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I purchased several M5Stack Core2 V1.1 devices for a project and added battery extension packs (listed below). I tested the charging current and found that the Core2 module (with only the internal 500mAh battery) pulls ~300mA of current when charging. After adding the additional battery pack modules the total battery capacity is increased to 2500mAh, but the current draw only goes up to ~400mA (via. the charging base). At that rate of charge, the full stack would take over 6 hours to charge, which is not ideal for my application. Is there a way to safely increase this charge rate?
M5Stack components in my setup (pictured below):
Core2 V1.1 Controller Model #K010-V11
500mAh battery
Battery Module 13.2 Model #M120
1500 mAh battery
M5GO Battery Bottom2 for Core2 Model #A014-C
500 mAh battery
M5GO/Fire Charging Base Model #A016
With the batteries all depleted… I tried measuring the current draw from the M5GO Battery bottom ONLY, through the charging base. That pulled the same current (400mA) as the entire stack assembly, indicating that something in the base is actually regulating the current.
I know I can programmatically change the rate of charge on the Core2 device, but given the test above, I don’t think that will alter the charge rate.
Looking at the circuit board in the charging base (pictured below), I see that there are only 4 pogo pins that connect to the battery bottom module. It appears that only the 5V and GND connections are actually connected to the USB-C port (zoom in to see traces in bottom right picture). The other 2 pins are labeled SDA & SCL for a data connection (present, but not actually connected to anything). Given that there are no resistors on the board and no connections to the CC1 and CC2 terminals of the USB-C connector, it appears that the issue could be that this board is not USB-C compliant and thus falls back to the default max current (technically 500mA, but possibly a measurement error).
Of all the devices in this “battery” stack, this is the only one that supports Fast Charge @ 1200mA.. Everything else looks to be standard charge.. Are you individually charging each device, or stacked together? How many USB cables and what type of chargers? At a quick glance based on wiring, this stack would never support the more advanced options available with type-c..
My opinion, if you want fast charge, charge individually..
I’m trying to charge these all from the base. I’m using these in a manufacturing plant, so i really need the simple magnetic pogo-pin based charging interface offered by charging through the M5GO charging base.
The following add-on battery modules don’t actually have a separate charging port. They are designed only to be charged either from the USB-C port on the Core2 module or through the M5GO charging base.
Given that the batteries each have integrated charging controllers. Is there any risk to adding resistors on the charging base breadboard to fake the USB charger into providing more current through the M5GO charging base. As noted in the article I referenced on my initial post. I presume those charge controllers in the batteries should shut off the power draw to each battery when the battery is charged, right?
You can get barrel jacks with a USB connector on the side, no reason to hack up a cable.. Correct, every module seems to have it’s own pmic, so as long as you don’t over current the Pogo bins you could use a fixed 5V dc adapter with a higher current.
This battery pack has no external charging port separate from the header pins, meaning that it is limited by the charging port in the Core2 device (300mA, per my testing) or the M5GO base (limited at ~400mA). How on earth are they claiming a 1200mA fast charge capability? Am i missing something?
It appears you could only achieve that by physically disconnecting the battery from the module and charging it directly.
that said… M5Stack claims the following in their product features for the battery module, “Charging current 791mA, full time 110 minutes (test hardware: CORE1 + Battery 13.2 Module)”.
