New Spektrum S2100 (too) Smart Charger — Won’t Recognize and Charge a Run Down NIMH Battery/Says “No Battery Detected” Whrn I Plug it In.

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Out4lox

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Hello Guys:

I recently bought a Spektrum S2100 smart charger from my local hobby shop.

I have several nickel metal hydride batteries that I am perfectly willing to believe are pretty well run down.

My problem is that, for whatever reason, my Charger consistently states “no battery detected” when I try to charge a nickel metal hydride battery, incidentally, regardless of whether it is fitted with a Tamiya, Dean’s, or Traxxas connector.

It charges Lipo batteries just fine, BTW, but of course, with a Lipo, you have the connector that plugs into the balancing board and tells you the charge of each cell. There is no such thing, as you all well know, with a NIMH battery. So, really, I have no way of knowing the actual state of charge of my NIMH batteries.

The guys at my LHS are great; I can’t even imagine how they could possibly be nicer to me than they always are. One of them told me that my issue with NIMH was something that new smart chargers just did. That he has seen it before, that when a NIMH battery gets run down past a certain point, these new “smart” chargers simply do not acknowledge the battery, and so, of course, won’t charge the battery.

Again, this Charger works just fine with Lipo batteries.

So: Does this description match any of your experience with these chargers? And if so, can any of you recommend an inexpensive, maybe NIMH-only, AC powered charger that will fill this current gap in my ability to charge my NIMH batteries?

As always, thanks!

Out4lox,

Weston, Florida
 
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Addict RC: I believe the charger you suggest will work fine for the few NIMH I have. Thank you very much.
 
It might actually pay to get the dynamite charger — but I’m not sure. Because I THINK when I went to my LHS, THAT Charger as well didn’t work with my nimh battery. I know they tried it with another charger besides my Spektrum, and I’m pretty sure it was that Dynamite one! Lol. See, I need a really “dumb” charger. One that doesn’t advance the manufacturer’s evil plans to push you into their overpriced battery — that have the wrong connector anyway. Thanks again.
 
@Out4lox for what it's worth, those packs may very well be up for recycling. I stepped away from the hobby for some time and let my NiMH packs basically just sit. Had a few 5-cell hump packs and some 6-cell flat packs for my RC18T. Have an older Hobbico Elite charger that still works and out of all those packs, one hump and one flat were able to be charged up. Even if changing charge rate, charger didn't like them and wouldn't charge. Had to admit the packs had had enough, time for new ones.

Could be your packs have give up the ghost, but perhaps the other suggestions with different chargers can resurrect them.

Best of luck!
 
do you own any other chargers that can charge a nixx batt? if yes use one of those till you find the voltage amount your spectrum will charge at, I have a giant surplus of chargers..
 
Maybe the batteries are truly dead. Could be. They sat for years. Funny though the lipos are all fine. Anyway, I have two surplus chargers and can’t find the power supplies. The Spectrum of course is ac.
 
If the packs are old theyre probably no longer good. I too have had to pitch my fair share of NiMH packs because they sat to long unused.

My suggestion would be to buy a multimeter and check the packs voltage. I'm betting its dead or overly discharged which damages the cells.
 
Well, the more I think about it, yeah. Have to see if I can dig out my
Multimeter, I have it somewhere.
 
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