XT90 connector heating up on 4S LiPo at only 50 mA draw

Blue Robotics Vehicles BlueROV2
1

Hi everyone,

I’m running into a strange issue with my setup and hoping someone here has seen this before.

  • Battery: 14.8V, 18Ah Lithium-ion

  • Current draw: only about 50 mA ( just plugged in, no motors running yet)

The XT90 connector on the battery side gets warm to the touch just sitting connected. We checked for a short circuit but didn’t find anything. To confirm, we also tested by hooking the system up to a bench power supply and everything stayed cool in that case.

We’ve also balanced the cells to rule that out.

Is it normal for an XT90 connector to heat up like this under such a tiny load, or does it point to a possible issue with the connector itself?

Thanks for any advice.

2

Hi @ethandsz -

How are you measuring the temperature of the connector? Are the wires going to it getting hot? How are you measuring the current? 50mA seems low - it would indicate that you’re using less than a watt, when the Raspberry Pi in an ROV typically uses 3-6 watts… therefore that measurement may be incorrect?

I wouldn’t be particularly concerned that the connector is warm - try using it under load and seeing if anything gets worse?

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