickup the spektrum smart bundle, whatever power stage you need and enjoy! I really am normally not a spektrum guy specifically but for folks who are still on the fence in 2022, it opens up so much more power, runtime, major decrease in recharge times, and pure excitement and enjoying whatever your hobby is. Hands down, you simply won't regret it. Now, cost is your enemy upfront which if that is the case, look into "non spektrum" versions of the same items and do the needed research. It's stuff you'll need to know regardless. 👍

[@blindmenace69]

New to this hobby , brought a $180 lipo and after the 1st use , drained it to much , got the low voltage and nearly cried , thanks for the help . 👍 😆

[@fransswwaa5337]

Thank you for being there for this community this helped me out big time today. Gave me the confidence to experiment with batteries that I thought were trash.

[@kurtwest5306]

It worked very well! no problems at all. Just followed your instructions and now I saved a battery! Thanks!

[@tojikdominic]

This really helped. Mine is a 4sbattery. I chose .2A and 9.8v in limh mode and charged up to 12 v so that each cell gets 3v. It worked.! I continued with normal charging then. Thanks a ton.

[@charlesb7831]

I've had all my Lipo's for years now. Only my wife's Lipo's were destroyed, one caught fire. All the Lipo's are immediately removed from the vehicle's or my airsoft stuff and kept in Lipo bags and those are placed in metal ammo boxes. These are fantastic videos, been subscribed for along time now, Cheers!

[@kamikazegad]

I just bought a new lipo a week ago and left my car on killing the battery and this video helped me save it and get back to life thank you so much!!

[@cacanjacowans540]

First thing a responsible RC TECH told me at my LHS. Always unplug your packs after running & always check your cell levels/balance charge after running. Two golden rules to live by for optimum lipo health ❤👍🏽

[@RCReviewChannel]

Very, very good rc words to live by.

[@whiskeytrigger31]

I can't believe that worked. I was about to throw it away. Thankfully I just bought my son a charger and I used his nimh with 2 stripped wires and 2 min of time. Thank you for the information

[@EJ-74]

I got my plane stuck in a tree 60 - 70ft up. I just put a brand new 3S 500mah 30c in it and it took me 3- 4 days to get it down I also had the battery connected to a voltage alarm so it drained my battery completely dead. My charger want even recognize it's plugged in lol Going to try to bring it back from the dead right now!!! 😁 Thanks for the tips!!!! 👍🏻✌🏻

[@SwampersRC]

I have used a separate battery to run a light bar with a remote controlled switch. At the time I didn't realize the switch itself continues to draw power after turning off the light. I still have some old-school chargers from the 80s and 90s. I used the trickle charge mode ( which is @ 1amp or less) for an hour or two. This brought the voltage up enough for the lipo charger to recognize the lipo. Balance charge and it's all good again. I should also point out that if your truck has a separate bec installed turning off the esc will NOT turn off the receiver or lights!

[@JPM788212]

Just get a Revolectrix Cellpro PowerLab 6 6S/40A/1000W Battery Charger PL6 and you don't have to worry about it. It will safely bring up the voltage per cell on LiPo setting without worrying. I've brought back batteries with it that were close to 0v. It can't revive a battery that needs to be retired, but it will bring back an under volted LiPo battery. Great video and recommendations for those who need to bring back a battery with a picky charger.

[@triptechb]

My ESC has an electronic on/off button, forgot to unplug the battery for a few weeks, and got the dreaded “can’t charge…” message. This saved it!!

[@davemcy]

Thank you so much for your excellent video. You totally saved my 11.1V 3S Lipo!

[@DeRock401]

The most important protection is knowledge. Thank you for this video.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Exactly. Knowledge and procedures

[@stab2killnecks]

Learn something new every day. Just revived my spectrum batteries. Big thanks

[@RCReviewChannel]

It is such a good day when Lipo batteries are saved. The wallet and the landfill are happy.

