TrakPower VR-1 Dual Racing Charger - Manual (Page 19)

19
BALANCED VS. NON-BALANCED LITHIUM PACKS
Lithium batteries for R/C are commonly available in two different assembly/wiring confi gurations:
wired for balancing, and non-balanced. It is important to know which confi guration you have
before proceeding. Consult your battery supplier if you are unsure if your battery is wired for
balancing, if it’s not wired for balancing but has a built-in safety circuit, or neither.
WARNING! It is NOT recommended to charge a LiPo battery which is not wired for
balancing, or which does not have a built-in protection circuit! Such types of LiPo batteries
have NO means to protect the equipment or the user from damage that could result from
an overcharge condition of any single cell in the pack.
Packs wired for BALANCING have a unique connector which has more
than two wires going to the pack itself. Such packs SHOULD be charged
with a LiPo charger that is capable of balancing, or with a LiPo charger
that is connected to a separate LiPo cell balancer. The VR-1 has built-in
balancing circuits.
For LiPo batteries with bullet connectors, a different type of balance adapter
other than what is included will need to be used to accommodate the bullet
type connectors. This adapter consists of two 4mm male bullet connectors (one
positive and one negative) and a 2mm male bullet connector for balancing. This
type of adapter is available separately (DTXC2225).
NON-BALANCED packs are wired so the charger can only detect the voltage of the entire pack
(not individual cells), and only have one charge lead. It’s highly recommended to ONLY use such
types of LiPo packs if they have a built-in charge safety circuit which prevents any single cell in
the pack from being overcharged. Simply connect the battery’s main power lead to the charger’s
banana jacks (note proper polarity).
CHARGING LITHIUM BATTERIES
WARNING! Always follow the instructions below when charging LiPo/Li-Ion or LiFe batteries!
LiPo, Li-Ion and LiFe batteries should NEVER get warm or change shape anytime during
charge! Disconnect batteries IMMEDIATELY, ONLY if safe to do so, if they become excessively
warm or hot or change shape at any time, and refer to the Troubleshooting Guide in the rear of
this manual for details. LiPo, Li-Ion and LiFe cells are much more dangerous than NiCd or
NiMH batteries, and pose a signifi cant FIRE HAZARD which can result in causing bodily harm
and/or permanent damage to the cells and the surrounding environment. It is recommended to
use this charger’s temperature cutoff function when charging lithium batteries, to provide an
additional layer of safety. See page 8 for details.
BATTERY CONNECTION
After the correct model memory has been selected and/or all necessary programming is
completed, the correct adapter(s) will need to be installed.
To balance a LiPo battery during charge, connect the balance board adapter that matches your
battery’s balance connector to the charger’s balancing jack (above left). The red wire will always
be on the left. Then connect the battery’s balance lead to the balancing board. Lastly, connect
the battery’s main power lead to the adapter connected to the charger’s banana jacks and note
proper polarity (shown above right). Make sure to connect to the proper output.
Balancing Connector