Why didn't my batteries get fried?

joeNuggetz · #1 11-12-2002, 05:44 PM

I have a 2 cell ZZ. I made a custom charger out of 3 AA Batteries. I usually charge the car for like 3 minutes. Anyway, since its a manual process, I put the car on the charger and forgot about it. I noticed that the car was still attached when the movie I was watching ended. It was on there for at least a half hour or more.

Well, I tried to race the car around and it worked. I even took a sniff to see if anything was burning. Nothing. Didnt feel any heat either. So I run the car around for a bit. 3 hours later, I try to run the car, and the damn thing was running as if I just charged it. Usually, any ZZ or bit that I charge and not use for a while looses all of its juice. I was suprised to see that everything was still good and that the car worked hours after the initial charge.

Anyone know why this is? BTW, I'm using 2 stock ZZ batteries in the ZIP and like I said, 3 duracell ultras in my custom charger.

Thanks

Clint · #2 11-13-2002, 04:05 AM

i have a 2 cell zip zap. i am still using the charger but wired in an a/c adapter jack(switching style so i can leave batteries in the controller).

i bought a 3 cell battery holder and an adaptaplug, soldered it together and now have a 4.5v battery pack for the controller for charging purposes..the red/green light works fine(normally i charge it twice, or just once after 10 minutes of use).
when the car is done charging i pull the battery pack off the back and use the controller as normal.

i also have a 4.5v 800mA a/c adapter that works great for charging with the controller when near an a/c outlet.

by quickcharging we really arent using the full capacity of those little batteries. i can charge them 3 times in a row and they still dont get warm. the dual serial setup runs for 20 minutes at least.
imagine how long the runtime would be if we trickle charged them to full capacity. WOW!

SuavePowerBaby · #3 11-13-2002, 03:41 PM

Something similar happened to me today. In class my friends were playing with my 2.4v modded clone and left it on my 6v charger for way to long. To make a long story short, my other friends were saying they smelled burning and then they noticed smoke coming out of my car. The battery got so hot that it melted the solder I had on it. While it was still wet, I reattached the wire, and made sure all the connections were right. The car still ran like a champ. What had happened was the piece of plastic that I had for insulation from the one battery contact fell out of place, so I had 6v charging only 1 battery. The battery got really hot. Odd how it performs like it never happened, except that the plastic wrap around the battery is melted and cracked. No obvious loss in charge life.

In conclusion, these batteries can get hot as a mug and still work.

DesertJedi · #4 11-14-2002, 12:31 AM

Clint...genius, shear genius! So c'mon electronically adept dudes....how about a trickle charger???

grimoire · #5 11-14-2002, 07:30 AM

So, in terms of current/voltage/behavior, what's the difference between a quick charge and a trickle charge? Would a single battery ZZ benefit from a trickle charge(r)?