Comments: Battery Babysitter Hookup Guide

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  • Member #888586 / about 7 years ago * / 2

    Hi, I am using BQ27441 Library GPOUT Example - Battery low Mode with Arduino UNO. The display of "SOC 1 Set Threshold" is strange.

    I have set "15" to SOCI_SET.

    // Set BATTERY_CAPACITY to the design capacity of your battery.

    //const unsigned int BATTERY_CAPACITY = 850; // e.g. 850mAh battery

    const unsigned int BATTERY_CAPACITY = 400; // e.g. 850mAh battery

    const byte SOCI_SET = 15; // Interrupt set threshold at 20%

    const byte SOCI_CLR = 20; // Interrupt clear threshold at 25%

    const byte SOCF_SET = 5; // Final threshold set at 5%

    const byte SOCF_CLR = 10; // Final threshold clear at 10%

    But serial console shows "64".

    Connected to BQ27441!

    GPOUT set to active-LOW

    GPOUT function set to BAT_LOW

    SOC1 Set Threshold: 64

    SOC1 Clear Threshold: 20

    SOCF Set Threshold: 5

    SOCF Clear Threshold: 10

    61% | 3877 mV | 0 mA | 204 / 337 mAh | 0 mW | 89% | 0x10c

    61% | 3877 mV | 0 mA | 204 / 337 mAh | 0 mW | 89% | 0x18c

    61% | 3877 mV | 0 mA | 204 / 337 mAh | 0 mW | 89% | 0x18c

    61% | 3877 mV | 0 mA | 204 / 337 mAh | 0 mW | 89% | 0x18c

    61% | 3877 mV | 0 mA | 204 / 337 mAh | 0 mW | 89% | 0x18c

    Why shows "64"?

    • Member #524377 / about 7 years ago / 1

      I am also having this issue I checked the cpp of the library and all seems good, I am wondering if it's a hardware issue...

      • Kabron / about 3 years ago / 1

        Anybody solve it? I have exactly the same problem.

  • Member #1510471 / about 4 years ago / 1

    When I plug in a single-cell LiPo 3.7V it powers the output as expected. However, when the battery runs down and I plug in a 5V, 3A micro-usb power supply, the (blue) charge light flickers on then goes out and the (red) power LED remains lit. I do not believe the battery is charging at this point, but I don't understand why? The switch is most definitely set to the ON position as well.

    • santaimpersonator / about 4 years ago / 1

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  • Member #692496 / about 5 years ago / 1

    The product description says that this uses a BQ24075, which has regulated 5.5v output and is not battery-dependent. Only the BQ24072 output is dependent on the battery voltage. Please clarify: does this product ACTUALLY use the BQ24075? If so, why is it not giving me regulated 5.5v output?

  • Member #1428979 / about 6 years ago / 1

    Is the Battery Babysitter can power and charge the battery at the same time when the power source is connected ? I'm looking for a board that will use the battery only if it's necessary.

  • When I try running the BQ27441_Basic program with a 3300mAh Ni-MH 3.6V battery I get this text (below) in the serial monitor.

    Connected to BQ27441! 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 65535% | 65535 mV | -1 mA | 0 / 0 mAh | 0 mW | 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0% 0% I 3600mV I omA I 0 / 0 mAh I 0mw I 0%

    How do I fix this problem?

  • Member #1398136 / about 6 years ago / 1

    When measuring a 40mAh Li-Ion battery, the full-capacity keeps coming up as 8mA. When measuring a 250mAh Li-Ion batter, the full-capacity keeps coming up as 211mA. I have no clue why this is happening. Does anyone know?

  • Member #1015002 / about 6 years ago / 1

    I'm using the Sunny Buddy to charge a battery and power a hologram dash. I'm running into over-draining problems when there are several overcast days here in Michigan. I have to manually unplug everything to reset when that happens. Is it possible to use the Battery Babysitter connected to the Sunny Buddy, would it help? Thanks!

  • gvorster / about 6 years ago * / 1

    Can you use this with both LiPo and Li-Ion batteries? Oh never mind, there is already a question about this and it does support both types.

  • Member #1118726 / about 7 years ago / 1

    The voltages described in the "Output Voltage Range" paragraph seem a little bit confusing. It says that the output voltage will vary from 3V to 5.5V doesn't satisfy purpose the IC 24075 is made for. It says in the datasheet that we will get regulated output when on battery alone, so why does the text in your tutorial describe a different thing. If the tutorial is believed to be true then there is no use for the IC in a particular circuit which requires a regulated output. Kindly resolve the case.

    Thanks and Regards

    • Jayant / about 6 years ago / 1

      I have the same question. Is the output voltage regulated to 5.5V when powered by battery (or otherwise) or not? I have to figure out if I should be planning an additional boost converter to get to the 5V output that I need.

      • Member #1269586 / about 5 years ago / 1

        It varies quite a bit with the load and battery/input voltage conditions. Under high load and fully charged battery and wall supply, I've seen dips down to 2.2V at the output. I had a voltage regulator on the output that could handle down to 2.8V, and was unpleasantly surprised that the output voltage was not above the quoted 3.0V minimum. If you need a stead voltage at the output, make sure your boost converter can handle VERY low voltages (at least down to 2V if not lower).

  • Member #846268 / about 8 years ago / 1

    Hello, I'm absolutely new to circuits and was wondering about the Vout. I see that there are three sets of Vout holes. Would that allow me to run three circuits or is it restricted to less than that?

    • gvorster / about 6 years ago / 1

      probably to support components/headers with different pin sizes

  • Member #693559 / about 8 years ago * / 1

    I'm slightly confused by the following equation and statement:

    tPRECHG = 0.048 × RTMR

    tMAXCHG = 0.48 × RTMR

    Resistor values between 18kΩ and 72kΩ can be added to set the maximum pre-charge time between 24-36 minutes, and the max-charge timer between 240 and 360 minutes.

    Plugging in the maximum resistor value of 72,000Ω, I get: 0.48 * 72000 ~= 576 minutes for the max-charge timer value and plugging in the minimum resistor value of 18,000Ω I get: 0.48 * 18000 ~= 144 minutes

    What am I missing here? Where did the 240-360 range come from?

    EDIT: It appears as though this range was taken from the top of the datasheet; however, the values appear to be accurate when TMR is floating, not when a resistor is provided.

  • Member #117704 / about 8 years ago / 1

    Hi, I want to ask if I also can use Li-Ion batteries instead of Li-po batteries with the battery babysitter.

    • jimblom / about 8 years ago / 1

      Yes, both chips support Li-Ion batteries. As long as they're single cell batteries, with a voltage max around 4.2V, they should work just find with the board.


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