1 year old Xtar 18650 (3100mAh) charged three times - gone open-circuit - unusual?

Hi

As subject line says

I have a couple of Xtar 18650 's (3100mAh), and use them in an Ultrafire WF502B. Each cell has only been charged at the most 3 times.

Tried torch this morning (having been working yesterday) and it was dead. Tried another cell, so torch fine. Put XTAR cell in WP6 -II charger, and showed green light. Measured voltage of cell - 0 volts.

Is this typical for a cell just to fail like this?

Appreciate any comments.

Regards

KSR

kennethsross said:

Is this typical for a cell just to fail like this?

Click to expand...

Only if you trip the protection.

The cell is protected. Charge it.

HKJ said:

Only if you trip the protection.

Click to expand...

Will this reset by itself?

Most charge's will reset the protection but I think some won't if they don't apply a small amount of current to the cell. As in, some charger's won't "see" the cell if it is tripped and will flow no current. However, I think this is fairly uncommon. Put the cells in the charger for a little while and then retest the voltage. If they are still at zero then let us know. You might have to give them a little jump start using another cell but I'm not sure about the process to do that safely. I've never had to do that.

Similar thread with answer... http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?381228-Redilast-3100mAh-3-7v-18650-0-volts