I tried my hand at soldering a plug on a lithium pack, my only 2s pack. I have soldered a few plugs to nimh packs, and I figured I would try it on my new LiPoly pack that came without a plug. I thought I was being very careful, but somehow I must have shorted the pack.

Almost instantly, smoke started coming out the back of the pack. I am glad it was not the front where my fingers were . I quickly ran the pack outside and cliped on the the lead wires as not to continue to short the pack. I don't know whether that really helps, but it made sense at the time.

It is currently resting on the front sidewalk, just in case it decides to do anything else. I will leave it there over night.

You can see the holes it burnt in the end of the cells . At least I didn't lose a house or garage or anything, and there were no injuries.

Lessons learned:
1. Always be extremely careful with lithium batteries.
2. Always keep one lead covered or unexposed somehow.
3. Always be extremely careful with lithium batteries.
4. If you are not good with soldering, yet, let someone else do it.
5. Always be extremely careful with lithium batteries.

There are probably more, but my heart is still racing too much to think. I figured I might as well turn my lose into a learning experience for others.

One Question: How do I dispose of this battery safely?

Jason Campbell

last one...

It appears as though you tried to cut both wires at once...a BIG no-no with lipos...cut 1 wire at a time...cut the wire, cover the end with tape, cut the other wire cover it with tape...solder wires to connector (making sure to shrink tube the 1st wire before soldering the other wire to the connector to eliminate risk of shorting the pack)

Just reread the original thread...to expose of it safely toss it in some salt water and let it sit for an hour (possibly longer depending on how much of a charge was in it at the time)...it will discharge the cells completely...some ppl say to poke a hole in it with a NON-metallic object before discarding but I've heard salt water does the trick and puncturing is not necessary.

Reminds me of this guy I know. He was trying to rewire a lamp for his wife. He took a pair of scissor and went right thru the cord. Problem was, it was plugged in, BAM!

I guess the obvious point here is that battery leads are always LIVE!

JT

Actually, I tried to cut the blue, but in my paniced condition, I dropped the wire cutters. I picked them back up and cut the first one I could get around, which happened to be the pink.

This is what I think actually happened:
I did keep one end covered (insulation unstriped) until I was finished soldering the first one. However, I was out of heat shrink tubing and was going to use electrical tape for now. I think that I did not get the first soldered lead covered completely with electrical tape. After I finished soldering the second lead is when the trouble came. I think that maybe there was a stray little wire or something that shorted the pack between my two newly soldered leads.

The pack had never been used . I will soak it in salt water and dispose of it. No need to puncture it, as there are already holes in both cells.

Jason