Generic LiFePo Battery Question......

[2kwik4u]

This would work. https://amzn.to/3nQnb4p

I am guessing you have a bad cell.

The ISDT Q6 would work as well and allow testing discharge but it needs a power supply to power it. I am using an old 12V 5A power supply that I had laying around. Hooking it up to your car battery would be fine.

The fastest, least expensive option would be a pair of wires and alligator clips to parallel the battery that is low to your car battery while the car is running. That should get it up to at least 13.6.

Thank you sir. Order placed. I'll charge each cell individually, then put them back in series and see if I get any better run time results.

 

[Bruce]

I used the two batteries in parallel to power an inverter running a 43" TV for a few hours last week. Both batteries were at 13.09 volts when I removed them from the housing.

I suspect their capacity is less than the 10 Ah claimed. I will discharge and fully charge the batteries to see how much they actually hold.

 

[2kwik4u]

@Bruce

Hoping you can help with some follow up questions here.

Youngest 4-wheeler has been losing more and more range lately. Finally checked the charger and it was defunct. Checked voltage on each battery individually, one was at 10.8 the other at 13.2. so I got out the individual charger you told me to buy that was still in the box, and charged each to 13.38v. Range came right back. Once finally depleted, I checked voltage again and the "first" was down to 10.8 again with the "second" still up at 13.2. The "first" is positive to load and negative to positive of "second". "Second" is positive to "first" and ground to load.

Soooo....is there anything I can do to balance the load so that both draw down equally? My suspicion is that the current draw out of the first is higher than the second can refill the first. Leading the first to crap out before the second can help...... HOWEVER, that doesn't make great sense, because it's still working like a 24v setup.

Any thoughts?!?

 

[Bruce]

My initial thinking is that the battery that is dropping voltage more quickly either never was as strong or is damaged.

Swapping the battery positions would be an interesting test.

 

[2kwik4u]

My initial thinking is that the battery that is dropping voltage more than quickly either never was as strong or is damaged.

Swapping the battery positions would be an interesting test.

Interesting thought. I'll swap those today and see what happens.

Thank you!