Battery Charge Light


Cas

Active Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
613
Hi


Does/should the battery charge light go out once fully charged ?


Not a problem just wondering :)
 
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The battery charge light is tied to whether the charge circuit is still pumping energy into the battery.


By nature of lipo batteries (unlike other batteries which could handle a steady trickle charge), it apparently should stop charging shortly after reaching full. So yes, the charge light should go out. Not going out means it is dumping energy into a full battery and that can lead to puffing. I'm still researching this, trying to collect more data on how to make it behave better.
 
The battery charge light is tied to whether the charge circuit is still pumping energy into the battery.


By nature of lipo batteries (unlike other batteries which could handle a steady trickle charge), it apparently should stop charging shortly after reaching full. So yes, the charge light should go out. Not going out means it is dumping energy into a full battery and that can lead to puffing. I'm still researching this, trying to collect more data on how to make it behave better.


Hi


OK, thanks.
 
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Mine never goes out just changes from amber to green when it is charged ; on the right one light is red & the other is amber . Then when fully charged it is red & green.
 
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That's not normal. On the right are two LEDs, one green, one red. The red one is the charge indicator. When it is on, it is charging. When it is off, it has finished charging and is discharging, or is not plugged in.


The far right one is the power LED. It is green. When it is bright green it is in normal operation, full speed, etc... When it is dim (which, with the red LED beside it, you may be confusing for amber) it is in low power mode. Unless you've done something to the LED controls, it's probably not doing what you think it's doing.
 
That's not normal. On the right are two LEDs, one green, one red. The red one is the charge indicator. When it is on, it is charging. When it is off, it has finished charging and is discharging, or is not plugged in.


The far right one is the power LED. It is green. When it is bright green it is in normal operation, full speed, etc... When it is dim (which, with the red LED beside it, you may be confusing for amber) it is in low power mode. Unless you've done something to the LED controls, it's probably not doing what you think it's doing.
who said i was normal ?? :p
 
Mine never goes out just changes from amber to green when it is charged ; on the right one light is red & the other is amber . Then when fully charged it is red & green.

No, you're mistaking the low-power (dim) green + charging red for a red and an amber light. 1 Red + 0.5 green = amber (the adative properties of colored light). Unplug the charger, and you'll see that the power light is dim green.


Red and green is when it's charging and on.
 
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Mine never goes out just changes from amber to green when it is charged ; on the right one light is red & the other is amber . Then when fully charged it is red & green.

No, you're mistaking the low-power (dim) green + charging red for a red and an amber light. 1 Red + 0.5 green = amber (the adative properties of colored light). Unplug the charger, and you'll see that the power light is dim green.


Red and green is when it's charging and on.
i see now how color blind i was.


please exhue [excuse me]. B)
 
The battery charge light is tied to whether the charge circuit is still pumping energy into the battery.

I'm not sure it is TIED to the charge circuit. It's initialized with the kernel, and I'm not sure if it is on if the software THINKS the unit charges or only if the hardware REALLY does charge it.


There are multiple protection circuits to prevent overcharging - one in the battery AFAIR and also the TI Charger chip should stop.
 
The battery charge light is tied to whether the charge circuit is still pumping energy into the battery.

I'm not sure it is TIED to the charge circuit. It's initialized with the kernel, and I'm not sure if it is on if the software THINKS the unit charges or only if the hardware REALLY does charge it.


There are multiple protection circuits to prevent overcharging - one in the battery AFAIR and also the TI Charger chip should stop.

My red light stays on all night, even when the status reports 100% charged. I'm now no longer using my Pandora until this is fixed - I don't want it to blow up. I've re-seated the battery multiple times. Please fix this ASAP.


D.
 
The battery charge light is tied to whether the charge circuit is still pumping energy into the battery.

I'm not sure it is TIED to the charge circuit. It's initialized with the kernel, and I'm not sure if it is on if the software THINKS the unit charges or only if the hardware REALLY does charge it.


There are multiple protection circuits to prevent overcharging - one in the battery AFAIR and also the TI Charger chip should stop.

My red light stays on all night, even when the status reports 100% charged. I'm now no longer using my Pandora until this is fixed - I don't want it to blow up. I've re-seated the battery multiple times. Please fix this ASAP.

Mine also never switched off and is still working fine after 1,5 years.


First we need to know if it really NEEDS to go out. That's something notaz and / or MWeston should be able to answer.
 
I'm not sure it is TIED to the charge circuit. It's initialized with the kernel, and I'm not sure if it is on if the software THINKS the unit charges or only if the hardware REALLY does charge it.


There are multiple protection circuits to prevent overcharging - one in the battery AFAIR and also the TI Charger chip should stop.
No, it is tied to the charge circuit. An end-of-charge interrupt sent by the TWL is what turns it off, and a restarted-charging interrupt is what turns it back on.


The TI charge chip should stop charging when the battery is full, and in many cases it does, but in some, for whatever reason, it does not: the end-of-charge detection is not triggering. Regular charge rate is 1a which is less than 0.5C for this battery, which should be plenty safe. It is by default configured to stop at 160ma. This means that the amount of energy the charger is putting into the battery has dropped below 160ma. This can only happen if the amount of energy coming out of the battery is very far below 160ma. Even in low power mode, some Pandoras just can't reach that value, or just barely reach it. My charge hack bumps it up to 320ma, a value which, thus far, has been sufficient to reach end of charge for everybody shortly after the battery reaches 4.2 volts.
 
