Lipo help

[Jcotter]

I posted this here to avoid flaming, I need spoon fed.

I have a Socom gear Noveske N4 14.5 Madbull/VFC

I just picked up a Hot Power 11.1V 1100mAh 15C Li-Po Li-Polymer Battery and a lipo safety alarm.

After a full charge I connect everything. I can get a few rounds off but then the alarm beeps and I get nothing. the triggers is slack, the gun does not fire. If I leave it for a few mins I can get a few more rounds off before it happens again. I did notice a nice increase to trigger response and ROF while it works.

I was hoping to get to an indoor range this weekend and would appreciate some help.

I have my old 9.6 nicad as a back up but that battery is the shits, once the voltage drops below 8.4 the gun won't fire anymore and it's like the battery isn't even connected. It's similar to what is happening as above but it's not the same thing. I can get a few mags out of the Nicad before it's toast and once it's done it's done until I charge it again. trigger is different too and the spring stays locked back.

I do have the battery outside of my gun strapped to the crane stock. I'm waiting to get a UBR stock and this will have to do until then. I don't think that would effect it any tho.

One last question, I have a few rolls of the walmart ACU duck tape and I was considering covering the battery in a layer. Would this hurt anything? I mean it's already wrapped.

Thanks in advance for the help,

Jeff

[coach]

What charger? The lipo is possibly a lemon. The alarm beeping means you have low voltage. Could be just a dead cell or the whole thing is pooched.

IMO, don't put tape over a battery unless you want to insulate it to prevent it from dissipating heat. Battery will fail sooner and in the event you overheat a lipo....have fun

[Jcotter]

Firefox 7.4V/11.1V Li-Po Ion Li-Polymer Battery Charger

That's the charger. The alarm comes on after a few shots of semi or auto. but if i leave it for a few mins it works again. The whole time the light on the alarm stays green and only flashes red for one second when it beeps once. If the voltage was low the light would stay red wouldn't it? Then how would it recharge itself after a few mins?

I've gone ahead and taped the battery but i left the bottom and top like it was from the factory. I really hope it's not a lemon but, the charger charged all 3 cells. the 3 red led's on the charger all went out one after the other.

Anyways, thanks for the response... I'm crossing my fingers I don't have a lemon.

[PrIeSt]

ugh.. I'd look at the gun. your old battery wouldnt turn the gun over bellow 8.4 and the lipo's alarming on trigger pull.

Maybe your motor is in wrong and drawing to much current? Or gone bad. find a friend with a good battery and see how it works.

[ThunderCactus]

+1
Sounds more like an electrical/motor problem than a battery problem
If you don't have a simple MOSFET switch already, you may want to look into getting one before you burn out your trigger contacts on that 11.1v LiPo

[Jcotter]

This is my first gun, I've been having these problems since I got it.The 9.6 nun chuck I got when I first got the gun was a horrible battery from the start; One of the leads came unsoldered during shipping. I had a hell of a time figuring that one out.

Once I fixed that I gave it a good charge then tried it out. It worked great for about 4-6 mid caps then it stopped firing and, the trigger locked like it died.

Sometimes if I switch it from semi to auto or, safe it will work for a few short bursts but then it stops until I recharge it. The spring is usually compressed too. I checked my connections then I put it on the multimeter, It was showing 8.4V So, I figure anything below 8.4 V won't work.

Since then the problem has got a lot worse. Now I am lucky to get 2 mid caps through it before i have to recharge it again.

I completely blamed my problem on the battery. It was the cheapest one the guy who imported my gun for me could get. I wasn't too concerned , having missed last season and now it being winter. I thought I could hold off on getting a new battery.

Then I find out boxing day, a new hunting and outdoor shop that just opened in town has an indoor airgun and archery range. With it only costing $7.00 for a whole day how can you go wrong?

I asked the staff ahead of time if you can bring airsoft and, they thought it was a great idea. None of then had ever seen a proper airsoft gun. I brought my N4 and, G18. Not the guns they were used to seeing from walmart. Anyways long story short, while my gun looked cool, it did not preform like it should and I was a little embarrassed to say the least

The staff seemed interested in stocking some items and I regret not being able to give a proper demo. The closest store that sells anything aisoft related is an hour away. It would be really nice to have somewhere closer to get bb's and other various crap.
.
Soon as I got home I ordered a new lipo battery and charger. I was really hoping the lipo would be the answer to all of my problems.

