Single Cell LiPo Battery Care

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Contributors: bboyho
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Reinforcing the Power Cables

One of the down sides to using these LiPo batteries is their fragile power connections between the wires and protection circuit. These type of batteries are manufactured for a permanent install in devices, and not being removed often as can sometimes happen with projects. For users prototyping or frequently removing the battery from boards without ON/OFF switches, it can be easy to accidentally pull or break the power wires from the terminals on the protection circuit built into the battery. Luckily for us, a little electrical tape goes a long way!

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The red and black wires on a LiPo will tend to wear out and break off if you swing the battery around too much. This fix is so simple, but we find that many people don't realize what a little stress-relief can do. You can provide strain relief to the wires by placing them to the side and securing with electrical tape - this will help with strain on the connection to the battery.

On your LiPo battery, fold the red and black wires to the side. With electrical tape, start in the middle of the battery and tape over the top. Use a little bit of tension on the tape as you go over the top of the battery. I use one and a half full wraps around the battery.

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Cut the tape with wire cutters or knife to make a clean cut. Tearing the tape can leave ugly ripples in the electrical tape.

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To make it even more secure, you can add another piece of tape across LiPo battery.

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This one or two wraps around the battery serve as a simple stress relief. All the mechanical stress is transferred to the tape instead of to the soldered terminals inside the top of the battery. Now when you use (or mis-use) the battery, you won't have to worry about breaking the red and black wires from the top of the battery!