Hitec X4 AC Plus settings for Dji Phantom Battery

[xstatic]

I have the Hitec X4 plus charger and am unsure of the settings for my lipo battery

I select balanced charge but what settings for folts and amps?
I assume 2.7 V and 2 amps for the original phantom batteries

But are there other settings I have to deal with?

Also what do I set for the storage mode?

Can someone walk me through the procedure

Also It seems I can only charge one battery as there are not enough adapters. any suggestion for doing more batteries? Do i need to buy the adapters

Also the phantom battery has 3 grey and one whie whire! Is the white one the number 4 pin? As I ant to plug that connector into the charger and not use the balance board

i assume I would use the HX board

 

[Racklefratz]

I have the Hitec X4 plus charger and am unsure of the settings for my lipo battery

I select balanced charge but what settings for folts and amps?
I assume 2.7 V and 2 amps for the original phantom batteries

Nope. Phantom stock lipo is a 3S 2200mah 11.1v battery. Select 11.1v on the charger. Charge rate is a variable, and every "expert" seems to have a different opinion. You could use 2.0 amps and be safe. I've charged mine at 4.0 amps and they don't get warm. Be sure to plug the balance lead into the charger as well as the discharge leads for balance charging. The grey lead on the opposite side from the white lead on the Phantom battery is the negative one to match up with the negative pin on the charger's balance port.

But are there other settings I have to deal with?

There's a lot more information than I could put in this post about all the charger set-up settings on that charger - spend some time with the manual and researching on the internet. But the default settings the charger came with will probably work to just charge the Phantom battery with the voltage and charge rate set as above.

Also what do I set for the storage mode?

11.1 v will be the voltage for any kind of charging the Phantom battery. I'd use 1 amp for storage and discharge. Storage cut-off voltage is automatic on that charger, as is the cut-off for "charge" and "Fast charge", assuming you have the battery voltage set up properly to begin with.

Also It seems I can only charge one battery as there are not enough adapters. any suggestion for doing more batteries?

That's correct; this charger only comes with one XT60 adapter - you'll have to buy more if you want to charge more than one battery at once.

the phantom battery has 3 grey and one whie whire! Is the white one the number 4 pin? As I ant to plug that connector into the charger and not use the balance board

As explained above, the last grey wire on the far end of the Phantom battery balance connector goes to the charger's balance port negative pin. You could use the balance board, but it's unnecessary. You can plug directly into the charger's balance port.

There's a lot of good information about lipo charging at http://www.rchelicopterfun.com/rc-lipo-batteries.html, as well as lots of other sites. Just use caution about which ones to trust. People often have a tendency to want to sound authoritative when they are not, and sometimes just repeat things they've heard or seen elsewhere - that's where internet myths get their origin. Pretty high fog count out there.

 

[xstatic]

Thanks rackle ( for short) for that great information. I should be able to get my battery charged now. It is just surprising there is no real info of what data to you need to look for and how to apply it. A simple guide to charging batteries should be included. They should say look at these specs on your battery, do whatever math if any should be applied. Just plug in these numbers with your battery specs and it would solve a lot of questions for everyone. But I guess with these made in china products we can't expect too much!

So foe now I guess we are stuck with these forums for info. At leastvthey help!

Thanks again

 

[Racklefratz]

It is just surprising there is no real info of what data to you need to look for and how to apply it. A simple guide to charging batteries should be included. They should say look at these specs on your battery, do whatever math if any should be applied. Just plug in these numbers with your battery specs and it would solve a lot of questions for everyone. But I guess with these made in china products we can't expect too much!

It can be confusing, and even more so due to non-standardization in the industry. For example, I ran across a website on lipo charging that said lipo charge rates were shown on the battery labeling as a "capital C followed by a number", and that the discharge rate is shown as a "small c followed by a number". The problem is, some do, but most don't. The number most commonly seen on batteries is the "20C" or "30C" after the Mah capacity number, and that's the DISCHARGE rate, not the charge rate. More and more, I've been seeing recommendations to determine a safe charge rate by just using the battery's capacity in amps (Mah/1000). This would mean the rate for a stock Phantom 2200 Mah 3S 11.1v battery would be 2.2 amps.

I bought this same charger not long ago, and, being new to the world of lipo charging, trying to get it figured out was like drinking from a firehose. Lipos are strange things - they offer probably the best solution in terms of size and power capacity of any battery out there, but if you get something wrong during charging, storing, etc, they can burn or even explode. So it's important to get it right, and, if in doubt, err on the conservative side. Having said that, never trickle-charge a lipo. If you Google that, you'll see many warnings against doing it. I only noted it because it's not intuitive. Oh, and always insert the banana plugs into the charger port before attaching the battery, to prevent the banana plugs shorting together resulting in damage to the battery or a possible fire or explosion.

