For the record I do not advise doing this, especially in your house. I am crazy and like to take risks. Lithium batteries are unstable and can explode even if you charge them with correct voltage and charger. Lithium batteries are like bombs they can catch fire and burn at any time for any reason. Please refrain from telling me how stupid I am. I am well aware of the risks, and now that you have read this comment you are ware too. I DO NOT take responsibility for you injuring yourself or you burning your house down.
I had no idea you could fix those. I just literally threw my charger in the trash because I thought it was broke. I should of called Mr Fix It. Great video
Awesome. I've watched a ton of baofeng videos here on TH-cam and that's the first time I've seen that holding the 0 key down will display the battery voltage. Thank you.
I have one battery that seems to charge fully and the little green light comes on, but it doesn't last long before it dies. I have another battery that charges perfectly. I'm assuming my cheap charger that came with radio is functioning fine and the one battery is out of balance. I just looked on Amazon and I can buy a whole radio with another battery for $17. I feel like it's not worth the risk of messing around with opening the battery case. Your video was helpful and I will hang onto the faulty battery for now, just in case I really, really need another battery and for whatever reason they're not available. Thanks for sharing this video.
Most problems I have encountered with my boafang charger and batteries has been loose or broken wires from the soldering process. Just soldered them back n problem fixed.
There was an initial reason the one cell dropped lower than the other, so it would likely happen again after a longer period... It is unfortunate baofeng did not include a balancer circuit in their small battery bms which would fix that. It also sucks the baofengs use 8 volts, it makes it hard to charge over USB. Thinking about modding a radio to take a single 18650 lithium cell and include a step up converter connected to the power switch- a USB charge board can be added easily and the battery can be swapped for any 18650 in emergencies. Alternatively, more simply, the existing battery could be modded to take two 18650 cell holders, it would run at least twice as long.
You probably discovered this by now, but in case someone else hasn't - they do an USB step-up cable to fit the chargers. Ideal if you want to charge your UV5R with a powerbank / in the car etc.... 👍
I remember years ago, I took the batteries out and charged them under my bed. Woke up at 12 with my room on fire lol. Fire was not big and nothing got damaged but good lesson learned!
will try cracking open my uvr5 camo battery and see if I can get a balanced charge. on side note, would also be a good test to see if can drain the one battery that is some what charged (in your example, the lower batter in the video, of the 2, was charged well to around 4 v, but the upper was unbalanced at 3.x v. will try to update my attempt results in a couple days. here's hoping that it works.. thanks.
On the back of the battery are three tabs, but it looks like (from this video) only the outside two are connected. If they would have connected the center tab to the node connecting both batteries, a balance changer could have been utilized. I am considering making this connection and using my LiPo / LiFe balance charger.
@@MrFixit1 Excellent - it's been a month since you replied to me. I am grateful for your reply and really happy that your repair got you another year + who knows how long of use out of that battery. Nice one. Saving the planet and it's resources... one repair at a time.
I'm sure there is. I am not an electrical engineer, but all it is, is electrons flowing from one place to another. The big problem with Lithium battery's is they become highly unstable if over charged or discharged to rapidly.
I seem to have stumbled onto a simple fix for this battery problem. My UV-5R had the same issue...not charging fully, and barely one hour of use following a charge. I bought a 10v USB charge adapter which I tried out while waiting for a replacement battery. After 4hrs of charging the LED on the adapter turned green (from red), and after a further 4hrs of charging the LED on the charging base did likewise. Battery voltage was 8.25v after charging. Runtime on 'Standby' is ~10hrs after USB charging. Of course there's 'but' with this, and it's that the AC charger still shows a battery error flashing red LED on the base.
Lithium batteries should never be fully discharged. It will definitely shorten their life. What they need is to be cycled every 3 months or so. This process is for batteries that are seldom used...basically stored. After sitting that long, charge them up to full or nearly so, then let them run down to ~30%. Then charge them back up to ~80% and store them. Two major problems that shorten the life of Lithium batteries is: depleting them, and not cycling them. They don't like hitting the extremes. Of course if you are going camping or needing them at their max for some reason fully charging them is no big deal. But to store them, cycle them every 3-4 months between ~30% and ~80%, then store them. Do this for all your Lithium batteries. Try to never let them get depleted and certainly don't do it as some kind of procedure.
