HELP WITH CHARGING PROBLEMS

[paul27848]

I have two of the MPL/HL trucks and find it difficult to get their batteries recharged. The instructions are to connect to laptop or other USB device and charge through the usb port. Says it should charge in approx an hour, and when fully charged a red indicator light will show. In fact the red light shows briefly when plugging in, goes out and doesn't relight even after 24 hrs connection. The battery pack gets warm so something is happening, but I sense the pack is never properly charged. Can anyone offer guidance?
Regards, Paul

[RobW]

What happens when you run the truck? Mine seemed to charge very quickly, but worked OK.

[c.rainford73]

That's strange, the trucks I own have the USB cable charger and the light stays on while charging

[paul27848]

"When the red light is off, it means that charging is in progress, and when the red light is on it means the battery has been fully charged. The voltage of the USB port is 5V +/-0.5V and the charging time is 60 minutes" - direct quote from the instructions. My trucks and instructions don't actually say Heng Long anywhere, they may be from another company that have rebadged them? If so maybe they garbled the instruction sheet, most Chinese instructions are pretty poor to read.

Paul

[wibblywobbly]

You could try using a mains USB plug adapter, that's what I use and it seems to function ok. I've tried charging my phone off the PC and it doesn't seem to charge very well at all.

[43rdRecceReg]

Many USB computer ports won't supply quite enough juice to charge batteries; as that's not what they were intended for. Those that do, are often very slow. USB mains chargers are everywhere these days, and you can even get mains wall sockets (in the UK anyway) that include USB charger ports in tandem with conventional 13 amp three pin outlets.
I bought a RAVPower mains charger with 'iSmart 2.0' technology to prevent overcharging etc... Quality chargers can charge anything from an expensive iPhone down to the modest usb powered micro 'copter. They prevent overcharging,
(unlike Banks ), and also have a series of helpful charging warning lights..
Look at their range:
https://www.ravpower.com/cell-phone-accessories.html