[@lectro88]

I LOVE your honesty. Now I wish ESC's cut off "BEFORE" 3.0 I find it's a hassle to charge after a cut off, would rather it cut off sooner and not give me trouble come charge time. But this is my 1st. Lipo and first couple test runs, So I'm still learning. Thanks.

[@rkd350z]

Always disconnect battery if the rig is not in use Always store it on storage volt which is around 3.80v/cell which is around 30%charged level. If charged battery don’t get use, discharge it and put it in storage charge before letting charged battery sit for over 24hrs Charge battery at lower Amp, unless you are in super rush. I set these rules for myself for safety concerns but also helps battery maintenance. These rules work well for me.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Storage charge is very smart. It keeps the battery at its safest state and it doesn’t take too long to fully charge it.

[@BogGarD123]

fixed the "connection break" err on my two lipo 6s with this video guide! tnx

[@artesanrc]

If your 4 problems with low voltage cut off were applied to RC planes/helicopters the models would fall from the sky and crash, potentially causing harm to property or people! However, if talking solely about ESC's for RC cars I can see your point. But, it's not difficult to simply switch off the power to the car and remove the battery, as you mentioned later. Also best to avoid getting to LV cut off in the first place by using a cheap audible alarm set to a level above the ESC cut off voltage - 3.75v is a good level to keep the lipo healthy. And, best to always balance charge lipos with a good quality charger. Your lipo recovery methods do work and I have also used a lead with just two pins which are plugged into the balance connector to charge each cell individually followed by a proper balance charge. Of course, the battery is closely watched and monitored throughout the process.

[@k20kdog]

Wow just wow ,i saw this video on my feed like 3 days ago. I thought thats never gonna happen to me. Wanted to go to the track today havent used my car in like a week and sure enough dead this morning i used the nimh trick for like 25 seconds and bam its back charging on lipo. Thanks RC Review !

[@RCReviewChannel]

You are most welcome. The problem with turning off the radio as we are all humans and we will eventually forget

[@chrislilly8657]

So I destroyed my vehicle that took my 6s battery and tried maintaining it for the last year but forgot about it. I picked it up today to charge it and it was giving me the low warning and wouldn't charge. I took your advice with the nickel metal hydride and charged it for 10 minutes to bring it up to almost 22 volts, now it's balance charging fine! Thank you so much because these damn things aren't cheap,,, now I just got to find something to put it in

[@idmnstr]

Thanks again for this video. It has saved my Lipo battery that was at zero.

[@rectown]

Thank you for covering this, since this happens every once in a while.

[@simonjohnade]

Really great video and info. Very much agree that the cutoff should be system wide. Fix the problem at the source and it should prevent a fair percentage of folks from getting into dangerous lipo situations in the first place. Perhaps a possible fix could be that when the cut-off does happen, a beeper on the car starts indicating the state of the battery and only switches off when the battery is disconnected...?

[@RCReviewChannel]

Exactly. When a lipo is fully discharged for a long period and a cell dies, it creates a dangerous situation on the next charge cycle. More if they don't balance charge. A pack that's slightly out of balance by .1 or .2 volts is no big deal and does not cause much harm. But a dead cell means it's imbalanced by 4.2 volts. That means a charger will try to charge a 1 cell of (2-cell) all the way to 8.4v

[@Justin_Newman]

I just want to say thank you for this information! I have had a couple 3s lipos that I had basically gone dead when I was on deployment and didn’t have a way to bring them back to life but I did have 2 chargers one bing lipo, and the other NIHM used the nihm charger to get just enough juice back into the 3s lipos that I had. Now going to a comp event my first week back with it all🤘🏼

[@tymiller6321]

Thank you so much saved me $70!!!

[@bahr888]

This helped me save a new battery. It doesn't take much and just a minute. Crazy how it bumped up that much in a minute... Thank you

[@Shane-hc6fs]

Thank you. You just saved my brand new battery!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Glad I could help! We're saving the earth too.

[@ChasingplasticCars]

Great video (as always) Never even thought about power still draining after cut off 👍

[@RCReviewChannel]

Right? It's not logical so it will bite many rc'ers in the wallet before it becomes second nature to unplug. And sure, one deserves a discharged battery if they forget to turn off. But a ruined, precious lipo is a high price to pay.

