Had my first Fire Today

Eachine98379872 · Feb 28, 2021

Had my first lipo fire today. No idea how but the balance connector came off and all the wires touched causing the isolation to melt and catch fire on one of the leads (see photo). I reckon it was pulled against the body of the drone or something cus it definitely didn't go through the propellers.

The voltages look fine on all the cells and they're all about 4v. I have a good charger and there are no other signs or damage on the battery like swelling etc.

Is this safe for me to terminate the balance charger and continue using it if I give it a slow charge the first few times? I really don't want to burn down my house or worse my drone for the sake of a £20 battery.

On another note. Do you ever get good enough at FPV to not break something every time you fly?

Chris_A · Mar 1, 2021

Eachine98379872 said:
Is this safe for me to terminate the balance charger and continue using it if I give it a slow charge the first few times? I really don't want to burn down my house or worse my drone for the sake of a £20 battery.

It won't charge without the balance connector. The balance leads are how the charger monitors the charging process, and on some (cheaper OEM) chargers it's how the battery gets charged all together. You're obviously more than able to discharge (fly the quad) the battery without the balance lead but unfortunately it's critical for the charging side of the cycle.
All about lipo balance connectors - TJinTech.

Eachine98379872 · Mar 1, 2021

Chris_A said:
It wont charge without the balance connector. The balance leads are how the charger monitors the charging process.
All about lipo balance connectors - TJinTech.

If I reterminate the balance connector though is it safe or would the cells have been damaged by the current?

Thank you

Chris_A · Mar 1, 2021

Eachine98379872 said:
If I reterminate the balance connector though is it safe or would the cells have been damaged by the current?

Thank you

If all the cells check out then absolutely! I've chopped a few off myself recently and repaired them with no issues. Just make sure you get them in the correct order.