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Two IDX NP-L7S batteires go down in a month!?!?!


Michael Gassert

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Hello - I've been a long time IDX user but strangely I've had two good batteries go down in a month.  When i put them on my IDX charger, the auburn light blinks to indicate battery error.   I had never seen this before until it happened to my twice in the last month.  Both batteries have an original charge date of 5 years ago.   Are the batteries simply at the end of their life or is something else going on?    Taking batteries and charger in to Pro Sound first thing this morning. Any insight would be much appreciated.    Thanks,

 

Mike

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Hello - I've been a long time IDX user but strangely I've had two good batteries go down in a month.  When i put them on my IDX charger, the auburn light blinks to indicate battery error.   I had never seen this before until it happened to my twice in the last month.  Both batteries have an original charge date of 5 years ago.   Are the batteries simply at the end of their life or is something else going on?    Taking batteries and charger in to Pro Sound first thing this morning. Any insight would be much appreciated.    Thanks,

 

Mike

 

Hi Mike,

 

Judging from the approximate age of your batteries, it sounds like your batteries have most likely reached the end of their life(All IDX batteries have an average life span of 3.5 - 4 years or 500 used cycles ->whichever may come first). If you could provide the serial #'s of your batteries, we could also check the exact manufacture date of your batteries. Please feel free to contact me directly at my email (george@idx.tv) or through PM if you have any further questions.

 

Thanks Mike!

- George

IDX Service Department

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I have several IDX NP-L7S batteries almost twice as old as the two under question that still work beautifully, and on a regular basis.  I have a few more, older than those, that still work well but with slightly reduced capacity.

 

However, I have a four bay simultaneous charger that started exhibiting the same issues, on Bay-1, as the O.P. outlined.  The batteries would still charge fine in the other three bays and on my other two IDX chargers.  I have since opened the ailing charger, blown out dust and debris, tightened connections, etc., and now all bays work fine.

 

Since you have two batteries exhibiting the same symptoms at about the same time, I'd be willing to bet -- even the company rep -- a pleasant lunch that the issue is with the charger.

 

Perhaps rather than admit how great their products are, George would rather you buy new ones ( <g> --Friendly poke--).

 

 

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I have several IDX NP-L7S batteries almost twice as old as the two under question that still work beautifully, and on a regular basis.  I have a few more, older than those, that still work well but with slightly reduced capacity.

 

However, I have a four bay simultaneous charger that started exhibiting the same issues, on Bay-1, as the O.P. outlined.  The batteries would still charge fine in the other three bays and on my other two IDX chargers.  I have since opened the ailing charger, blown out dust and debris, tightened connections, etc., and now all bays work fine.

 

Since you have two batteries exhibiting the same symptoms at about the same time, I'd be willing to bet -- even the company rep -- a pleasant lunch that the issue is with the charger.

 

Perhaps rather than admit how great their products are, George would rather you buy new ones ( <g> --Friendly poke--).

 

Hi John,

 

Thanks for chiming in :). It is possible that with proper maintenance techniques and usage, IDX Li-ion batteries can last longer than the average life expectancy of 3.5-4 years(maintenance and usage play a huge role in the longevity of battery life). However, if both batteries have only recently began demonstrating the same error LED symptoms on the charger(although they charged fine in the past on the same charger) and are approaching around ~5 years in age,  it sounds like the batteries are beginning to demonstrate signs of cell deterioration and may be approaching near the end of their life. With that being said, it is possible that the error LED lights can be coming from a charger issue :). The best thing to do at this point to determine the exact cause of the problem may be to check the voltage of the batteries(assuming it is fully charged with 3 LED lights) and see how long they can power a pre-calculated load and then try charging the batteries on alternate chargers(known to be working) or charging different/newer(known to be working) batteries on the charger that is in question.

-George

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Hey All - thanks for all the thoughtful responses. As yet, I haven't had problems charging newer batteries on my charger. I just came back to Pro Sound. They put my batteries in question on their charger and they charged for a few hours but then eventually started blinking amber. Also, they charged house batteries on my charger and had no issue. Indications point to the batteries obviously but strange how they charged for some time on the Pro Sound charger before exhibiting te error signal where as they blink as soon as I put them on my charger. Serial numbers: BB38028, BB38025

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Indications point to the batteries obviously but strange how they charged for some time on the Pro Sound charger before exhibiting te error signal where as they blink as soon as I put them on my charger. Serial numbers: BB38028, BB38025

Have the batteries been frequently used lately or laying around unused? Have they accidentally been totally emptied during a day of filming? I've read that it can damage the cells.

My Hawk Woods SL-1 charger died one day and after finding out that the fuse is soldered onto the circuit board (in all current Hark Woods chargers), I looked for another battery system and ended up with IDX. Quite expensive but at least I can change the fuse without having to open up the box and use a soldering iron.

I'm sure you have checked, but one of the slots in my IDX charger indicated that something was wrong with the batteries; ended up having to pull one of the metal tongues outwards a little bit to get in contact with the battery nod.

Cheers

Fred

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I think anyone with a legitimate question about their charger and oddly behaving batteries (2 going down within a week) should not be attacked for having a 'poor relationship' with his equipment.

He knows the age of his batteries, what the blinking amber light on his charger means and went to a dealer troubleshoot it, and, asked on a forum if peers have had similar issues or knowledge of such situations.

I think the only one who has a 'poor relationship' with their equipment is someone and their keyboard and the constant overuse of said keyboard and under utilization of the equipment between their ears.

Best,

R

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thanks again to the positive contributiors.   i'm not suggesting that i haven't gotten good usage out of these batteries or there is something fishy going on, i'm just trying to increse my understanging and knowlege evey day as good professionals do. 

 

good question posed by Fred - the answer is, both times the batteries showed the first signs of error was after a few weeks of NOT using the battery.  I don't believe either were fully drained before it happned.   i did check the fuse on the charger (which looked fine) and replaced it with the spare, but as i said - the charger has been charging other battiers without issue.  

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mike: " i did check the fuse on the charger (which looked fine) "

that is not how to properly check a fuse...

" replaced it with the spare, "

why ?

" Producer Engineer Musician Sound Mixer "

and you call yourself an engineer..?

get a life troll.  you have zero concept of my life, the breathe of my work, the depth of my knowledge skills and talents or how they define me.   furthermore, this priggish question you pose is neither relevant to the discussion nor do you have any business questioning who I am or what I call myself.   you contribute nothing to this forum but elementary school conceit.  i'm too busy working, creating, and interacting with people in the physical world to stop by this otherwise useful board as often as you.  but regretfully whenever i do, i see you oozing your disgusting santorum all over every last discussion.  and it's really pathetic and gross.  so please stop - and please stay off the one thread that i might post every eight months.  if there was a block user function on this board, i'm confident most users would be thrilled to tune you out.  nice rep to have - now i get why you call yourself senator

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