# battery wont hold charge



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

hey i just bought my first rc car and i had to buy a battery with it. the battery is a 3000mah NiMH venom battery and i also bought a prophet sport battery AC/DC peak charger. the battery wasnt charged when bought so i charged it and when it was fully charged it only gave me about 3 min of run time i tried it again and the same thing. i am charging it on a 4 amp charge rate.

can ne one plz help me out? thnx


----------



## L4OvalRacer (May 27, 2007)

Well the reson being is batteries have a break in prosess so it will take 3 or so charges to make it to its peak voltage.


----------



## OvalmanPA (Mar 21, 2000)

Dumb question for you. How long is it taking to charge your battery? It's possible that you just aren't fully charging it. If it's not warm to the touch when it's done with it's "peak" charge then start it over again otherwise you aren't getting it charged.


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

I am charging it untill the charger indicates that the battery is fully charged and the battery is warm to touch when i unplug it. it may be because im charging it off the wall using 4 amps. i am charging it right now with 1 amp to see if it makes a difference.


----------



## brian0525 (Jan 17, 2005)

you might have a dead cell or a bad charger.


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

I fixed the problem, it was only holding a 5 min charge because i was charging it on a 4 amp charge rate off wall it should have only been 1-2 amps. thanks for the posts anyway. 

keep em coming for the horrible breaks thread tho plz.


----------



## briano_72 (Jan 21, 2006)

you can and should charge that at 5-6 amps. should only take about a half hour to charge.


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

briano_72 said:


> you can and should charge that at 5-6 amps. should only take about a half hour to charge.


i have but when i charge it on a 4-5 amp i only get a 5 min run time and on a 1-2 amp i get about a 20 min run time.


----------



## Guest (Jan 17, 2008)

Since they are 3000 cells, it depends which brand they are. The Panasonics were very unstable when it comes to charging - cells didn't seem to stay balanced so there is a larger chance of the pack false peaking. Sanyo also produced a 3000 cell a little less prone to false peaks but a little more stable than panasonics. Ideal charge rate for recreational use is probably 3.5 to 4amps but if the rate you are using works, then use it. Just follow a general routine to allow pack to last and give consistant uses, try discharging the pack using a single 1157 bulb (remove once it starts to dim) allow cells to cool at room temperature (usually 1 or 2 hours) before charging.


----------



## DARKSIDE DAVE (Aug 16, 2007)

You Better Bump That Charging Rate Up To About 6 Or Other Wise You Are Just Wasting Your Time. That Battery Should Be Hot Not Warm


----------



## DJ1978 (Sep 26, 2001)

*Here is the scoop.*

I checked out the specs on Dynamites web site for this charger.
You are correct. Off the 110 AC wall plug you have the choice to charge at 1 or 2 amps. Do not use the 4 amp setting off a wall plug.
Use the 2 amps setting at home. 
If you were to get a DC Power supply. You can charge at 4 amps. 
A 10 amp power supply would be plenty. OR just invest in a Higher quality AC/DC Charger. An Integy 16 X3 is a great charger. There are many others too.
You can also use a car battery for your DC power supply. Hook up to that and you could charge at 4 amps. 
The higher the charge rate, the better the performance but decrease in run time. That is why at 1 amp you are getting 20 min.
Have fun!!
Dan


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

hey DJ1978 thank you for all the trouble you went to to help me. The info you gave me was much appreshated and thanks every one else for you help
and is my charged not the greatest charger if it only has 1,2 and 4 amp charge rates to choose from or is that fine?

thnks.


----------



## OvalmanPA (Mar 21, 2000)

I'm perplexed at what your problem could be because the 4 amp charge rate should charge the battery faster, it shouldn't have that much difference in how the battery runs.  Do you have a friend that could charge the pack for you at a higher rate to see if it's a charger problem at the higher amperage? I'm going to have to look up this charger on Horizons site........


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

The charger is a dynamite and i dont think its a super high quality charger because it only says to charge it on 4 amps off a car battery. Charging it off the wall it says i can only use 1-2 amp charge rate


----------



## briano_72 (Jan 21, 2006)

so when you are using the 4 amp at home, its probably not really 4 amps, if they are saying you need to use a power supply. and that is why you are getting the false peak too, its just plain confused.


----------



## martian 710 (Jan 22, 2004)

The charger might be overheating and false peaking at the higher amp rates when using AC also. I know my low buck Superbrain charger needs a fan on it when charging or it causes problems.


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

This battery is really starting to make me made ao im gonna just start looking for a new one i think.   

ne ideas on a good NiMH battery?


----------



## carcrazy699 (Dec 23, 2007)

i have the same exact charger and i charge all my batts at 4amps and it does perfectly fine. not sure why they say to do it off the car at that rate but i guess what ever works for your application is best. i also have a few 3300 gp matched packs if your interested for 10 bucks each. they have been zapped and cycled. i have 4 of them and one 3000 matched pack also. lmk if your interested


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

10 dollars eh sounds like a steel haha. whats the reason for selling ne thing wrong with them?

and on 4 amps off the wall how much run time are you getting and how to you zap and cycle bettery?


----------



## carcrazy699 (Dec 23, 2007)

there is nothing wrong with the batts i honestly don't know really what the zap prosses is but what my friend did was zap them then fullly discharged them then charged and then again discharged them. on the charger it usually takes about 45 min to charge my 4200 packs. if you want pics of the batts send me your email and i will send them


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

Ya for sure send me your e-mail and i will cheek em out

thnx


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

I have an XL-5 esc. with deans connectors and was wondering if there is an adaptor out there that can plug in to my deans connecter to let me plug in a normal battery connector?


----------



## carcrazy699 (Dec 23, 2007)

you would have to make one i beleve but why not just change the plug on the batt to the deans?


----------



## Trx12 (Jan 16, 2008)

Can you get a adaptor that puts a deans connector on a normal battery?


----------



## carcrazy699 (Dec 23, 2007)

Trx12 said:


> Can you get a adaptor that puts a deans connector on a normal battery?


you have to cut off the tamiya style plug and solder on the deans connector the the wires


----------

