Hi, this is my first time posting.
I have an IMAX B6AC charger which I have used in the past with no problems. However, I just tried using it to charge the same battery I have always been using (a 3 cell 1300mAh LiPo) and upon trying to start a balance charge (during the battery check) I noticed some smoke coming from it and crackling sounds. I bent over to look and saw an orange glow inside. I immediately unplugged the charger and the battery and ran outside with it. Can someone tell me what I did to make it catch fire or help in some other way? Thanks.
Hi.
Something like a short could have caused a fire, but the charger should check for that before starting to charge. Did the charger give any errors when you were setting it up? It sounds like you said the fire was inside the charger itself; is that correct? Have you tested the battery with a meter to see if it seems damaged?
-Claire
I didn’t see any errors when I plugged it or the battery in though I haven’t yet checked the battery except for visually looking at it (it’s not puffy)
We have not heard of an iMAX catching fire like that, and in general we hear of very few issues with them. Did you get the charger from us or one of our distributors? If so, please contact us at support@pololu.com with your sales order information so we can continue looking into it. In addition, it would be helpful if you could measure the voltage on the cells of your battery.
-Claire