Really worried...

[honda_s2000]

Hi guys , wondering if you could help me out here.

So I unpacked an iwaver as I was really bored , charged my batts about half way and threw them in the car , had a little drive around the house and seemed to be running fine (a little slower than usual but could have been due to the partially charged batts). So I come back into my room to check my emails and stuff and switched both the car and the TX off.

A while later I smell an electrical burning smell....

It's coming from my iwaver....

The batts have gotten REALLY hot , So I very quickly took them out and threw them in some dirt outside.

But what im wondering is , what could have caused this ? Im guessing they were shorted out by something , but what ?

What should I do with the cells now ? Is it safe to discharge and recharge them or not ?

What should I look for on my iwaver ?

Sorry for all the questions , but I really did need them answering direct.

Thanks pimps

[betty.k]

(a little slower than usual but could have been due to the partially charged batts)

i don't have a definate answer but this leads me to believe that the insulation on the cells has come off and is bridging to the next cell.

if you peel the insulation off a cell you'll see that the whole thing is a negative terminal. it's only the little knob on top that's positive.

if this is the case then some tape will be sufficient to insulate it. and once the cells cool they should be fine to use, although they are technically screwed.

if i'm right then one or more cells didn't get charged or discharged, you may have to charge them separately to equalise them again.

keep us posted

[honda_s2000]

Cheers betty , I feel like the fuckin stupidest idiot in the world now

I took off that so cal "Annoying tape around the batts" as it kept getting in the way while trying to fit the batts. Little did I know that this was actually "insulation taping"

I taped them back up now and they are fine , very low though so they have discharged alot. Geez I feel like a twat now

Charging them as we speak

Cheers mate

P.S - Oh shit , I still feel stupid

[betty.k]

wanna know how i found that out? (this'll make ya feel better )

back when i was doing lotsa suspension bits i had this one problem chassis that kept blowing batts. see in the pic below how there are 2 screws under the each cell?


that's where i would charge them. problem was on this one chassis the screws went through the insulation and contacted the cells!
this meant only one cell was in curcuit but i assumed both cells were dead!
i threw out 6 cells before i worked out what i'd done! and not just any old cells, 6 of those dark green 150mah nicads!!! (ol' school pimps know the ones i'm talking about, they still are the best!)




feel better?

[honda_s2000]

much better

To date this is the best iwaver I have ran , It's so quiet it's unbeliveable , it looks sharp (ferrari f40) , pretty fast stock ( we all know how much they vary ) and it has a turning radius tighter than a ducks arse.

Soon to come some upgrades

EDIT : Allthough I have been driving an AWD xmod for the past few days , maybe that's why the iwaver seems so nice