richhrly Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 With my Mrs working nights, and the weather being grim, I thought I'd take the chance to solder a new connector onto my Lipo battery as a first step into getting back into RC. While I was soldering my new connector, I managed to short the battery briefly while trying to get the hard plastic XT60 connector to snap together (the bit which is at the back instead of heat-shrink). I've not had lipos before, and have heard a few horror stories, so it's now in a metal saucepan I use for home-brew, with a lid on (and cling film around that to keep the rain out!) on my patio. It's not been charged, just as it was shipped to me. It's a hardcase battery - https://www.modelsport.co.uk/gens-ace-lipo-2s-pack-7-4v-4000-50c-deans-plug/rc-car-products/444355 - so I guess puffing will be hard to see. Is it a goner? Are there any steps to see if the battery is damaged forever? Am I being too paranoid with it sat outside in a pot? 😀 Cheers guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vr5fx Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 11 minutes ago, richhrly said: With my Mrs working nights, and the weather being grim, I thought I'd take the chance to solder a new connector onto my Lipo battery as a first step into getting back into RC. While I was soldering my new connector, I managed to short the battery briefly while trying to get the hard plastic XT60 connector to snap together (the bit which is at the back instead of heat-shrink). I've not had lipos before, and have heard a few horror stories, so it's now in a metal saucepan I use for home-brew, with a lid on (and cling film around that to keep the rain out!) on my patio. It's not been charged, just as it was shipped to me. It's a hardcase battery - https://www.modelsport.co.uk/gens-ace-lipo-2s-pack-7-4v-4000-50c-deans-plug/rc-car-products/444355 - so I guess puffing will be hard to see. Is it a goner? Are there any steps to see if the battery is damaged forever? Am I being too paranoid with it sat outside in a pot? 😀 Cheers guys! More than likely, it's fine. End line, you've probably shortened it's lifespan, but I'd say if the hardcase looks fine, and the voltages is fine, carry on using the pack as normal. Hard cases are pretty packed, so any puffing would crack the case at the join. If I were in your shoes, I'd give it a few cautious cycles, but carry on. I've done it a few times by accident, no issues. If you're not too sure, store it outside for a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh How Original Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 I once shorted a LiPo by chopping both wires at the same time, I still have the scissors with a chunk missing from them, the LiPo was fine and I still use it tothis day. Similarly, I've connected LiPos before with the wrong polarity and shorted them that way, again they've been absolutely fine. As long as it wasn't connected together for like a minute or something (more like a tap) it should be fine. If you have a voltage checker, then check what the voltage actually is, if you don't have a voltage checker I'd highly recommend getting one, they're very handy for these situations and checking if your LVC is kicking in right etc... Just keep a close eye on it when charging, if possible charge it outside, just to be doubly safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam1979 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 I shorted one out today and its still working absolutely fine 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richhrly Posted February 8, 2020 Author Share Posted February 8, 2020 Cheers all, that has calmed me down a bit. I’ve got it in a waterproof box in the saucepan now, but leaving it outside just to be safe. Will check for swelling in the morning, then give soldering it another go if it looks OK, then will check it with a multi-meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4inbrain Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Something similar happened to me as well, blew a hole into my helping hands - pack was still fine afterwards. Just one thing, i'm not sure if i understand you correctly - you got the two piece XT60 connectors? Like these? Just want to point out two things there, to make sure. First, there shouldn't be a way to short the battery once the leads are connected to the bullets (the shiny bits), regardless of the back housing being clicked on or not (except you stripped the wire way too far). Second, though that's preference/personal opinion, i still heat shrink my cables under the back housing. There's no reason not to, to me the back housing is less to prevent your cables from touching (it doesn't really do that anyway, there's no divider down the back housing), but more to protect the connector. If you disconnect old XT60 and you slip, you basically grab straight onto the wires/heatshrink, pulling it, which can lead to trouble (pulling the heat shrink off, for example). Now i might've understood everything wrong, in which case just disregard everything. If not, depending on "how right i am" in regards to your work, you might want to redo them. Especially if there's so much blank wire that you were able to short it out after you soldered them in. Just heat shrink them and then click the thing together. Doesn't cost much, adds a layer of safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richhrly Posted February 9, 2020 Author Share Posted February 9, 2020 14 minutes ago, m4inbrain said: Something similar happened to me as well, blew a hole into my helping hands - pack was still fine afterwards. Just one thing, i'm not sure if i understand you correctly - you got the two piece XT60 connectors? Like these? Just want to point out two things there, to make sure. First, there shouldn't be a way to short the battery once the leads are connected to the bullets (the shiny bits), regardless of the back housing being clicked on or not (except you stripped the wire way too far). Second, though that's preference/personal opinion, i still heat shrink my cables under the back housing. There's no reason not to, to me the back housing is less to prevent your cables from touching (it doesn't really do that anyway, there's no divider down the back housing), but more to protect the connector. If you disconnect old XT60 and you slip, you basically grab straight onto the wires/heatshrink, pulling it, which can lead to trouble (pulling the heat shrink off, for example). Now i might've understood everything wrong, in which case just disregard everything. If not, depending on "how right i am" in regards to your work, you might want to redo them. Especially if there's so much blank wire that you were able to short it out after you soldered them in. Just heat shrink them and then click the thing together. Doesn't cost much, adds a layer of safety. Well, because on my first attempt I was unhappy with seeing a tiny bit of wire at the back of the housing, I desoldered, snipped, and soldered them again. I’d seen a tip to solder those connectors with the other piece of the XT60 connected, to help the heat drain. I hadn’t soldered the other end, and I ended up with that end against my helping hand, so that’s where the short was. Should’ve disconnected it before moving it, quite frustrated as I’d been so “by the book” until that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4inbrain Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 11 minutes ago, richhrly said: Well, because on my first attempt I was unhappy with seeing a tiny bit of wire at the back of the housing, I desoldered, snipped, and soldered them again. I’d seen a tip to solder those connectors with the other piece of the XT60 connected, to help the heat drain. I hadn’t soldered the other end, and I ended up with that end against my helping hand, so that’s where the short was. Should’ve disconnected it before moving it, quite frustrated as I’d been so “by the book” until that point. Okay, we'll ignore here that i made pretty much made the same mistake when i blew that hole in my helping hands, just so i can sound all smart and stuff. Disconnecting is one thing, but what you should do on top is use a different set of helping hands. I, much like you, learned that the hard way, and i'm now using a helping hand with "rubber-boots". Made things a lot easier/safer, and can be had pretty cheap from the usual suspects like Banggood etc. Other than that: no harm no foul. I don't think your LiPo is kaputt, and a "shock" and some adrenaline help hammer in LiPo safety quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninetiesbeard Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 Ive done the exact same with a 3s zippy when i was cutting off their bullet connectors. Blew a chunk out of the end of my wire cutters and tried to weld the terminals together, but i pulled the cables apart in time. The pack generated no heat, it was momentary. I think im probably 20-30 cycles deep on that pack now, and its totally fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babylon Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 I cut off the hobbyking Bullet connectors off because you could short out two batteries as they made it possible to connect them together, Which I did with two 3s packs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretch Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 I accidentally connected to batteries together that had hobbyking hxt connectors changed everything to xt60 and never had problem again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted February 9, 2020 Share Posted February 9, 2020 A very short shorting won't be an issue, but as said, get a lipo checker, then you can monitor the voltages quickly and easily. I'd use the cycle function if your charger has it, put two or three cycles through it. If nothing occurs, it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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