[@AllConsumingJAWS]

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

[@user-of2qs2np2i]

Very useful just started working with lipo batteries!

[@claytonha7898]

What has worked for me in the pass is using a same voltage battery that is charged and using a parallel adapter to charge the drained battery monitoring the cell voltage through the balancing port until the voltage is sufficient enough for it to be properly charged with the lipo charger. If you don’t have a parallel adapter you can use jumper wires negative to negative and positive to positive if you don’t understand what parallel connections are look it up.

[@TheYoungerSemiOldMan]

WOW!!!! I had another battery die. This time its mine, last my sons. These battery's cost over $100 and expensive. Well, I followed yiur trick, read a few more pages, and bam, theyre both charging as of right now this very second. Thanks so much man!!! I think the one 4S is too low. The shop did something a while back and they said it dropped too far and not worth it. I'm trying to get it going now on NiMH and see if itll start charging again. My 3S had to be charged for 15min to get it to finally have enough juice to charge.

[@austinb1824]

This guy real asf. Subscribed!

[@duanegorham2018]

Thank you. This helped me recover 4 batteries.

[@Sirsoulja31]

This man is a life saver

[@jrc-fabs1634]

I love this video. Always unplug it or it will drawl power. With my rc esc and remote turned off and I manually turn the servo with my hand the lights on the car go on! Simply shows how easily the power can be drawn

[@RCReviewChannel]

Exactly. It’s a lesson that many beginners in regulars will learn over and over.

[@Nordlicht05]

It's also a fire precaution. These elektronics are mostly good but we use them in a way where something might get wrong one day. But we are all responsible people 🙂

[@JustinDDavis]

Thats called back feed (or something)from your servo(cause they have a motor)...no battery plugged in at all, your servo will turn your lights on

[@derricksazrc3411]

You dropped the bottom out of it Brother. You know your videos are the videos I share the most with others. The only thing missing is the LOW VOLTAGE SAD FACE😧😧😧😧😧😧😧 I love you Man

[@RCReviewChannel]

Ha! Thanks a ton

[@FantomaS_-86]

Thnx, it really helped me to recover my low vol cell in my 2s lipo.

[@norsefalconer]

I hope this doesn't happen to the point where I forget the process. But, I saved the video just in case. Great stuff!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Knowledge is power. And safety too.

[@robodude678]

You just saved my battery man! very much appreciated!

[@francischaplin467]

Thank you very kindly, sir! Just fixed one, and I'm sure the second one will go well, too!

[@stevedelacruz3749]

This happened about 2 weeks ago..thanks for the info..hope i can bring it back this way

[@SUBcyclist]

Excellent information; thank you very much for this battery education.

[@TKO593]

Just saved a 2s lipo for my drag car. Had only a few runs on it and was down to 1.3v per cell. I almost exclusively switched to Spektrum smart batteries that auto discharge to storage voltage, but my drag car has a CHNL 120c battery that doesn’t get used as much.

[@mike_hawk_eshuge]

Worked on the first try! Thank you sir liked/ subscribed as well great help!

[@purplelegorc2170]

I just threw one away 😞 didn’t know you could save em… poor battery 🔋 it buried alive somewhere. 😳😆. Thanks

[@_SD619]

I bought a high voltage Gens ace 3s that was completely dead out of the box. 3 hobby shops later a guy told me to do just that and battery is flawless now.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Rrrrrrright? Gens Ace is sturdy.

[@_SD619]

@@RCReviewChannel I must say I really enjoy you’re videos. All about useful information and you do just that. I just built my first Gspeed cheater rig all based on your videos and suggestions and it is phenomenal if I may say. Thank you for your dedication to the RC community!

[@danielserrano343]

Great video!! This is exactly what I needed after moving to a different country and finding some of my 3s lipo dead so the charger won't work with them! I used the cheap charger method on 2s, but can plug in 3s, so the Nimh method can definately fix that! Thanks!

