Do you ever wonder why your Traxxas battery keeps failing to charge? Does your problem lie with the charger or the batteries?
You’ll get the best from Traxxas batteries if you give them proper care. You can either have the nickel-metal hydride battery (NiMH) or the lithium one.
Both batteries have some similar reasons as to why they fail to charge. Some of the problems include the battery being dead or wiring issues.
However, the lithium ones need a deeper check before you start using them. They have a higher chance of getting damage that stops them from charging.
So, here you’ll learn why your Traxxas battery is not charging. You’ll also know ways to solve the problem.
Table of Contents
9 Common Reasons why Your Traxxas Battery is not Charging
Below are the top reasons why your Traxxas battery isn’t charging. The reasons vary with the battery type, NiMH or Li-Po.
1. A Bad Charger
Like any other rechargeable battery, they won’t take in power if you don’t charge Traxxas batteries with the correct charger.
But to confirm this issue, use that charger to charge another Traxxas battery. If the problem persists, avoid the charger.
It can be that the charger’s cable has errors. Such a fault can give your Traxxas a swift death.
The issue affects both Li-Po and NiMH batteries. The lithium ones will have more problems because of the nature of their ions.
2. Poor Connection
A weak circuit can cause NiMH and lithium batteries to fail to charge. It could be in the wires connecting the battery to the charger.
Once the cables aren’t in their correct place, there won’t be any power flow. Though it is rare, a poor connection can kill both the charger and batteries.
3. Dead Wires
You can connect everything well, but your wires fail to work. Such an issue comes because of short-circuiting or being old.
The way you keep your batteries and charger can make the wires bend. It won’t be easy for the cables to hold power when it comes to charging. So, they either charge slowly or fail to charge at all.
4. Extra-Low Battery
Sometimes, it can be challenging for the charger to know how many cells are in the battery. It occurs when you over-discharge your batteries.
So, once you start charging the battery, NiMH or Li-Po, it can reject any charge. Your Traxxas will give you an error message about the battery.
It becomes worse for the Li-Po if they are low. They lose much of their power-holding capacity.
A lot of discharge comes from long periods of using Traxxas. Most people forget to place the voltage cut-out on the speed controller.
The battery uses power fast. Also, the entire battery or some cells will die.
5. A Dead battery
When a battery is dead, it won’t receive any charge. But you have to prove it by using another genuine Traxxas charger.
If the other charger fails, your battery might be dead. Your Traxxas battery can die because of old age or power faults.
The errors come from poor usage of your Traxxas. They won’t take any more power. Also, short-circuiting from poor wiring can kill your battery cells.
6. Poor Balancing
Expect this problem if you use lithium Traxxas batteries. If the cells don’t have a proper balance, one will have a high voltage.
The charger can fail to ensure all cells get a charge to a certain level before being full. It goes beyond the positive and negative cords.
Some extra wires and the battery wires help the main wires balance cells. Without the balance, there won’t be a proper charge.
7. False Peaking
You’ll find this cause in NiMH batteries. As you charge NiMH batteries, their chargers check for the voltage peak-to-valley range.
When everything is in a proper state, it helps the battery keep enough voltage. But sometimes, the battery may “false-peak.” The charger will view the battery as complete when it’s not.
Your NiMH batteries won’t hit their peak levels. It happens when the peak-to-valley range is vast. Such issues arise when you don’t use the battery for a long time.
8. Broken or Dead Fuse
The lithium and NiMH Traxxas batteries can’t work with a dead fuse. Remember, a fuse may blow because it is old or got a shot.
Once a fuse is dead, there will be excess power flow. If such happens to the batteries, it won’t be easy for the charger to charge them well.
9. The Battery is Old
If you check the above causes and your battery still isn’t charging, the battery might be old. It applies to both Traxxas NiMH and lithium batteries.
The Traxxas batteries can serve you well for around 300 charge cycles. You can also equate it to two years. Once they are old, they’ll lose some significant aspects, like picking up charge.
8 Top Ways to Make Your Traxxas Battery Charge
Understanding what makes your battery not charge helps you know to care for it. So, the following are the best ways you can use to make your Traxxas battery charge.
1. Use the Voltage Cut-out
Allowing the battery to use much power is fun but kills it. You can use the voltage cut-out as you drive your Traxxas around.
The battery range for lithium ones should be between 3 and 3.3 V. The cut-out works best in lithium battery.
Don’t use them in NiMH batteries. Its effects can make the NiMH battery lose its life.
It prevents cases of much power loss. Once they can hold power, charging them also becomes easy.
Remember to choose the correct cut-out for your Traxxas. Picking on the wrong one can still make your batteries lose power fast.
2. Use the Correct Charger
While charging your Traxxas batteries, it is safe to use proper chargers. Remember, you can get fake Traxxas chargers.
Though they are cheap, they can harm your batteries. If the genuine one has issues, get the correct replacement from the company. Going for a fake one will worsen your battery’s troubles.
3. Let it have Proper Wirings
Your Traxxas should have proper and working wires. But if they aren’t in the right state, solder or replace them.
Expect your batteries to work well after that step. Use a continuity tester to see if every cord and plug works well.
The fantastic tool will help determine if the wires can carry any currents. They are simple steps that you can follow. Call a specialist for you if you aren’t sure.
4. Check for any Damage
Use this tip for lithium batteries. Before you charge them, check to see if they have any damage on the outside or inside.
If they have any leaks or damage, please dispose of them well. If you can’t do it, visit your local hobby shop for them to dispose of the batteries.
5. Get a New Battery
You should get a new one when a battery hits the age limit and refuses to charge. Such Traxxas batteries would have lost their power-holding ability.
Also, if the battery has a lot of damage, get a new one. The tip will save your charger’s life and that of your Traxxas.
A new battery gives you more fun time for long hours. Please get a genuine battery and not the dupe ones.
Visit the company to get them. You’ll avoid the costs of replacing the battery every time.
6. Have Proper Charging Habits
The batteries will do well for many years if you keep using and caring for them. But poor charging habits can kill your battery fast.
After using the truck, unplug the batteries. The complete circuit as you drove will drain a lot of power from the battery.
It doesn’t matter if the truck is off or not. Getting used to this trait kills the batteries and makes them sometimes not charge.
Also, after charging and the battery is full, unplug it. The item will stay safe for many years.
7. Use Your Traxxas
Keeping your Traxxas batteries active makes them easy to charge. So, ensure you get time to use the machine once every two days.
Once you finish driving, charging the battery becomes easy. The trick works best, especially in lithium batteries. It keeps the elements active and reduces the chances of over-discharging.
8. Contact Traxxas
Call the company if you have all the above tips and either of Traxxas’ batteries isn’t charging. You’ll enjoy their warm customer service as they handle your problem.
It will be better if your Traxxas is still under warranty. Even if you don’t have the warranty, it’s still a safe move.
Also, it’s safer to let the Traxxas mechanics solve the issue. You’ll get the best advice from them regarding your battery.
Conclusion
Traxxas has excellent batteries that make them great fun for the user. It becomes a sad moment when they can’t charge, and yet you wait to use them.
You have now learned what makes the batteries not power up. The reasons vary depending on whether you use a lithium or NiMH battery.
But the solutions are similar. So, you can apply a trick like good battery balancing to see that your charger works well. If the battery is old or has sustained damage, it is time to replace it.
Have you ever solved this problem on your Traxxas car using these tips? Please feel free to let us know.