Thanks for the advice, I'll see if I can find someone with a good battery or even better get it to a gun Dr.; Venture I think is the closest at about an hours drive away.

if this is something I can find out myself with a multimeter please give me more info if you could. I have only every separated my upper and lower, removed my inner for cleaning and, I have removed the buffer tube to add a sling plate. I've never been near a motor or mechbox.

Thanks again for reading,

Jeff

[Jcotter]

Thanks ThunderC, I didn't see your post until after I had posted mine.

All the reviews I read for the gun said an 8.4v won't cut it. A couple of them said that their guns wouldn't even fire unless they used a lipo. I was hoping this was my problem but, it's sounding like maybe it's not.

I want to get a genuine Magpul PTS UBR stock for it next pay.. Maybe I'll grab a MOSFET while I'm at it.... What's a MOSFET switch again? :$

[ThunderCactus]

Any AEG should work on a 9.6v mini NiMH battery, anything around 1500mah.
If it doesn't, then there's something wrong with your setup, weak motor or wrong gear ratio.
MOSFETs are nifty little nickel sized electronic boards that bypass your analog trigger switch. If you're running a 9.6v battery, or any LiPo, it's highly recommended you install one. Not only does it prevent your trigger switch from corroding or melting, but it also reduces the electrical resistance in your gun, raising your RoF a little and extending your battery life.

If you're not comfortable swapping out a motor, or diagnosing this stuff on your own, you can try finding a local gundoc to help you out!

Also give this a read if you haven't already, it's pretty well everything you need to know about MOSFETs and LiPo's
http://www.airsoftcanada.com/showthread.php?t=99899

[Jcotter]

Thanks. Looks like I got some weekend reading.

[SuperHog]

Before you spend more time trying to determine what's wrong, try a friend's battery on your VFC. I have a stock VFC and it fires easily with a Hobby King 7.4V 2000mAh Lipo or Intellilect 9.6V 1600 mAh NiMH.

Your Lipo alarm is probably those cheap ones that beep even if the pack is charged.

Your charger is not a smart Lipo charger that can give you a full peak charge. Those overnight charger can sometimes overcharge your pack without warning.

By the way, which charger and battery did you order? Are you using Deans or stock Tamiya connectors?

[Jcotter]

Firefox 7.4V/11.1V Li-Po Ion Li-Polymer Battery Charger and a Hot Power 11.1V 1100mAh 15C Li-Po Li-Polymer Battery. The lipo alarm seems like a nice one, it has red and green lights and came it from Airsoft depot. stock connectors.

[SuperHog]

Originally Posted by Jcotter

Firefox 7.4V/11.1V Li-Po Ion Li-Polymer Battery Charger and a Hot Power 11.1V 1100mAh 15C Li-Po Li-Polymer Battery. The lipo alarm seems like a nice one, it has red and green lights and came it from Airsoft depot. stock connectors.

The quickest way to determine if your Lipo is any good, charge it up and try it in another gun with that lipo alarm to see if the battery can do its job and also to see if the alarm is not beeping prematurely.

As for a charger, the Firefox, well ..... get a real charger.

Try these. I have a iCharger, awesome. You need a separate 12V supply.
or the IMAX which some of my friends have, and it includes a 12V supply, just plug it into the wall socket.

iCharger 106B
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...5FCharger.html

IMAX B6-AC
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ENUINE%5F.html

[Jcotter]

I wish I could do that. I'm the only one I know with a gun within a good hours drive and, i just have the one. I was able to get the battery and charger for under 50.00 bucks, when I ordered them boxing day, that's all I could really afford.

Is there anyway to test the gun to see if it's the problem? I have lots of tools and a garage to work in.

[ThunderCactus]

Best way would be to buy a 9.6v NiMH battery and try it on your gun.
If you get the same short battery life, then it's likely your motor, you'll have to buy a new one for $20-$60

At least if you change the battery first, you'll have an extra battery to use, and nobody can complain about that lol

It should be noted that any type of wall charger is looked down upon in airsoft, the majority of us have had bad luck with them. 7/10 problems new guys have are battery related, and 9/10 times it's their wall charger.
The iMax B6 charges both LiPo and NiMH, with you setup I would have stuck to NiMH batteries. You can get a good digital charger for $60, and you don't need any safeties or a MOSFET on your AEG in order to use them safely.
LiPo should only be used as a last resort if you need more power or higher energy density, because it IS more expensive to run safely than NiMH.

[Jcotter]

That sucks, I was just getting ready to start stage two of my external build but, it looks like I might have to put that off until I can get it working properly. What's the use of a great looking gun if it fires like shit.