Thunder AC6 Charger Issues
 

Hello All,
I bought a Thunder AC6 a few months back and haven't really used it until this past month and seem to be having an issue. For some reason the charger never stops charging unless it hit the 120 timer cutoff. Is this something anyone else has had issues with by any chance?

I contacted HobbyParts and was told it was my batteries. So I got another charger on CL and tried it out. The charger charged and discharged my battery before the timer cuttoff so the issue was not my batteries. I let the folks at HPZ know and they told me I could get a refund or an RMA so I chose to get a refund. The next day I was told it was out of the 30 warranty period so nothing could be done.

What do I do with this charger now? Toss it? Or do I try to replace the balance board first before I toss it?

Am relatively new to lipos so any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!

That's odd, I have three and haven't experienced this. How many mah is your battery? When you set it up, did you set it for the correct settings and balance charge? Usually the charger will alert you if a setting is off.

Another option is to set the capacity shut off to whatever your mah is to have it auto off then.

sorry about your luck there man. but lesson to be learned here is never listen to the hobby shop workers.

If you could post more information on the setting you are using and the battery it could be something simple. Technically I can charge a 5000mah lipo for over two hours without it shutting off if the charger is set at .5 amp charge.

I charge my 2s 5000mAh lipos at 5A using the balance setting. Should it take the charger more than 120 mins to go from 3.8v to 4.2v?

Cap shutoff is set to 5000.

Web it shuts down, does it still display the mah it put in? It should charge at 5a within that amount of time. When you start to charge it again and you view the cells, are they going up?

What batteries are you running?

Running Gens Ace 2s 5000mAh 40C with maybe 5-7 cycles through them.

I ran a test today using two chargers and the two batteries.

Settings used were balance charge, 5amps and 2s.

Sigma II EQ with battery 1 started at 3.84v and 3.85v vs.
Thunder AC6 with battery 2 started at 3.86v and 3.87v

Results

Sigma stopped after 102 mins and at 8.38v and shows 03168 on the bottom right of the LCD (mAh) - cell voltages are 4.20v and 4.19v

Thunder stopped after 121 mins and at 8.40v and shows 03298 on the bottom right of the LCD (mAh) - cell voltages are 4.20v and 4.19v

It appears that the Thunder is having a harder time determining if the charge is complete but at least it finished!

But 2 hours for a balance charge seems like a long time. I think at 60 mins both batteries were close to 4.20 but both chargers kept going on trickle I guess. Someone on another one of the forums I visit proposed just skipping the balance charge and just use the regular charge but monitor voltage. Maybe that's my issue, I balance charge and most people don't?

That sounds about right. It takes about that long for my 5.2k 2c batteries. They all go slower at the end to finish the charge, that's a lipo deal. I'm glad that it worked this time.

Some people skip balance charging and you will get opinions on both sides of the fence. I personally balance charge every battery every time but that's just me and I'm not saying its the right way. Lipos can be finicky when or if he cells get out of balance; however they may go several chargings without getting that wAy. I would only suggest reading the batteries manufacturer suggestions to form your own opinion.

I would also suggest possibly getting an extra couple of batteries to allow more running while the others charge.

Glad it's at least trying now! Have a good one.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

Brand gone bad?
 

Hi all,
I purchased a Thunder AC6 Charger a couple years ago and heard nothing but rave reviews, and I really liked it myself. So I purchased a 2nd one about 3 months ago. The first time I used it, it overheated badly. I called HobbyPartz and they said to return it. They sent another one. This one did not overheat and seemed fine. I don't run a lot in the winter so it doesn't get the workout like during the summer. But today I was charging batteries - did a couple with no incident, no overheating. About halfway through the
3rd battery, it signaled "connection break" so I unplugged it, removed the battery and checked the leads on the battery and used a balance board to see if the balance connection wire had gone bad. Everything was fine. So I plugged the battery charger back in to do a different battery and it immediately started smoking. So now, the 2nd new AC6 is crap too. I did notice from the get-go that the plugs for the battery connection didn't fit tightly into the charger and would wobble. Every time I send one of these back, it is about $10 shipping. I am starting to think this brand has gone bad. Anyone else have trouble with a RECENT purchase of a NEW Thunder AC6. I am now looking for a different brand - even though I will have to pay more. Any input would be appreciated. I will call HobbyPartz, but I'm not so sure I want a third one, especially since total postage alone so far has cost me $20 and would be another $10 to send it back again - I'd rather put that wasted postage money on a quality product. Thanks.

No recent purchases, no. I have four now but all would be older stock. I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you. Hopefully it's not widespread.

How old are yours? A friend of mine bought one a few weeks before I bought my first one and he says now it doesn't always fully charge a battery - will turn off before a battery is charged because he says he can put the same battery on a different charger after taking it off the AC6 and it will continue to charge on a different charger. I really liked this charger too. I haven't called Hobbypartz yet, don't know whether there's any point in it as I don't want to pay to send it back even if they would exchange it. Would probably just get another defective one. Too bad, they were nice chargers for awhile.

Here's my suggestion...Cellpro PL6...no more charger headaches, no more waiting forever (102 minutes...seriously??) for a charge. Dead accurate and fast balance charging.