Lithium Ion Powered Devices

archp625

WKR
Joined
Jan 17, 2018
Location
St. Joseph, Missouri
I wanted to give everyone a heads up that if they have not charged or messed with their lithium-ion powered device in the off season, they should do so. I have a Zoleo satellite communicator that I threw in a tote and didn't think much about until this weekend. It was dead, dead. Like would not even take a charge. Once they the battery gets below a certain level the charger will not charge them anymore make the device worthless.

I was able to trick the battery to take a charge but that is another discussion. Now I am making sure that the battery is still good and will hold power for a desired length of time.

Hopefully this helps someone out.
 
Maybe that’s why my e-bike battery is fried. Got wicked cold this winter and now won’t charge


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Maybe that’s why my e-bike battery is fried. Got wicked cold this winter and now won’t charge


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A million bucks yes it’s not fried. If you can get to the positive and negative terminals of the battery pack you can restore the battery. Lithium ion chargers won’t charge if it’s below a certain volt. You just have to give it enough your charger registers it.
 
So what just jump across the positive and negative?


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Pro tip for lithium ions. They "like" to be stored at about 50%, NOT fully charged. (Shoot for 60% going into storage.) That doesn't mean they'll last longer in storage - they won't. If they drop below 10-20% almost all have some type of internal BMS that will put them into a shutdown mode, because if they drop down to 0 they can be permanently damaged, and the BMS itself has a bit of a trickle draw itself that can cause this. They should usually be good for a year before this happens, though. A calendar reminder to check them every 6 months or so is smart.

This is one reason I hate the new headlamps and other devices that are rechargeable. It seems convenient in the field but I don't use my hunting gear every month. I prefer devices that take replaceable batteries. For items I'll be storing long-term I spring for lithium cells (not lithium ion, these are the non-reachargeable ones). They're incredibly expensive but they last forever both in the field and on the shelf...
 
This happened to me on a ZOLEO, I literally left it on a charger for two days per their recommendation and it started to work. Now works like it did before that. It wouldn’t even turn on until I let it sit for two days.
 
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