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Li ion Boe power back on Boe Bot — Parallax Forums

Li ion Boe power back on Boe Bot

CrazyrabbitCrazyrabbit Posts: 116
edited 2012-10-23 20:41 in Robotics
Haven't been here in a while. Last sunmmer I purchased a Parallax Lipo battery back for a Boe Bot. I installed it on a working Boe Bot using the BS2 Board of Ecucation board. I left the servos on Vin and it blew the 2 amp fuse. I retested the BS2 board and all is OK, but later replaced the fuse. I tried it just for a power pack ( no boards yet) and both green LEDs flash and not charging. Is there any type of warrenty on it or just salvage for parts. I didn't think it would be so sensitive. Lipos are usually pretty rugged for powering motors. I am switching my newer robots to lipos. Will be posting some robots soon.

Comments

  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2012-10-18 14:12
    Crazyrabbit wrote: »
    Haven't been here in a while. Last sunmmer I purchased a Parallax Lipo battery back for a Boe Bot. I installed it on a working Boe Bot using the BS2 Board of Ecucation board. I left the servos on Vin and it blew the 2 amp fuse. I retested the BS2 board and all is OK, but later replaced the fuse. I tried it just for a power pack ( no boards yet) and both green LEDs flash and not charging. Is there any type of warrenty on it or just salvage for parts. I didn't think it would be so sensitive. Lipos are usually pretty rugged for powering motors. I am switching my newer robots to lipos. Will be posting some robots soon.

    Was the power left on when the servos were connected? They may have drained the cells below the point where they could be recharged. The board may be fine but the batteries may need to be replaced. You may want to call Parallax support directly and see if they can help you identify/isolate the issue and what can be done to fix it.

    I'm looking at getting one of the Lipo boards myself to put on a Stingray robot.

    Robert
  • CrazyrabbitCrazyrabbit Posts: 116
    edited 2012-10-19 15:25
    Yes they were fully charged. I also tried several different lipo batterys and still no charge..I always charge new lipos using a regular 2 cell lipo charger.
  • Matt GillilandMatt Gilliland Posts: 1,406
    edited 2012-10-20 06:57
    Hey Crazyrabbit-
    No worries - we got you covered :-) email me with your name and shipping address and we'll get you out a new one on Monday. I'll include a couple of new servo's as well :-)

    Mail it to my attention so I can figure out what's goin' on.

    There should only be one green led (power in indicator), and there should be two blue leds - solid on means charging, and blinking means fully-charged. Red leds indicate either a cell fault or an out of temperature limit has been crossed.

    Which cells came with it? Were they the green Tenergy's? and which type/brand/specs of cells did you replace them with? Any and all info you can provide would help me diagnose what went wrong.

    :thumb:

    -MattG
  • CrazyrabbitCrazyrabbit Posts: 116
    edited 2012-10-23 16:46
    Sorry for the delay. Thanks alot. I just emailed you. The batteries I think came with it were blue Ultrafire 3.7V 3,000mah. I have a few batteries around I use. I like the idea of pluging in the Boe Bot to charge rather then removing the batteries all the time. I am working on some bigger bots a little at a time. Is less then 2 amps the most the board will be able to supply? Just curious. My mistake the LEDs were blue.
  • Matt GillilandMatt Gilliland Posts: 1,406
    edited 2012-10-23 20:41
    I like the idea of pluging in the Boe Bot to charge rather then removing the batteries all the time.
    That's the whole idea :thumb: Plus, your Boe-bot will run like 3 miles on a single charge,,,your mileage may vary :innocent:
    Is less then 2 amps the most the board will be able to supply?
    We put a two amp fuse on there for a couple of reasons. First, some lion cells will actually pop an internal fuse - rendering them inoperable. Secondly, we want to protect from too much current flowing through the traces on the board. You could (at your own risk) put a larger fuse in the fuse holder - I don't recommend it, but if you want to get a little bit more output current, that's one way to do it.
    the LEDs were blue
    good. Now I have to go back to Manufacturing and apologize to them after accusing them of making a mistake ;-)

    -MattG
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