Did I kill Li-ion battery pack?

[noisebeam]

I bought this battery and charger in Nov. 2006 and used them all the time for 10W HID light - didn't noticed any lifetime degradation issues.

In Oct. 2008 I stopped using it as I got a new LED headlight. I mistakenly kept it plugged in charger until today. (spare me the lectures)

I just went to use it and I get only ~10min (vs. 3hrs+) of run time from the HID. After it stops powering light I can charge it back up (charger light goes red when charging, green when ready) for ~15min and then back to HID and it works again.

I assume keeping it in storage like that killed it. The charger if working right should not have been charging during that time.

 

[TooManyGizmos]

I have seen it mentioned on here that Li-Ion cells start degrading from the time they are manufactured .

Some say they only last 3 to 5 years , others say maybe up to 10 years . ( I believe the 3 to 5 )

Internal resistance increases as they age.

So I think your battery pack is just OLD .... and will no longer accept a charge.

But I wouldn't leave the next pack plugged in and charging at all times .
.

 

[noisebeam]

Yeah, I had considered age too.

The charger claims: "Built in IC to cut off power automatically when battery is fully charged at 12.6V."

Not sure if when sitting there for months if it never provides charge again.

Main question really is if it is finished - to be disposed of properly.

 

[VidPro]

i dont think that pack can be "balanced" either, if you replace it at its original costs, you could get an RC pack with balance taps AND a cheap balance charger for little more than you spent the first time.
then you can have a balanced pack, and with a RC charger you can have a "storage" charge.
best of all 3 worlds, when you got to replace. You get a new pack, you now have balacing, and you have a easy to apply storage charge.

Now lets Assume for a moment that only one cell in that pack is actually bad, the age of the pack means you cant just replace one cell, and the pack would never be matched, bad match and no balancing and your right back where you started again. so little about it is salvagable as a WHOLE item. some of the cells might still be good IF they were good cells to begin with.

at any rate the pack and every battery in it would be concidered BAD, untill you are sure that it is not. so it would be concidered dangerous to charge untill you confirm the state of the cells.

 

[AlexLED]

I have seen it mentioned on here that Li-Ion cells start degrading from the time they are manufactured .

Some say they only last 3 to 5 years , others say maybe up to 10 years . ( I believe the 3 to 5 )

Internal resistance increases as they age.

So I think your battery pack is just OLD .... and will no longer accept a charge.

But I wouldn't leave the next pack plugged in and charging at all times .
.

Fully agree !
Apart from my belief in a lifespan of only 2-4 years.
(Deep discharges, storing fully charged and heat contributes to the degrading.)

 

[noisebeam]

Thanks.

I'm not going to replace it. Would much rather put the money towards another LED light instead.

 

[noisebeam]

Before I get rid of this light for good...

The 1:1 replacement for the battery pack is this. $42 and probably good for 2yrs, there are 4.4ah and 4.8ah option for more cash.

The HID light is similar to this, but mine was the older 10W version.

Anything I can do to revive this light for cheap, even if not practical as long as it is safe.

$42 would be far better spent in my opinion toward a good LED light instead and there is no point in spending even more money for individually tapped cells and charger for a light that is older/used technology.

I do have dozens of NiMH AA batteries, but that would take packaging 10 or so and regulating I assume.

 

[VidPro]

chances are good that you could run the HID off of ni-?? things easily(without extra regulation), and with a slow charger you can balance ni-?? things easily. and they would last a bit longer (than the li-ion)if your uses are more sporatic, and weight isnt a big issue. I have run the 10W hid off of all 3 kinds of battery.
Just find out if you have the 10V type HID or the 12V type (or whatever) 10 - 15.5V(it says there IF that is the one you actually have) and adjust the number of cells in the pack accordingly, tack in any voltage drops through any longer wiring, and calculate the charged and neerly discharged voltages, get really close test it a bit then go.

the same people who sell that li-ion pack (you linked) have or will toss together anything else you need in a ni-?? pack too. and they have balanced too.

would be cool to use LSD ni-mh cells, like some Accupower evolution C cells or some enloop AAs for something that gets sporatic use, but you want to be ABLE to use it.

tossing together some cells (of about any type) at home to run the pack would be fine, just remember that reverse charge stuff, and longevity will come from matched cells and proper discharges and balanced charges however. so your really going to want to put cells that test similar together, not say some batteries that have really offset self-discharge or different (actual) capacities, its a series pack, they live MANY times longer when treated many times better.

as far as the li-poly packs, for the SAME price you could get a balanced flight pack from like Hobby king, its not like you Have to balance it to charge it, its that you CAN at least, because there is taps on MANY series li-ion packs, i cant see MYSELF buying one without them ever again. the taps also can at LEAST allow you to check the voltages of each cell without a disassembly, giving you a better idea of what is going on.
as far as Capacity, go High-Highest if you can, some of these li-polys are overrated, so if you want 4.4 get the 5