[@RCReviewChannel]

This makes us super happy. Knowledge is power!!!!

[@Dantohr]

The cut off work perfect. It say to you, hey Turn the Power off and load your lipo. If you dont hear war it say, then it's your fault

[@MarioIArguello]

Older made RC Models use to have not only a Power Kill ON-OFF switch but also a fuse in line with the system in case of over drawing current, protection. Today you simply connect the Li-Pol that is your kill switch but clearly if you forget to disconnect the battery your battery is going to drain, unless you have a low battery warning device on board like a loud beeper. Just put a single pole single throw switch in line with your battery receptacle, on the rc model side and you are good to go if you like keeping the battery on board the model all the time. I prefer to simple disconnect the battery since after use they still need to be disconnected and placed on their proper charger.

[@heady2008]

Informative and well presented video as always. I wouldn't even trust the power switch to prevent lipo overdischarge as it's my understanding that there is still a very small voltage being drawn which would eventually drain a lipo if a rigs not used for some time.

[@wrbrc4865]

I can confirm the power button does not completely cut power. I’ve damaged two batteries where I turned off the power via button but did not disconnect the battery. That was on a Hobbywing system.

[@SolRayz]

Saved my lipo thanks to you!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Glad I could help!

[@nobody617]

It worked for me! I bought a xo-1 last year and ran it only once and its sat for a year. They wouldn't charge. Alarm. I did this and it worked. They are now working perfectly, like new runtime. I can't believe it Its like the new car battery chargers. They wont charge a completely dead battery. You have to jump it, get some voltage stored and then the charger will work. I didn't know tjis and returned my car charger to harbour freight for a new one. And then i figured it out. Hey, they shoulda told me, well i guess they didnt know. They probably need to know this.

[@mikeshobbiesandrandomstuff]

I'm not binge watching your lipo battery videos at 6am i swear 😂😂 been in the hobby over ten years but your videos are relaxing when I can't sleep 😂

[@bluereign029]

This was a life saver

[@yudaaduy2113]

Thank you so much for the education, thanks again 👍

[@rlhuber76]

I have one and I will give it a try. The battery only had 3 or four charges in it's lifetime

[@RCReviewChannel]

Good luck. You can do it!

[@rcplaytime]

had to do this two days ago,battery seems back to normal now😀👍👍

[@RCReviewChannel]

Beautiful!!!! Just check the balance of that battery then next few uses

[@rcplaytime]

@@RCReviewChannel thanks mate👍👍

[@Ivanvelosobr]

just saved my life, thks!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Glad it helped!

[@mikeb5556]

Worked for me, thanks.

[@mukradio5783]

Awesome! Thank you! Saved a battery 😅

[@theantonshow393]

Hi am a new sub and new to rc just got my first rc cars got arrma kraton 4S and typhon 3s they bit fast for a noob like myself but you live and learn thanks for helpful info

[@RCReviewChannel]

Very cool

[@timjarman6027]

No problem with lipo cutoff here. You are supposed to remove the battery when its done

[@roadrash76]

Good to know. But I've always remove the batteries from my rigs when this happens, so I've never had the issue of the other electronics draining my battery.

[@RCReviewChannel]

You sir are doing it right.

[@rkd350z]

Good habit

[@MichaelTaylor-5000]

I use Lipo bags religiously even to transport so I never have a battery in the car unless I'm running it.

[@roadrash76]

@@MichaelTaylor-5000 same.

[@jenss4756]

Thank you so much! With your advice I could rescue my 0V LiPo... forgot it for weeks in my good old CC-01. I gave it 2A for about 2 minutes in NiMH. After that I got about 3.2V for each cell and my LiPo charger didn't refuse to charge the thing. Won't happen to me twice...?

[@khanabid7864]

thank you my friend 👍

[@boogermonster100]

Word to the wise, be careful with tricking the charger. I've done it for years and worked great. However, once you get the battery to voltage and change back to charging correctly. You can risk failure. Sadly this happened to me and the battery failed. With a 6s fire was to quick and fast to put out once the unstable cell lost it. Even the Lipo bag failed.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thanks for the info. It's a good tip and one has to be wary of tricking a charger even for just a minute. But using a small balance charger or a very good lipo charger is an alternative and safer.

