So today I was messing with my guns making sure they were working and such. I left the battery in the stock of my M4, which I've done before. Now, my M4's fuse broke awhile ago and I never bothered to replace it, I just connected the wires together and left it at that. Well, I left my basement room were I have all my guns for about one and a half hours I guess. It began to smell like something was burning. So I searched around to find it, and the smell was strongest from my basement room. So I touched the stock on my M4, it was HOT! I opened up the base plate to see my battery melted inside, and battery acid coating the inside of the stock. I don't know if a motor wire was pinched, or if it was just a problem with the battery, but my connectors we're melted so bad that I had to cut the wires just to get them apart. My motor even got so hot that the spring is comletely warped.
The melted battery
Wires melted to the inside of the stock
And the base plate
The warped motor spring
The connectors that come out at the back of the gearbox
Needless to say, for the price I could have paid to just replace the fuse, I now have to replace the wires, and a $60 battery. If you ever break a fuse, just replace it. It will be cheaper in the end.
Sorry to hear that, atleast it was the battery and not the gun....or the house. My question is how that happened, so it could be prevented. Was the battery a stock chinese battery?
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Sorry to hear that, atleast it was the battery and not the gun....or the house. My question is how that happened, so it could be prevented. Was the battery a stock chinese battery?
That what I would like to know to. No the battery was an Elite 9.6v 5000mah so I doubt it was that. I looked through the gearbox and I can't find what may have caused it. I'm just glad that it didn't start a fire.
Location: (Overbrook, the most west hood in Philly) Phildadelphia, PA
Posts: 977
I'm talking out of my ass, but would a 5000mAh battery be more likely to "get hot" seeing how there is more energy in the battery?
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I'm talking out of my ass, but would a 5000mAh battery be more likely to "get hot" seeing how there is more energy in the battery?
I don't think so because if the guns not being used then I don't se a reason for it getting hot. Also, I've let it sit in the gun for about a week or so after most games and have never had a problem before.
So this is all because you never replaced your fuse? Dang.
It's not because there was no fuse. Something closed the circuit causing the battery to discharge. A 5000mah battery, fully charged can obviously heat up pretty quickly.
Regardless of whether you have a fuse or not, if you are not shooting the gun, it's a good idea to always disconnect the battery from the gun.
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You very possibly could have had a cell vent, and it took out the whole pack and started the smoldering. This normally happens when charging, but it can happen on a left alone pack as well. NIMH are very touchy.
Hard to tell from the pic, but is that all cracked shrink, or is there an actual crack/vent in any of the cells?
But from looking at your pics, it looks like you had a short at your Tamiya connector. There does not seem to be any other damage past that leading into the gearbox. They are not the best built connectors, and known to fail. All it takes is one small spark, and NIMH can go off like M80's.
I really don't see how not having a fuse would cause this type of failure. Even with the fuse in place, you would have still suffered the same results IMO. Years of NIMH use & abuse I have seen my fair share of shorted/blown up packs.
And FYI on the battery price, $60 is way too high for a 8 cell unmatched stick pack. Look outside airsoft vendors, you can find 8 matched cell for under $40.
Location: (Overbrook, the most west hood in Philly) Phildadelphia, PA
Posts: 977
Quote:
Originally Posted by FTADOT
All it takes is one small spark, and NIMH can go off like M80's.
that is quite horrifying...so is there really any way of preventing this or is it just luck?
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Philadelphia Hardcore Airsoft Group - Team Founder
Team P.H.A.G. - "We proudly bear our (Combat) cocks!"
C3 "Special" Operations - "Yes, we're better tan you!"
P.A.A.G. East - "Acta non Verba"
“Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.” - VP
that is quite horrifying...so is there really any way of preventing this or is it just luck?
Always keeps your batteries in a safe place, and if they have to be in the gun, make sure they are unplugged. Check your packs for damage regulary, especially the wires and Tamiya plugs. Replacing the junk Tamiya plugs with Deans or something similar would also be a good move IMO. Much less of a chance for a short with them as the pins do not become loose nearly as easy as Tamiya. I have all of my packs extra shrinked around the wires & connectors just to be extra safe.
I think he just had a small short, maybe just a small sliver if bare wire was exposed, and poof. If it didn't happen in the basement, it would have happened at some point. It still sucks, thats for sure! To help offset your costs, I would be more than happy to build you a new pack, you supply the cells.
To help offset your costs, I would be more than happy to build you a new pack, you supply the cells.
I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I've just learned to never store my guns with the battery plugged in. And the battery didn't actually explode, just melted down. I had a NIMH pack blow before when I was into RC's and that scared the crap out of me!