Electrician here. THIS COULD HAVE BURN DOWN YOUR HOUSE. You tried to charge a single cell with a 10V output charger, this scared the shit out of me, especially that you left it there. No, the higher the voltage is, the higher the amperage will be as long as the battery can handle it. You are not supposed to charge li-ion batteries faster than 1C, which is equivalent with the capacity of the battery. In this case, 1800mA. This was a time bomb, a way to burn down your house. People, please DO NOT DO THIS at home. Use a proper balance charger. Around 4.5ish Volts, the fireworks would have started, you are a very lucky man, that the battery was probably dead.
Yes, I know this! I mentioned this in the video. You probably did not watch it all the way through. I never left it unattended. And guess what it worked, imagine that.
I thought it was a charger issue myself. I had the same problem. I just kept the expandable battery on it so I could use the USB option. But I have upgraded to another HT. So I don't even use it anymore.
If the batteries drop below a specified voltage you cannot charge them unless you jump start the battery with voltage from another battery. But don't burn your house down. Latium-ion batteries are very unstable. There may be some videos on how to do this on TH-cam.
For the record I do not advise doing this, especially in your house. I am crazy and like to take risks. Lithium batteries are unstable and can explode even if you charge them with correct voltage and charger. Lithium batteries are like bombs they can catch fire and burn at any time for any reason. Please refrain from telling me how stupid I am. I am well aware of the risks, and now that you have read this comment you are ware too. I DO NOT take responsibility for you injuring yourself or you burning your house down.
I had no idea you could fix those. I just literally threw my charger in the trash because I thought it was broke. I should of called Mr Fix It. Great video
I'm sure the manufacturer would rather you buy a new battery but, I only like to buy an item once.
Awesome. I've watched a ton of baofeng videos here on TH-cam and that's the first time I've seen that holding the 0 key down will display the battery voltage. Thank you.
I have one battery that seems to charge fully and the little green light comes on, but it doesn't last long before it dies.
I have another battery that charges perfectly.
I'm assuming my cheap charger that came with radio is functioning fine and the one battery is out of balance.
I just looked on Amazon and I can buy a whole radio with another battery for $17. I feel like it's not worth the risk of messing around with opening the battery case.
Your video was helpful and I will hang onto the faulty battery for now, just in case I really, really need another battery and for whatever reason they're not available.
Thanks for sharing this video.
Awesome video. Ive never tried that. Dialectric grease seemed to help it along a little quicker. Thanks!
Most problems I have encountered with my boafang charger and batteries has been loose or broken wires from the soldering process. Just soldered them back n problem fixed.
Thanks for sharing.
There was an initial reason the one cell dropped lower than the other, so it would likely happen again after a longer period... It is unfortunate baofeng did not include a balancer circuit in their small battery bms which would fix that. It also sucks the baofengs use 8 volts, it makes it hard to charge over USB. Thinking about modding a radio to take a single 18650 lithium cell and include a step up converter connected to the power switch- a USB charge board can be added easily and the battery can be swapped for any 18650 in emergencies. Alternatively, more simply, the existing battery could be modded to take two 18650 cell holders, it would run at least twice as long.
Geez, youtube is full of 18650 baofeng modifications... You are new in this hobby, aren't you?
You probably discovered this by now, but in case someone else hasn't - they do an USB step-up cable to fit the chargers. Ideal if you want to charge your UV5R with a powerbank / in the car etc.... 👍
I remember years ago, I took the batteries out and charged them under my bed. Woke up at 12 with my room on fire lol. Fire was not big and nothing got damaged but good lesson learned!
so glad I found your channel, have same prob.
will try cracking open my uvr5 camo battery and see if I can get a balanced charge. on side note, would also be a good test to see if can drain the one battery that is some what charged (in your example, the lower batter in the video, of the 2, was charged well to around 4 v, but the upper was unbalanced at 3.x v. will try to update my attempt results in a couple days. here's hoping that it works.. thanks.
