Trouble charging Trackbots
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grudolph
Oct 1, 2009, 4:16:30 PM10/1/09
to Systronix TrackBot
Bruce,
I've had the trackbot robots sitting around unused for a while.
Long enough that the battery (in two of them) appears to be dead.
When I plug the charger into the wall, the charger's LED flashes red,
then green, then turns off.
After a day or so, the Trackbot still is not charged.
I cannot find the instructions for charging.
What should I check next?
I've had the trackbot robots sitting around unused for a while.
Long enough that the battery (in two of them) appears to be dead.
When I plug the charger into the wall, the charger's LED flashes red,
then green, then turns off.
After a day or so, the Trackbot still is not charged.
I cannot find the instructions for charging.
What should I check next?
grudolph
Oct 2, 2009, 10:21:10 AM10/2/09
to Systronix TrackBot
I fixed the problem by disconnecting and then reconnecting JP6.
Now the robots appear to be charging just fine.
Now the robots appear to be charging just fine.
Bruce Boyes
Oct 5, 2009, 7:16:13 PM10/5/09
to trac...@googlegroups.com
At 08:21 10/02/2009, you wrote:
I fixed the problem by disconnecting and then reconnecting JP6.
Now the robots appear to be charging just fine.
Good...
The standard "smart" chargers are inexpensive but not very smart. If the batteries are really dead they will refuse to try. In that case you can *VERY CAREFULLY* use a bench power supply with meters and connect to the + and - sides of the power input connector (use the charger wire colors for reference) and there is a large + on the trackbot board. Start at 6 volts with no more than 500 mA of current. Increase the voltage gradually to about 7 volts, keeping current under 500 mA. The current will taper off unless the cells are damaged (in which case it's time for a new battery).
Then after this "rejuventation" which takes only a few minutes, the charger should work.
Leaving the charger connected overnight may also trickle charge them enough to rejuvenate them.
Always remove the battery connection jumper JP6 before storing for more than a day. Batteries will last 12 months or more if disconnected.
Thanks for using TrackBot!
Bruce
The standard "smart" chargers are inexpensive but not very smart. If the batteries are really dead they will refuse to try. In that case you can *VERY CAREFULLY* use a bench power supply with meters and connect to the + and - sides of the power input connector (use the charger wire colors for reference) and there is a large + on the trackbot board. Start at 6 volts with no more than 500 mA of current. Increase the voltage gradually to about 7 volts, keeping current under 500 mA. The current will taper off unless the cells are damaged (in which case it's time for a new battery).
Then after this "rejuventation" which takes only a few minutes, the charger should work.
Leaving the charger connected overnight may also trickle charge them enough to rejuvenate them.
Always remove the battery connection jumper JP6 before storing for more than a day. Batteries will last 12 months or more if disconnected.
Thanks for using TrackBot!
Bruce
Time is the quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working.
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