OPUS BC3100 v2.2 not detecting 18650 battery - help

LRB

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Hello, I have recently received my Opus BC3100 v2.2 charger, and I promptly proceeded to test it. First, I inserted a just-received Eastshine E35U and the charger immediately came to life, and started charging it. I was able to do everything the manual says it can do (e.g. change the current, etc.). I am now running a "TEST CHARGE" cycle to see how much this battery can hold.

I then tried some new-but-not-used-for-a-year Panasonic 18650s, and the Opus charger would not "detect" them. It would show "null" on the display. I waited. I switched slots. I switched batteries (I have several of these Panasonics). All to no avail. Always "null".

So then I put these Panasonics on my XTAR VC2 charger, and it immediately showed near 0V and started charging. Those are up to 1155 mAh (and climbing).

In other words, the batteries were drained pretty badly it seems. The Opus seems unable to do anything with them, while the XTAR seems to have no problem.

Am I doing something wrong?

Your help is much appreciated. Thanks.
 

Gauss163

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Generally it is not safe to continue using Li-ion cells that have been overdischarged too far (below 1.5V to 2V depending on the cell). So a well-designed Li-ion charger should (by default) refuse to charge such overdischarged cells.

Note that multichemistry chargers may require heuristics to distinguish between NiMh and Li-ion (including protected cells at 0V due to UVP), and it is likely that some chargers have problems correctly (and safely) distinguishing all of the possible cases.
 

HotWire

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I've had a similar experience with my Opus charger and my Xtar VC4 charger…. Not for the level of charge, but failing to charge in the Opus at all, but will charge in the Xtar without problem. Cannot explain it. I've tried improving the Opus connectors with small magnets, cleaning with electronic cleaner, even sanding! I now use the Xtar most of the time and use the Opus once in a while when needed. Strange….
 

n3eg

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I use the Opus for lithium cells, and I connect clip leads to check individual cells of a hacked battery pack to see if it's worth breaking apart further. If it won't charge at all, I recycle it. I've found that overdischarged cells are more likely to self-discharge later.
 

Gauss163

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I've had a similar experience with my Opus charger and my Xtar VC4 charger…. Not for the level of charge, but failing to charge in the Opus at all, but will charge in the Xtar without problem. Cannot explain it. I've tried improving the Opus connectors with small magnets, cleaning with electronic cleaner, even sanding! I now use the Xtar most of the time and use the Opus once in a while when needed. Strange….

See my reply above. There is no problem with the Opus. By design it correctly refuses to charge an overdischarged cell because generally this is not safe to do. Any charger that does charge overdischarged cells should be rejected if you take seriously safety matters (and you should since Li-ion can be very dangerous if not handled properly, e.g. see the Smoke and Fire subforum for the serious injuries many have suffered).
 

HotWire

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(See my reply above. There is no problem with the Opus. By design it correctly refuses to charge an overdischarged cell because generally this is not safe to do. Any charger that does charge overdischarged cells should be rejected if you take seriously safety matters (and you should since Li-ion can be very dangerous if not handled properly, e.g. see the Smoke and Fire subforum for the serious injuries many have suffered).)

My Opus often refuses to charge cells that have not been overly discharged. See my first post in this thread. It often refuses to charge any cell, then for no apparent reason will charge them normally…. I rotate my li ion cells so it is rare that one becomes overly discharged. I now use the XTAR VC4 most of the time. No problems there. It is the Opus that will end up in the trash….
 
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My Opus works fine. The capacity tests are more accurate than the typical 5% to 10% off[high].

I compare the numbers to HKJ,,a fine gentleman I have been following for 7 years.
 

terryoregon

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Speaking of HJK, this is from his review site . . .

From the review of the XTAR Dragon here:
  • At 0V battery voltage the charger will report error.
  • From 0.01V it will start a regular charge

No such observations were noted on the Opus here.

I think all we have here are design differences between chargers.
 

Gauss163

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^^^ Yes, as I said, above, by design the Opus will refuse to charge overdischarged cells because it is generally unsafe to do so. It is very poor design that XTAR puts its users as risk by doing so.
 

terryoregon

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It is very poor design that XTAR puts its users as risk by doing so

You should contact HJK and let him know he left out that warning. I'm sure he would be open to looking at all your data that proves it's unsafe.
 

Gauss163

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You should contact HJK and let him know he left out that warning. I'm sure he would be open to looking at all your data that proves it's unsafe.

HKJ does not perform comprehensive safety tests. Nor does any other reviewer that I have seen. It is the responsibility of the user to educate themselves on Li-ion safety because many (if not all) consumer-level charger manufacturers either lack competence on such matters (or simply don't care).

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to Li-ion safety (e.g. see the Smoke and Fire subforum for some of the horrific injuries suffered by users who were not educated on Li-ion safety - which include a lost eye, a hole burnt in a tongue and leg, houses burnt down, etc.
 

Nev

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If charging lithium protected cells that has been tripped , the opus won't recognise a battery , to get it charging you need to do the paper clip trick , or use a different charger like the xtarvc4 which will automatically untrip them.
 

peter yetman

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Yes, that's a thought. Are the cells that don't work, protected? If so the protection has tripped and the Xtar is resetting them. In which case the cells won't have actually gone down to zero and are safe.

P
 

HotWire

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I found the problem with my Opus charger. I'd planned on discarding it, but put it in a drawer instead. A couple of weeks ago I got it out and played with it. I cleaned the metal tracks with isopropyl alcohol and then Dexoit. I've had not further problem with it. I use it almost every day for both NiMH and li ion batteries. Works like it did when new.
 
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