Noobie hoping for some good news

[Narcisith]

Hey guys,

So I just finished my first build (Parks 2.0/NBV3/Tri-Cree/Goth Master Chassis) and now that it's all together it's not working. I have a couple of suspicions that I'm hoping can either be confirmed or debunked.

Firstly, during all of my testing throughout the build I had a suspect recharge port. When doing the voltage check on the battery (+) and (-) legs while plugged into the charger I got nothing. I figured it was either my power jack or multi meter. After using a second meter, the test worked fine...recharge port is good. I then wondered if it was maybe the charger as I later used an old RCA 2-way radio charger with the recharge port and used my meter again...and it worked. So now it may be a bum charger.

Secondly, because I'm getting nothing after finishing the build I'm wondering if the battery PCB had tripped at some point therefore rendering the the saber dead. It's a protected LI-ION 18650 3400mah. When using the suspected bad charger (left the saber plugged in overnight) the red light never stopped blinking. It should turn green after the battery is charged.

So here are my questions. If the battery protection circuit tripped I've heard it can be reset by allowing it to charge for an extended period. Any idea how long? I've already done an overnight charge up and it didn't do anything that I can tell. Also, if I use my 2-way radio charger (not sure if it's designed for LI-ION and I know that's bad) how long does it take to wreak total havoc? Could I just plug it in for a short while, and while getting wall power would the saber still operate so long as the wiring is all done correctly?

I'll be grateful for any help you guys can provide me, I've already taken this apart and started over once...I REALLY don't want to do it again!

[Jay-gon Jinn]

If you have the charger from the store, the red indicator should be steady on while charging, not blinking. The blinking indicator usually means you have a short in the charging circuit, or something is wired wrong.

If you have a tripped pcb, all it takes is a few moments on the charger to reset the short circuit protection.

[Narcisith]

Hey Jay-gon, thanks for the reply. It is the charger from the store. Interesting that it does sound like a faulty charger. Guess I'll play around a bit more with it. If all the wiring is correct, and I plug a working charger into the saber, will it still work even with an uncharged battery? Basically like plugging in any other appliance. If so, maybe I do have something wrong with my wiring because even when plugged into the other charger it does not function.

Thanks again!

[Jay-gon Jinn]

If you've wired the saber in accordance to what is shown in the manual for your NBv3, then you will not be able to activate the saber while it on the charger. The wiring diagram in the manual shows you how to wire the sound board ground (-) to the switched terminal on the recharge port, which is switched off when the barrel plug on the charger is inserted into the recharge port. This is done to protect the sound board from potentially getting damaged by the current flowing from the charger and isolates the battery, so it gets all of the current from the charger. Keep in mind that you can only charge the battery using the same type of charger for the battery that is installed, I'm guessing a Li-Ion. If your other charger is not for Li-Ion batteries, don't plug it into the recharge port.

Your issue could be a bad charger, a bad battery, a bad recharge port (which you've likely ruled out) or a shorted wire somewhere in the saber.

[Narcisith]

Thanks for the added info! That makes sense regarding powering on the saber while on a charger, duh. I just disconnected all wiring from the soundboard and removed the recharge port. I agree that the port or charger may be the problem. I'm not sure about the battery yet. One final question, how can you test it? Would touching the battery leads to the multimeter leads be no different than connecting the battery leads themselves? I don't have any device that I can install the battery to see if it works.

Thanks again!