noob ques - how balance charging works

[taz5176]

read for quite a number of pages did not find anything on how the balance charging works in lipo?

also read the article on the review of the cell equalization methods for lipo, seems like that is for automobile, does the r/c balance charging use similar methods?

[mathsinstrument]

Yes, it is the same.

It is a pretty complex thingy. I tried building a balancer DIY, but the circuitry is very complex. I got it right, but it wasnt worth the effort since i can get one for 50 bucks nowdays.
The balancer attempts to balance the cells within 0.01v of each other. Upon fully charging a cell, it disconnects the cell and sends a dummy signal to the charger that it is still charging at that particular settings. The charger continues to deliver constant voltage and constant current to charge the other 2 cells, assuming we are charging 3 cells here. When all the 3 cells are fully charged, the constant voltage will be 12.6v and the current will be near 0. For my charger, it cuts off at 0.01a @ 12.63v.