What if I have a failed battery?

LiPo batteries are amazing! But like all good things, they come to an end. There are a couple of simple steps that you can follow to ensure your battery can rest in peace!

First, look to see if there are obvious visible causes for failure. This can be crash damage, over-discharge, and/or extreme swelling. If your pack is visibly damaged, we recommend discontinuing use right away. 

Next, try to smell for warning signs. A sweet, pungent smell from a crash-damaged battery indicates that the electrolyte solution is exposed. If detected, we recommend discontinuing use right away.

Also, discharging a LiPo battery below the minimum suggested voltage, which is about 3.0 volts per cell, can cause damage to a LiPo battery. This is called over-discharge.

Lastly, LiPo’s are designed to be used. The longer they sit on the shelf without use, the faster they will fail over time. Keep your battery cycled by fully charging and discharging every month and then keeping them at a storage charge when not in use. Still not sure where your battery stands? Get in touch with our battery tech team at MaxAmps!

Once you have identified a bad battery, you must dispose of it. The best thing you can do is recycle! Go to our “How to dispose of a LiPo battery?” FAQ for more info on disposing of LiPo batteries.