[@boogermonster100]

@@RCReviewChannel Most definitely. My problem came after the voltage was above 3v. Placed it back to balance charging and the battery had heated up and burst. 3 fire districts, 10 men and women. Definitely recommend when doing so to keep an close eye on it at all times.

[@sshiko3135]

Preview picture is SIIIIIIIICK!!!! 😁

[@RCReviewChannel]

Ha ha. I finally took the time to photograph a thumbnail

[@nicksantitoro]

I would recommend putting your battery and charger outside, especially during the nimh stage. I have heard that the Lipo could swell while charging if it is under 3 volts.

[@RCReviewChannel]

In my experience it only swells if you get it well over 4.2 V and I’ve tried it a couple times already.

[@DoRC]

It's not just in the beginning. Once a cell gets below a certain voltage internal cell damage can occur. This can result in the battery failing catastrophically at any time in the future. This is exactly why the lipo charger refuses to charge the battery when it's below a certain voltage. This video is both uninformed and dangerous.

[@BeBetterPeople2449]

Another issue with LiPo battery cutoff is that it operates on the full battery voltage without regard for individual cells. If a (cell or cells) is out of balance, the ESC may happily discharge it way below its cutoff because the other cells are propping up the voltage reading.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Oh for sure. Lipos in RCs are used as a unit, not individual cell monitored unfortunately.

[@gregorystephens4294]

I have a 4S lipo 5200 mAh. While charging two of the cells will reach 4.20v and one of the cells is stuck on 3.84v can I use the NIMH method to correct this problem and if so what do I set it on. I have The Prodigy 610 quad AC / DC battery recharger

[@Sw1shersplitter]

Connector question: 1/24 FMS Land Cruiser, I want to buy a balance charger for the 7.4 380mah 2s lipo but I don’t know where to find the proper connector adaptor for the charging end. The balance cable I know, but the charging connector is weird and I can’t find it on Amazon. (Afraid to use the USB charger they supply so I’m looking for decent charger so I don’t burn my house down 😅)

[@monkeytrident]

@RC Review I have a problem I have a 3s 5500 mah lipo which I may have forgot to storage charge, but I am sure I did, now when I went to charge it, I see sell 1 is 0.931v and cell 2 is 4.175v and cell 3 is 4.210v, how can I get cell 1 volts up, I have tried the Nimh recovery but no luck.

[@huntermann6084]

The traxxas ex peak will restore batteries if you use the "store" charging mode and then the "fast" changing mode then the "balanced" charge mode

[@ragsixracing]

always unplug your battery and remove it from the vehicle for safety reasons put it in a lipo bag or fireproof box. I remove the switches from ESCs if possible. I just never leave them plugged in 👍

[@RCReviewChannel]

Good tip! Thank you.

[@tamertamertamer4874]

Sadly my battery is 0 everywhere and NiMH charging doesn’t do anything. I’ll have to find a way to dispose of it :/. Thanks for the video tough. It’s a battery that has been left empty for multiple years so it makes sense

[@RCReviewChannel]

Yup. Dead. Gotta know when to give up on it

[@rclife3190]

Thanks good info gonna try when i get home

[@ismaelflores4665]

Thank you now I have another working battery

[@RCReviewChannel]

That’s why we do what we do.

[@bcochener]

I’ve had to use that trick a couple of times. I read to trickle charge it at a low amp though to bring it up to a salvageable level.

[@roymeeks5664]

How do you fix broken balancing leads that break off close to the battery seems like some of the balancing wires are very weak they break after you bend them they should make them more pliable too afraid to solder too close to one another the One battery I've only used 5 times paid a lot of money for it,4s...broken wires......

