Wii Adapter 12V 3.7A

markz

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I had some 9.2V NiCD chargers for cpl of rc trucks.
Well my regular rc balance charger blew smoke so I tried using the 9.2 on 2S on Li-Ion keeping a very steady eye on the voltage reading of my DMM.

Worked like a gem, but took forever bc of 0.350A charge.
But I slowly got 10S equal enough to bulk charge, still delta's were like 0.3V
I connected it up wrong for a minute before realizing, now it reads 7.4V open, instead of 9.2V open and now does not work.

Wii Adapter is 12V 3.7A and 2 conductors. DMM read 12.25V so 4.083V/cell.
I know the Wii's dont have batteries in them, obviously. It states adapter. Unlike a laptop charger. But I was wondering if I could use it for a faster charge time.

I would then connect up 3S to get 4.083V per series string, ideally 4.15V but equalization is the key.

I did order a B6 clone from Gearbest but it must be taking the slow boat from China.
 
Should work, but I'd still keep an eye on it at end of charge.

Those kind of power supplies work great with the smaller RC chargers, like a B 6. I have a couple that used to be on playstations or something like that. 12v 5 amps. 60 watts, so just right for the 50w B6.
 
I just connected it up
4.05V/cell using 12V Wii on 3S should get 4.08333V by calculation
DMM on voltage upon initial hookup 4.07V/cell
A minute in its the usual voltage moving slowly up

The label as mentioned on the Wii adapter is 12V 3.5A

However upon Ampere's reading, very odd, reading 7.75A instead of 3.5A as stated.
Not good for a 3S2P test charge.
 
First, check the battery in the meter to make sure it's readings are corect. ;)

If it's ok, and they are, then:

The PSU isn't likely designed with current limiting of the type a charger would have, so it's just maxing out the current it can output, which will heat it up more than it's labelled limit would. If it's overdesigned that could be ok, but if it's not it could overheat parts and cause failure (or even fire).

A regular PSU doesn't necessarily limit current at all, and may just try real hard to fulfill any demand placed on it, until parts burn out. Usually voltage drops significnatly as load increases, and some have shutdown protections if that goes too far down, but some don't. Sometimes you can see quite high currents out of one until something explodes. ;)

A charger, or a constant-current PSU (like LED PSUs, like the Meanwell HLG), will only go up to whatever it's current limit is, and then it will automatically drop voltage to the point current stays below that limit.
 
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