If it helps, here are my Hitec X4 AC Plus charger settings from the menu item "User Set Program": LiPo V Type 3.7v LiPo/LiIo/LiFe CHK Time 5 min NiMH Sensitivity D.Peak Default NiCd Sensitivity D.Peak Default USB/Temp Select Temp Cut-Off 80C Waste Time CHG/DCHG 15min Safety Timer ON 120min Capacity Cut-Off ON 2250mAh (Note: for 3S 2200 Phantom battery only) Key Beep ON Buzzer ON Input Power Low Cut-Off 11.0V

So foe now I guess we are stuck with these forums for info. At leastvthey help!

There are some good resources out there - the thing about forums is that, while there are a few knowledgeable people there, most aren't, and it's hard to know if a post is from one of them, or from an 8-year old on daddy's PC who hasn't a clue and is only repeating something he saw elsewhere. I try to get my information from other websites, preferably those in the business of servicing or manufacturing this stuff.

Some websites I've found helpful are:
https://sites.google.com/site/tjinguyte ... ng-how-tos
http://www.amainhobbies.com/team/2012/0 ... batteries/
http://clarkflyers.com/News_Articles/Ti ... ancing.htm

and one more, that may look like what you are looking for, a charge rate calculator.
http://2bfly.com/tools/
The problem is, to use it, you need the actual "charge rate" number, and it's not provided on very many batteries. This number is NOT the "20C" or "30-50C" stuff you do see on batteries - those are the battery DISCHARGE rate numbers, and using them for charging any lipo battery could be lead to disastrous results. At the end of the day, I'll just use the battery's amperage rating (ex: 2200 Mah/1000=2.2 amps) as my charge rate until I find something better (that I trust).

 

[k8xd]

You did a great job of explaining LiPo charging Rackle.. At this time, wish there was a thumbs up emote....

 

[Racklefratz]

You did a great job of explaining LiPo charging Rackle.. At this time, wish there was a thumbs up emote....

Thanks. I own the same charger xtatic bought, and I remember how confused I was at first - still uncertain about some things. Just trying to help if I could. Sorry it had to be so long, but there's a lot if info, and it's kind of important to get it right - lipos can bite.

Allow me to emote for you......

 

[xstatic]

i set up my phantom battery with the charger at these settings

lipo charger
2.0 amps. 11.1 V (3S)

lipo Balance
2.0A. 11.1V (3S)

Lipo Fast Charge
2.0 A 11.1V( 3S)

Lipo Storage
1.0A. 11.1V(3S)

Lipo Discharge
1.0A 9.0V(3S)

So when I went to go to storage on my just used battery, I sensed the charger giving off a bit of a smell, and noticed smoke coming out of the unit. I unplugged the power immediately. Do I have a defective unit?

In storage mode I get the message battery check
r: 3ser. s: 3Ser
Cancel (stop)
Confirm. (Enter)

When I engage to start and do a check

I see three 3.73 and below all three are 0.00 V

Is my unit defective or is it me. becuase after about 45 seconds I smell the unit overheating

 

[Racklefratz]

So when I went to go to storage on my just used battery, I sensed the charger giving off a bit of a smell, and noticed smoke coming out of the unit. I unplugged the power immediately. Do I have a defective unit?

I'd call Hitec tech support. I don't think it should do that.

When I engage to start and do a check I see three 3.73 and below all three are 0.00 V

After you press and hold "start" to begin the process, the display should show

Li3S (charging amperage) (Tl battery voltage)
STO (charging time) (mah into battery)

If you press "Inc" you can see the voltage of the individual cells.

Is my unit defective or is it me. becuase after about 45 seconds I smell the unit overheating

I can smell warm electronics in the air from the cooling fan, but never any smoke. There may be a problem with your charger if it does that.

 

[xstatic]

I called up tech support and the zeros below the voltage was normal. I dig get to the display of milliamps and voltage rise, so everything was ok. The original burning smell has gone and that one wisp of smoke never returned. I just think it was from being heated up with some dust or particles of some sort being burnt off. As I use the charge,r the heated smell gets less noticeable, and nothing seems to be getting hot, so I think the unit is fine.

I guess I won'f have to send it back

 

[Buk]

I'm still learning battery charging and appreciate everyone's discussion of the topic.

In storage mode I get the message battery check
r: 3ser. s: 3Ser
Cancel (stop)
Confirm. (Enter)

When I engage to start and do a check

I see three 3.73 and below all three are 0.00 V

The r and s are what you have set versus what the charger actually sees.
3 cell series battery. If those two do not match, you've got something set wrong. Do not push enter until you correct the error and those two, r and s, match.

You have a charger capable of charging batteries with up to six cells. So if you are charging a 3 cell battery, the three zeros have no bearing. The three extra zeros would have values if you were charging a four, five or six cell battery.

 

[xstatic]

Thanks for that info. It seems the manual doesn't tell you that you are displaying 6 cells, even on a three cell charge.

 

[Racklefratz]

Glad xstatic has everything under control. I noticed a smell of warm electronics more the 1st time I powered mine up, and not much at all now.

