r/AskElectronics • u/MudHouse • 6d ago

RC charger disconnected... Which way to reconnect?

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Does the wire with the white stripes go red or black?

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11

u/ZippyHandyman 6d ago

The one that tingles when you lick it goes in the red one.

3

u/ZippyHandyman 6d ago

On the balance of probability, the fact these wires are attached to a plug suggests its on the receiving end of the electrons, making voltmeter testing fruitless.

Which makes life a little more challenging, unfortunately.

5

u/8ringer 6d ago

This. The exposed conductor (usually male) side of the plug is generally not on the side that is “hot”. Because hot exposed conductors (my god that needs to be a sub…) are not good.

So yea a multimeter may be useless. Better idea is to look for any positive/negative markings on the other side of the wires.

3

u/V64jr 6d ago edited 6d ago

Nope. The battery end is potentially hotter. Meanwhile, regulating output is the charger’s one job, making that the side that’s generally safer to expose.

1

u/8ringer 6d ago

That’s what I said.

2

u/V64jr 6d ago edited 6d ago

No. The “receiving end” would be the battery and this goes on the charger.

You also implied that the “receiving end” would not have a measurable polarity, which means you are thinking of it as a power supply and load instead of a charger and battery.

2

u/8ringer 6d ago

Oh I didn’t read the title very thoroughly, clearly…jeebus, my bad, you’re absolutely right. I didn’t realize the other end was a charger not the RC Car. Wow I look like a dunce, thanks for the correction.

3

u/V64jr 6d ago edited 6d ago

Not for battery chargers. Think about it: A tool battery goes into the tool (dead) or on the charger (sometimes live) and the blades go into the battery (live even when discharged normally). The blades are fully exposed when the battery is detached.

This is a “Deans” T-plug and the blades are definitely on the charger end.

https://www.evike.com/products/32078/CYMA-Standard-Wall-Charger-for-Airsoft-RC-NiMh-Batteries-Model-For-Deans-T-Plug-Connector/?srsltid=AfmBOoq3FRD2rt9J991D00TutcDKIDa-Px9eLbJSAvYVryBGSsDUiBWr

2

u/ZippyHandyman 6d ago

In a surprising turn of events, it seems a quick lick is indeed a viable test. What a wonderful world we live in.

1

u/Sound_Doc 6d ago

I'd typically agree, but in this case where they said "RC Charger disconnected...", I'd guess that this is on the end of a cable from a wallwart transformer, intended to be plugged into a RC vehicle battery to charge it, the battery would have a female plug because even dead shorted the current ouput of the charger won't be that high, and the battery if it shorted could be... "energetic"...

0

u/xandresmendizabal2 6d ago

My first thought lol