The crew took a new "rebuilt" battery out of the Explorer data collector this morning after giving it a full overnight charge. Then it starts to rapidly heat up and smoke. They threw it outside and it continues to go through a meltdown process. Any ideas what happened? I am wondering if the direction of one or more of the batteries is wrong inside the shrink wrap.
Sounds like there is a piece of wire that is misplaced or not shielded that is shorting out. It's always amazing the amount of heat that can be generated in small batteries by a short.
> Sounds like there is a piece of wire that is misplaced or not shielded that is shorting out. It's always amazing the amount of heat that can be generated in small batteries by a short.
And from what I can see in your pic I'm not surprised. Whenever I rebuild bats I wrap all battery junctions in electrician tape before I put it all back together.
Is it lithium or nickel metal hydride?
My son has been into RC helicopters lately and they're powered by lithium polymer cells that come with a two page booklet of warnings. Apparently they get unstable quick if overcharged or charged to quickly.
They won't be lithium polymer. I think those are generally flat rather than cylindrical and if they self distruct there is nothing left. Also, no need for a short in the wires. They can go internally. Let everyone know what you find out. I am thinking about building a battery pack with parts from All Battery and would like to hear what you learn.
Looks like the warranty is still good;-)
Looks like it's a GOOD thing it wasn't in the D.C. when it did that!!
I had Batteries Plus build a battery pack for my Explorer. Fit in the DC was poor and battery life sucked. I had another problem and sent the DC to Hayes for repair. They talked me into a new pack and it worked fine.
I was into RC stuff in the past and agree that built batteries are viable, I just wonder if there is something a little different about the Explorer packs.
Of course, it may depend on the skills of the re-builder....
Why did they take it out of the DC after charging?
I see what appears to be a stray bare wire on the right front.
Wonder what the Limited warranty covers?
Someone had told me they have a clear seal they kind of paint over the the junctions. Have not found or done this myself. Heard anything like that, or would elctrical tape be a safe bet?
It was a brand new battery from another crew who has a used Explorer, but no charger, so we frequently charge their batteries with our chargers. Never had an issue with this before.
I had some EDM batteries rebuilt by a place back east and they used some new type of battery, they got very hot in either of my chargers that I have had for ~15 years. He blamed in on my chargers but eventually I got a full refund, (thanks to Ebay), so I went to the place in UT.
> The crew took a new "rebuilt" battery out of the Explorer data collector this morning after giving it a full overnight charge. Then it starts to rapidly heat up and smoke. They threw it outside and it continues to go through a meltdown process. Any ideas what happened? I am wondering if the direction of one or more of the batteries is wrong inside the shrink wrap.
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The batteries should (most likely) be in series. (the neg. of each battery wired the the positive of the next battery). Could also be a bad cell or a shorted wire.