Warning: Turnigy chargers' JST-XH balance adaptors

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Warning: Turnigy chargers' JST-XH balance adaptors

Postby sutaburosu » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:20 pm

These balance adaptors are supplied with many of Hobbyking's chargers. I suggest you carefully throw yours in the bin if it's anything like mine.

I was reasonably happy with my Mega 400W V2 until a random check with a voltmeter showed it indicating 1V below the true values for the first two cells whilst charging a 6S pack.

After much head-scratching, I finally removed the plastic XH sockets from the adaptor board. Everything suddenly became clear:
2S-6S adaptor crop2.JPG
Dangerously poor soldering on a JST-XH balance adaptor
2S-6S adaptor crop2.JPG (199.86 KiB) Viewed 10567 times


As you can see, the flow soldering is so poor that few of the pins are attached to the traces at all. In this state the current passes around the pins through the narrowest part of the traces, vapourising them. A continuity test showed the charge lead was no longer connected, and 2 of the balance lead pins were open-circuit too.

Perhaps even more worringly, the charger was happily continuing to raise this pack (effectively now a 4S pack plugged into the highest pins of the balance port) pack to a 6S full charge via the 5 remaining pins on the balance port alone. With so many other failsafes on these iMax B6-alikes, I'm disappointed it didn't spot a problem this obvious.

I'm think there's a strong chance this would have caused a fire had I not intervened. Be careful, folks.
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Re: Warning: Turnigy chargers' JST-XH balance adaptors

Postby ergocentric » Thu Aug 30, 2012 5:33 pm

sutaburosu wrote:These balance adaptors are supplied with many of Hobbyking's chargers. I suggest you carefully


resolder it?

Binning it would leave you with a useless charger

Worried about fire? make yourself a charging station out of concrete block and cement board or gypsum drywall.
unconcerned but not indifferent - MAN RAY
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Location: small town, Ontario, Canada


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