What Does A Blinking Green Light Mean On A Battery Charger?

Charging your RC vehicle might not seem to be a hard task. But understanding how your battery works take more knowledge than that. For example, you might be wondering about those blinking green lights on your charger.

So, what does a blinking green light mean on a battery charger?

The blinking green light is seen when the battery is getting charged. But that’s not always the case. Blinking green light can mean different things based on time intervals. For example, the continuous blinking of the charger can mean battery status and optimization.

Love the preview? Then let’s jump right into the details,

What Does The Blinking Light Mean?

While using the charger to charge your RC batteries, you’ll see there are usually two different types of light on the charger’s body- 

• Red and 
• Green

The red light usually indicates that your batteries are being charged very fast. However, not all RC batteries have the same indication with red blinking lights. Understanding the color indication can help you repair the RC batteries.

Sometimes batteries blink red light to indicate a full charge or even low voltage. It also signals whether the plug connection is providing electricity or not.

The same goes for the green blinking light of RC battery chargers. In most cases, it indicates the charging condition of your battery. But it differs depending on the time interval between the blinking. 

Yes, time interval of blinking variation can tell a lot about your charger’s condition. Even though it’s mostly about charge requirements, it can also indicate internal problems. 

So, it’s important that you know what those blinking light is trying to tell you. Are you feeling curious now? Then let’s dig further into this topic. 

Different Signals Of Blinking Green Lights

Earlier we mentioned, Battery charger LED lights blinking in different intervals mean different things. There are two types of blinking of the LED green light of a charger. 

One is the short green flash another is the long green flash. Now you must be confused about distinguishing between these two. But don’t worry, we’ll be explaining it in our next segment.

So, let’s get to know what these different blinkings mean.

Short Green Flash

This refers to the LED light blinking for a very short period of time. The time interval ranges from 1-1.5 seconds. You might see this if you connect a drained battery to your charger.

Usually, it means that your battery is charged less than 80% at the moment. So you’d know that you’re still midway to get a fully charged battery.

Long Green Flash

You can probably assume from the name itself. The time interval between the blinking will be more than 1-1.5 seconds. 

The time interval may vary depending on the brand or model of the charger. Nevertheless, it’ll be distinguishable since the time gap is longer than short green flashes.

It indicates that your battery is charged more than 80% of the capacity. The purpose of it is to remind you to unplug your battery before it overcharges. 

It is a good feature within the charger. Most importantly when you have an older battery, this indicator is very helpful.

Due to older batteries having depleted cells, it’s better not to fully charge them. Rather, charging them up to 80-90% capacity will be better. 

You may ask, why do batteries get depleted?

A healthy new battery will have its ions flowing within the cathode and anodes. By charging, the ion flow gets reversed. Over time, the cathodes get worn out Which in turn, reduces the capacity of charge the battery can hold. Thus, causing the battery to overload.

This can also happen if you’re using NiMH batteries. Sometimes even new NiMH batteries can’t hold charge.

That was all about the charging indication through blinking green lights. Do you know it can also indicate the internal problems of an RC charger?

If not then jump to our next section. Maybe you’ll find the mysterious reason why your charger keeps blinking.

Problems With Blinking Green Lights

The blinking green light may light up due to internal problems. Common issues include poor connections between battery and charger or a faulty battery pack.

Sometimes you may even see the battery not charging even though it’s plugged in. This is more common with RC drones.

The problem occurs mostly due to a bad voltage supply. Chances are that the lipo is dead. Maybe at least one of the cells or it could be the wire. 

You can try testing the voltage with a lipo checker. If you detect a lipo failure try contacting the manufacturer. They might be able to fix it.

If such a situation arises you can also charge drone batteries via USB cable. Nowadays, many RC drones have direct USB charging options. 

Using a charger with a digital screen can be of good help. If your charger’s green light is blinking the problem will show on the screen. 

But this kind of feature is only added to high-end chargers. Some chargers even have more extra features. For example a voltage stabilizer, built-in circuit breaker, and lots more.

Here are some of our recommendations on the best RC battery chargers.

You can spend a little more to get the best RC battery charger. It’ll be a good value for money. 

Maybe charging a sky rider drone will be a bit tricky. But they are still a better option than using cheap lipo batteries.

Blinking While Battery Optimization

Green LED light flashing with an interval of 1 second, indicates a process. It’s known as battery optimization. It happens just after the initial charging is finished.

It can also happen while your battery is charging. When that happens the charger automatically does maintenance to the battery. 

The battery optimization process happens from time to time. It helps the battery maintain its voltage level. Keeping the battery health in good condition.

That’s all there’s to know about this topic!

FAQs

How do I know if my battery charger is working?

To know if your battery’s charger is working or not, you have to check it. For that, plug in your charger to an outlet. Then, take a battery pack and start charging them. Using a voltmeter, check the reading. If it’s showing discharge, then your charger is working.

Do battery chargers wear out?

Continuous use of your battery charger may lead to normal wear and tear. The internal coils and wires could get worn out from constant charging. As well as the heat produced from the charge can damage the components. It’s best to replace your charger after 2-3 years of regular use.

Is it better to fast charge or slow charge?

To preserve your battery health, it’s best to slow charge. A fast charge may lead to less time needed in charging, but the heat it produces can damage your battery health. Extreme temperature fluctuation is very bad for batteries. Slow charging your battery preserves battery health and gives you a longer usage time.

Conclusion

That was all from us about what does a blinking green light mean on a battery charger? It’s something we all tend to notice but never emphasize the importance of it. Hopefully, we’ve explained and answered your question thoroughly.

For any further queries, let us know in the comments.

Have a great day!