/dist/images/branding/favicon

Is my battery charging?

Discussion in 'MōVI M5' started by Jack Klink, Apr 10, 2014.

  1. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    I left one of my batteries charging for a few hours yesterday... Or at least I thought I did. I realized after looking closer at the instructions that I forgot to attach the WHITE 4S wire to the charger. Whoops...

    But now that I've realized that, I have plugged both the white and red connections into their respective places on the charger, but the charger is still flashing slow green and the 1-4 LEDS are not lit at all. Is it charging? The manual says the 1-4 LEDS are supposed to be on and the Charging Status LED is supposed to be RED, but this is not what is happening.

    Am I doing something wrong?
     
  2. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    Can you start afresh, Jack?
    1. Unplug both battery leads from the charger.
    2. Unplug the AC cord from the charger and wait five to ten seconds.
    3. Plug the AC cord back into the charger.
    4. Connect up the main (red) battery connection to the charger.
    5. Connect up the cell balancing (white) battery connection to the charger.

    Let us know what happens.
    Andy
     
  3. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    Yes. I tried that 4 or 5 times with the same results.
     
  4. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    Here's a video of what's going on:

     
  5. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    Jack: Everything looks normal up to the point where you plug in the white plug (the balance connector). At that point the flashing green should change to red and all the red LEDs in a row should light up.

    What's the history of that LiPo please?
    Have you successfully charged it up before?

    Thanks
    Andy.
     
  6. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    Andy,

    I just received these batteries and charger on Wednesday with my new M5. This is the first time I've attempted to charge the batteries. I have only been able to use the Mōvi for the amount of charge remaining on one of these batteries

    Because this problem exists with both of the included batteries, I am guessing that this issue lies with the charger itself.
     
  7. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    Jack: I'd email support@freeflysystems.com and open a trouble ticket with them -- as you say the charger seems to to be the problem.

    Andy.
     
  8. Miv Fournier

    Miv Fournier New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2014
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Stupid question, but is it possible you are putting the white plug in upside-down?
     
  9. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    Nah. I thought about that, but it doesn't go in at all upside down :p
     
  10. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    Nope -- for two reasons:

    1. The red wire (as shown in the video) is towards the front of the charger (I checked that!)
    2. If you succeeded I suspect there would be this amazingly bright flash and you might be short of some eyebrows. :) The balance leads red and black wires are connected (in effect) to the main power leads red and black wire. You'd be shorting out the battery and it would dump a huge amount of current -- we're talking arc welding...

    Andy
     
  11. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    Well I'm sure glad it didn't fit in when I tried that!

    BTW: I emailed support and they will be sending a replacement asap. Thanks for the help.
     
  12. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    If this were to have happened on set, the good news is that most hobby shops sell LiPo chargers -- you just need one for a 4S Lipo.

    Andy.
     
  13. Ben Lloyd

    Ben Lloyd New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2014
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    I am experiencing the same thing, but with only one of my batteries. Kind of rules out the charger?
     
  14. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    That would certainly seem to the be the case, Ben. What's the history of the battery that is giving you the trouble? Has it been kept fully charged or run flat at all?

    Andy.
     
  15. Ben Lloyd

    Ben Lloyd New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2014
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    This battery is a week-old infant, so it doesn't have much history. It has never been charged by me. I'm not sure what you mean by 'run flat'. Does that mean completely out of juice? The Mōvi dropped to 1 illuminated LED and started to loose stiffness; at that point I stopped as I figured the battery needed to be recharged. Did I run it flat?
     
  16. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    Sorry Ben....that was just a colloquial way of saying over-discharged and no, what you did would not have over-discharged it.
    I suspect you need to send an email to support@freeflysystems.com to ask FF how best to proceed...that's presuming you're in the N. America. If you're not, then contact your dealer, please.

    Andy.
     
  17. Just a quick clarification. We support all customers (via the support@freeflysystems.com address) who have purchased their unit from Freefly directly (US or otherwise). The only time we ask that you contact a dealer is if you have purchased your unit from them.
     
  18. Andy Johnson-Laird

    Andy Johnson-Laird Administrator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2012
    Messages:
    10,383
    Likes Received:
    1,164
    Thanks for the clarification, Denise.
    Andy.
     
  19. Ray Roman

    Ray Roman New Member

    Joined:
    May 6, 2014
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Was there any resolution to this issue? I have the same problem with one of my batteries, where there is just a slow flashing green light on the charger. Thank you!
     
  20. Jack Klink

    Jack Klink New Member

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2013
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    1
    The resolution for me was to just wait a day with the charger unplugged. They also sent me a new one right before it started working again. I'd contact support with the issue. The more people they have with this issue, the more likely they are to diagnose it.
     

Share This Page