I seem to have some problems with the TP4056 module.
I have ordered 10 of these modules with a USB-C connector (Aliexpress) and i am trying to charge two 18650 batteries paralel connected. But i have problems with the first 3 i tried.
The first one charged to just under 4V and then the red led stay's lit and the blue led started flashing. So i thought this was a faulty one and moved on to the next.
The second one charged to 4,27V with the red led still on but no blue led. So i diconnected and drained the battery a bit for safety.
The third module has charged to 4,31V and still won't stop charging (red led on, no blue led).
Weird thing just hapened by the way...
The third module was charging as i am typing this message. I disconneted the power after finding out it was charged to 4,31V.
I just reconnected the power and now i do have a blue led on and the red one off...
It now reads 4,23V with and without the power connected.
Can i trust these modules or should i discard them all and go for a TP5100 charger or something different?
First step. STOP trying to charge in parallel without a full blown high-quality BMS, that is how explosions happen.
Now research charging circuits (I assume you are NOT charging in-circuit, because that requires a LOT more circuitry)
I checked the chips and they have no logo on them. Only text "TP4056" and "WN202346".
So i guess no original chips?!?
I do have some 1S BMS (also alixpress), should i use one per battery if i still want to use two batteries paralel? or should i forget about that and just use one and charge more often when in use?
As far as i could google information about this. Most i coud find that the 1S BMS would not be needed because the TP4056 has overcharge and overdischarge protection built in.
I'm not shure what you mean by "chargng in circuit"?
For now i'm in the testing fase and only have the TP4056 and a battery to test the charger before i will use it in my project.
The TP4056 cannot properly charge a battery that is connected to a load. For reliable, well supported LiPo battery chargers, including ones that handle "load sharing", look on Adafruit.
FIRST, DO NOT connect in parallel. Use a series connection and a buck converter.
In Circuit means the battery is both discharging, i.e under load, while it is being charged. Sometimes called a UPS. That requires a lot more circuitry especially if solar charging.
Are the 18650's protected or not, are they LiFePO4 or not. What is the claimed mAh on the label.
Thank you for explaining "in-circuit" (should have known that)...
But as i explained, i'm not using any load on the battery while charging.
The batties im using are salvaged from an e-bike battery. The only text on the batteries i could find was "UR18650AA T19A". As far as i can find these should be Sanjo batteries, 2250Mah when new. So probably a bit less now. They had 3,741V charge before using them.
About the BMS in the Aliexpress link provided, i have the small 1S version i could use. Not shure if this is the exact same model but they look very similar.
I'm thinking i should probably change to another charger module. I found the TP500 and TP5100 as posible alternatives, these are switching so less heat i guess would also be nice. Would this be a good alternative?
Well, things seem to get weirder, but in a good way (i hope)...
I have been discharging the battery with a small fan back to 4,12V.
I reconnected the charger (fan is disconnected), and it charged the battery up to 4,18V. Stopped charging and the bue led flipped on. Seems to work like it should now.
I will be doiing a few more tests, just to be shure.
I did hapen to read something about the DW01 chip being in shipping mode when first time connecting a battery, but that should only disconnect the output. Could it have been something like this that coused the first time not working properly?
Just a thought about the first mailfunction of the tp4056 module.
As it seems to work fine now.
I checked the voltage every now and then during charging, measuring at the output connections.
As you have informed me that it is a bad idea to charge with a load on the outputs, could my multimeter have interfeared with the charging and cause the problems i had?
Well i just finished another cycle of partial discharge and charging again.
The module seems to work fine now stopped at 4,17V (close enough).
Just to be shure i'll give it a few more cycles testing, but if it keeps working i'm happy.
Even though i still don't know why the first attempt failed, probably a fault on my end i guess.