[@RCReviewChannel]

It's very hard and dangerous. Get another balance pluga with wires already , solder, heat shrink tubing

[@victornaja7927]

hey what brand lipo battery do you recomend. say for the traxxas 1/10 chevy k10 truck

[@Kriswixx]

Hello sirs. I have a 48v20ah scooter battery, that I left on and drained all the way down to 28.2v and will not charge with my charger it came with. I do have my drone gear and my B6 charger, so I can do this, I just need to get the proper Xtc60 yellow connect soldered in between so I can use it from the proprietart 3 prong connector which i have isolated to where the + and + and unused area. Just need solder confidence. -- my question is, -- its a 28v, and what volt do I need to NICAD trick it to then use my regular 58.4v 2ah charger? --- I am thinking 33-38v? I don't want to over charge it with nicad just enough to get it to read out on the original charger-- what is the proper stop v? Thanks man.

[@Thatguys9773]

Thanks man i had dead gensacc battery that wouldn't even power my balance checker and i just saved it with this been dead for a year

[@jumpinpics2414]

Great video thank you very much for this information

[@RCReviewChannel]

You’re most welcome.

[@RC-jt2gx]

Great information! Thank you!

[@RCReviewChannel]

You are most welcome. Knowledge is power in this game

[@michaeljensen8029]

Doing things like this for new peoble in the hobby, is how people end up burning their houses down, but we hope RC Review take full responsibility for any damage.

[@evanwilliams6352]

What a weird way to say “thanks, now know how to save my lipos in situations like this” People need to stop blaming others for their own stupidity… know the risks, take responsibility.

[@jamesn6048]

I literally just drained a 6s lipo to 9.5 volts 👍👍

[@justinrobinson2359]

Thanks brother. I needed this info

[@RCReviewChannel]

You’re most welcome this is the one thing I wish someone taught me when I was starting out and someone needs to pound it in my head every week.

[@aldodizon-MEP352]

Thanks

[@lukabalta2398]

i just accidentaly took 3.5v discharged battery to test if everything works after settings adjustment and drained it to 2.7c per cell its 6s tatto r-line battery it is alreadi around 3.1v per cell is it still safe to balance and use normaly ?

[@NANNIRC]

Thanks a lot! I lost 2 batteries and Idid not know this......

[@atthecontractor]

Hey thanks for the video, just want to make sure, my 3200 Lopi 7.2V 2C i think is dead, below 1v. i got it charging on NiCd, it's been charging for about 20mins at 0.1A and it keeps going up and down from 0.49V-0.51V. should i keep trying or too far gone? Thanks in advance.

[@the_car_guy5915]

I found my battery in my Wraith 1.9 that I haven't ran in the better part of a year 🤦 Recovering it as I'm typing this. Put it on NiMH for ~2 minutes (until it showed 5.75V) and now I'm charging it on LiPo mode and it's at 7.4v. Seems to be working fine and the battery isn't even warm.

[@darrylcarpenter903]

Great info. Thanks for this. A simple fix from the manufacturers would be to have an audio alarm that sounds off when there is no activity, similar to the alarm that goes off if the Tx is left on. Also, wouldn't it be cool if tire companies made tires that were inflatable instead of being filled with foam? Thanks again!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Absolutely. I have some small cars where the lights flash if it’s left on and it really really helps.

[@theirishaxe9405]

Like a 2 dollar low voltage alarm from Amazon?

[@SwampersRC]

G-made made some inflatable tires that I don't know if they still make. I have also found some generic inflatable tires on ebay and on wish for less money than the G-made that look exactly the same and are the same size (I don't remember what size that is). They are inflated using a needle like a basketball or football. The wheels they come with has a little rubber valve in the rim thet seals when you remove the needle. I have not seen metal wheels that would work for this. You can use any un-vented tires that fit the wheels.

[@monacocross4241]

but battery work ok after this method ? i thing after can very fast lost voltage , and if toy drone cant to fall

[@Tookie-2014]

So I accidentally charged my 4300 3s at 8.6 amps now it will give power to the drive but not the direct power servo. Is my battery toast or is there a way to salvage it? It has no puffing and the battery is only 5months old