On the back of the battery are three tabs, but it looks like (from this video) only the outside two are connected. If they would have connected the center tab to the node connecting both batteries, a balance changer could have been utilized. I am considering making this connection and using my LiPo / LiFe balance charger.
Nice vid, always good to extend the life of a product for the planet's sake.... it's been a year though - is that battery still working for you?
Yes, Battery is working like it should. Wow has it been a year already? haha
@@MrFixit1 Excellent - it's been a month since you replied to me. I am grateful for your reply and really happy that your repair got you another year + who knows how long of use out of that battery. Nice one. Saving the planet and it's resources... one repair at a time.
Is their a way to make a new charging base or maybe charge with a series of batteries.
I'm sure there is. I am not an electrical engineer, but all it is, is electrons flowing from one place to another. The big problem with Lithium battery's is they become highly unstable if over charged or discharged to rapidly.
I seem to have stumbled onto a simple fix for this battery problem. My UV-5R had the same issue...not charging fully, and barely one hour of use following a charge.
I bought a 10v USB charge adapter which I tried out while waiting for a replacement battery. After 4hrs of charging the LED on the adapter turned green (from red), and after a further 4hrs of charging the LED on the charging base did likewise. Battery voltage was 8.25v after charging. Runtime on 'Standby' is ~10hrs after USB charging.
Of course there's 'but' with this, and it's that the AC charger still shows a battery error flashing red LED on the base.
Strange the charger base still has an issue. You would think it would be fixed. At least you can use the radio now.
Lithium batteries should never be fully discharged. It will definitely shorten their life. What they need is to be cycled every 3 months or so. This process is for batteries that are seldom used...basically stored. After sitting that long, charge them up to full or nearly so, then let them run down to ~30%. Then charge them back up to ~80% and store them. Two major problems that shorten the life of Lithium batteries is: depleting them, and not cycling them.
They don't like hitting the extremes. Of course if you are going camping or needing them at their max for some reason fully charging them is no big deal. But to store them, cycle them every 3-4 months between ~30% and ~80%, then store them.
Do this for all your Lithium batteries. Try to never let them get depleted and certainly don't do it as some kind of procedure.
How long did that last before you had to replace the battery?
Battery still works to this day
So I have a problem. But the UV - 5R radio says it’s not charged and she won’t shut up. My batteries are fully charged.
Very educational video, but how the heck do you seperate the plastik shell?
Carefully pry the clamshell apart at the seam with a knife or similar tool. Light glue holding it together.
Nag re-repair Po ba. Kayo Mr.Fixit?
Electrician here. THIS COULD HAVE BURN DOWN YOUR HOUSE. You tried to charge a single cell with a 10V output charger, this scared the shit out of me, especially that you left it there. No, the higher the voltage is, the higher the amperage will be as long as the battery can handle it. You are not supposed to charge li-ion batteries faster than 1C, which is equivalent with the capacity of the battery. In this case, 1800mA. This was a time bomb, a way to burn down your house. People, please DO NOT DO THIS at home. Use a proper balance charger. Around 4.5ish Volts, the fireworks would have started, you are a very lucky man, that the battery was probably dead.
Yes, I know this! I mentioned this in the video. You probably did not watch it all the way through. I never left it unattended. And guess what it worked, imagine that.
Suggestions If the battery are bloated please??
Replace battery
For future reference Don't throw it in the garbage it is possible it could ignite and catch your place on 🔥
a bloated lithium cannot be fixed. as noted take care getting rid of it.
I thought it was a charger issue myself. I had the same problem. I just kept the expandable battery on it so I could use the USB option. But I have upgraded to another HT. So I don't even use it anymore.
I have one of these with all the bells and whistles, brand new, never used and none of my batteries will even try to charge
If the batteries drop below a specified voltage you cannot charge them unless you jump start the battery with voltage from another battery. But don't burn your house down. Latium-ion batteries are very unstable. There may be some videos on how to do this on TH-cam.
@@MrFixit1 lol my bad for not paying attention to them, I’ll try buying more.
At least for now I have the 12v car adapter battery! Thank you!
That's not a leatherman.......
Charge ie every 2 months. Minimum.
do you think it is the same on the dm1701 battery??
I can't be sure.
👍
No I am not working on the walkie-talkie