The r and s are what you have set versus what the charger actually sees. 3 cell series battery. If those two do not match, you've got something set wrong. Do not push enter until you correct the error and those two, r and s, match.

I'd offer a variation of that just for food for thought.

I recently bought a couple of 800 mah 3S batteries to power the Attitude SD FPV transmitter on my Phantom. I hadn't even put them on the charger yet. I happened to be reviewing a .pdf from e-Flight on lipo do's and don't's, and in it, found some pearls of wisdom like:

"Do not charge a 3S (11.1V nominal) battery if it is below 9.3V"
"Do not charge a 3S (11.1V nominal) battery if it is at or above 12.3V"
"A battery that is below the minimum safe starting voltage has been overdischarged or has experienced a failure of one or more of the cells and should not be charged. The minimum safe starting voltage is approximately 3.1V per cell."

The document contains other useful recommendations as well, such as never charge a lipo at greater than the battery's capacity in amps (1C). That would be 2.1 amps for our 2200 mah Phantom batteries.

When I bought my Hitec X4 Plus AC charger, I also bought this lipo battery checker, which I wouldn't do without.

Smaller than a pack of cigarettes, it operates from the balancing connector of the battery being checked, and can provide total battery voltage, total percentage of charge, individual cell voltages, and the cell max-min voltage difference (out of balance condition).

All this leads up to my "variation" - one of my 800 mah batteries had a total voltage of about 9v, and one cell was around 2v, both well below the minimum for safe charging according to e-Flite's guidelines. e-Flite would have me throw a brand new battery away.

The charger wouldn't even recognize it as a 3S battery - the check screen showed "r: 2Ser s:3Ser". I decided to chance it and confirm to start the charge. It accepted that and I charged the battery up to about 50%, around 11.4v, outside on the concrete garage floor, and with a fire extinguisher handy. :roll:

I haven't gone past that point yet, but it didn't explode, and so far, it looks like it might be OK.

 

[xstatic]

I recently bought a couple of 800 mah 3S batteries to power the Attitude SD FPV transmitter on my Phantom. I hadn't even put them on the charger yet. I happened to be reviewing a .pdf from e-Flight on lipo do's and don't's, and in it, found some pearls of wisdom like:

Can you provide a link to that pdf. It sounds really informative. The info you gave on minimun and maxifmum voltages may be invaluable!

 

[Racklefratz]

Can you provide a link to that pdf. It sounds really informative. The info you gave on minimun and maxifmum voltages may be invaluable!

Sure. This is the Google search I did to locate it - couldn't make the document link itself work for some reason. But if you copy/paste this into your location box, it will take you to the .pdf file.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q= ... 3778,d.aWM

 

[xstatic]

I clicken on the pdf link and saved it to my ibooks. thanks for that killer link. Good stuff in it!

 

[Racklefratz]

I clicken on the pdf link and saved it to my ibooks. thanks for that killer link. Good stuff in it!

Great! I'm glad you find it helpful.

I'll be checking out of here - I don't have the time or patience for some of the others here who are "often wrong, but never in doubt". Life's too short. :lol:

Happy flying!

 

[xstatic]

Sorry to see you leave. Check in from time to time! I may. be stranded and need of an answer, which just happens to be now. Once again incomplete instructions from the dealer. I am connecting the two clips together, one is from the 6v bec, the pther is to the f1 on the naza. Unfortunately the clips don't seems to have a preferred way to join. I don't want to reverse the colors. Here is what I see, and I am pretty sure I have it right. But I do prefer thinking I am wrong, and hence safer

ok,the connector from the 6 v bec has three colored wires. The first one is brown which is minus voltage, the next colored wire in the clip is red, which is the plus voltage from the bec. And the last on in the clip is orange which is from the naza f1

this connects to the gimbal clip which is black red then yellow (but it can be reversed to yellow, red then black)

I think colors to match are brown (negative volts from bec) to black on gimbal, red to red (which cant be changes as it is in the middle of the connector and flipping over it will stay in the middle, and the last pair would be orange (f1Naza) to yellow on gimbal

Or should I reverse it?



I figure the

 

[ArshadR]

i set up my phantom battery with the charger at these settings

lipo charger
2.0 amps. 11.1 V (3S)

lipo Balance
2.0A. 11.1V (3S)

Lipo Fast Charge
2.0 A 11.1V( 3S)

Lipo Storage
1.0A. 11.1V(3S)

Lipo Discharge
1.0A 9.0V(3S)

So I just hooked up my unit and am following the suggestions above (thanks!). I too smelled a burnt electronics smell when first powering on the charger, but it's largely gone now. Must be some kind of residue on some component that burns off.

1) Is it safe to set the fast charge to 3.0A?
2) Do you have to set the amount it should discharge to when in storage mode? ie how does it know what 60% of the capacity is?

 

[ActionDrone]

Hello all. I have the same X4 plus charger and I would charge the Phantom 2 batteries. I made the cables but the X4 reports an error when starting the charging, and it doesn't charge the batteries.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.