Beware of Bad Lipos - Collin’s Lab Notes #adafruit #collinslabnotes

When using discount lipo batteries, keep an eye on those connectors. Browse lipo batts at Adafruit:

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[KingOfKYA]

Might be a good idea to show people how to re pin them :) with a small flat screwdriver.

[jonathancuningham]

Thank you so much for this. I just bought some batteries and had tried plugging it in but it got warm so I disconnected. After seeing your video I realized the wires were crossed.

[MMuraseofSandvich]

It's good practice to always test all the things with a multimeter. Check which pin on the battery connector is ground, check which wire on the battery is higher voltage, etc.

Of course, blowing up a tantalum cap on an Arduino Pro Mini because one was boneheaded enough to connect the 12 volt source backwards is a good learning experience in not doing that again and in repairing the damage (only the cap failed, so that was good, and the board and replacement caps are quite inexpensive).

[ThinklikeTesla]

They're not bad lipos, they're just wired that way. ;-) Seriously though, if you have one like this you can carefully poke the crimped terminals out of the plastic housing and re-insert them the other way 'round.

[drndroid]

Sounds like an opportunity for reverse polarity protection video.

[sulpheralchemist]

nothing bad about the battery the connector is wired differenty (the more common wiring used in the RC world) and you can lift the plastic tabs to swap them if you need to.
first adafruit boards I got died to this as everything else I have (so the batteries I already had) are wired the other way. I ended up making crossover connectors so I didn't have to swap battery termainals every time I wanted to use a battery with one of your boards.

[davidneufeld]

So... wire color determines polarity? Then the simple fix is to swap the color of the leads with red and black electrical tape. Or heat shrink tubing. You can't trust a voltmeter or physical inspection of the battery terminals, but you can trust wire color!

[clydealcott]

I burnt my mp3 player recently when I try to replace with the new one I bought online. Again it's because of reverse polarity.

[Sid]

To bad there is no room for a polarity protection diode for the lipo connector (some boards do, but many don't)

[marinehm]

I've had a connector with the wires swapped. It's an easy fix. Just pull the pins out and swap the wires.

[ALS]

simply put proper battery protection on the board ?