Okay, so I guess we should really use your settings for the next HF6 Betaversion... it seems safer than what we have now :)
 
Just noting that the charge light on my Pandora never seems to switch off when I'm charging over USB. It does seem to work when using the external power supply. (But I don't have any hard data to support either observation.)
 
Finally validated, what a pain!!!!


>By nature of lipo batteries (unlike other batteries which could handle a steady trickle charge),


>it apparently should stop charging shortly after reaching full.


For LiCoO formulation batteries yes, for BEST life only to 90%


LiPo are LiCoO batteries (Co=cobalt, over 50% lithium bats are this formulation)


You can see all details at rcgroups.com , the modelers have been using LiPo for ~5 years,


all the failure modes have been discovered. When a ~$5000 model catches fire, or runs out of power


200 m short of a safe landing, the owner tends to be some annoyed. (or when the car catches fire from charging in trunk!!)


The best answer would be something that does not exist, a BT controlled line switch


(to turn charger on and off), and a cron job to check SOC (state of charge),


and then, depending on user selected parameters, turn charger on or off


If something like this does exist, please speak up


dave
 
Finally validated, what a pain!!!!


>By nature of lipo batteries (unlike other batteries which could handle a steady trickle charge),


>it apparently should stop charging shortly after reaching full.


For LiCoO formulation batteries yes, for BEST life only to 90%


LiPo are LiCoO batteries (Co=cobalt, over 50% lithium bats are this formulation)


You can see all details at rcgroups.com , the modelers have been using LiPo for ~5 years,


all the failure modes have been discovered. When a ~$5000 model catches fire, or runs out of power


200 m short of a safe landing, the owner tends to be some annoyed. (or when the car catches fire from charging in trunk!!)


The best answer would be something that does not exist, a BT controlled line switch


(to turn charger on and off), and a cron job to check SOC (state of charge),


and then, depending on user selected parameters, turn charger on or off


If something like this does exist, please speak up


dave
http://chrisc.bedroomcoders.co.uk/?p=77 leave this running while in low power mode and the machine will power


off once charged, even when its connected to the mains - this is fine for the charger, it doesn't even get warm.


For those that have batteries that don't trip the charged status, WizardStan made a little app to temporarily


alter the threshold, I've tested both working together and it works fine...


End result is a fully charged Pandora in the morning (I leave charging over night usually) that hasn't


been baking its battery all night (if you have one of the few that don't trigger charged status)


I was going to add some kind of gui, but I've had no feedback so if people are using it I assume its fine


as it is...
 
I was going to add some kind of gui, but I've had no feedback so if people are using it I assume its fine


as it is...

After I lost all my settings while installing HF5 betas, I have opted for a policy whereby I no longer test OS stuff on my Pandora until they're built into the hotfix PND releases. Due to the "inflating battery" issue, I've halted all my Pandora work - I'm not even turning it on - until the power issues are fixed - if I charge my Pandora, I stand a very good chance of toxic battery leakage (due to rupture) and cracks in the case due to battery expansion.


To be honest, catastrophic battery wear is something the OPT should have had fixed before the Pandora even came out. I don't mind bugs and holes in the firmware, but the hardware should at least be safe when it's released to consumers.


D.
 
> I've halted all my Pandora work - I'm not even turning it on - until the power issues are fixed


- if I charge my Pandora, I stand a very good chance of toxic battery leakage (due to rupture)


and cracks in the case due to battery expansion.


!!!!


The experience from the modellers (who invariably use "naked" lipo's) is that


1: Do not overcharge by the slightest amount


2: Charge at .5C or less


3: If there is a crash/hard landing get the bettery out of model(unless battery is almost flat)


4: If there is any chance of fire, place battery in a firesafe place promptly


5: If there is any chance that the batt is damaged, cycle twice, out of model


6: Store in off season at 30-40% charge, cool (so as to get 2 seasons out of batt)3.72V?


7: Minimize time at 100% charge (same reason)


(these problems are why some now use A123 cells, LiFePO4, despite lower capacity)


(LiFePO4 is very rugged, almost idiot proof)


Note: the pandora has 2 circuits designed to avoid overcharging, this is NOT a naked lipo


So your answer is: Do not charge higher than 95% on battery guage


If you have voltmeter (DVM) test to see if battery guage is accurate


When (if?) I get my pandora I will be saying more about this issue


@chris_c: Can you adjust charge level, charge end-point in some fashion?


dave
 
> I've halted all my Pandora work - I'm not even turning it on

Hm, calm down, it sounds like you're in panic.


We talked about a cron job controlling battery charging via PM, i found the kernel battery data. This will put you closer to your wish for detailed control of the battery charging. At least you can write a cronjob that log the battery level in intervalls or shut down the pandora. For server mode it is recommended to remove the battery anyway.
 
http://chrisc.bedroomcoders.co.uk/?p=77 leave this running while in low power mode and the machine will power


off once charged, even when its connected to the mains - this is fine for the charger, it doesn't even get warm.


For those that have batteries that don't trip the charged status, WizardStan made a little app to temporarily


alter the threshold, I've tested both working together and it works fine...


End result is a fully charged Pandora in the morning (I leave charging over night usually) that hasn't


been baking its battery all night (if you have one of the few that don't trigger charged status)

Hm, how does this work? Is it possible to disable the AC Input via software to stop charging and shutdown?


If yes, that would be awesome - I didn't know that!


If possible, I'd love to get proper charging added to HF6. Are you subscribed to the developer mailing list?


I want to share my ideas there and get replies about possibilities, etc.
 
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