Help repeated low batery warning :(

Mark Chase · 12th January 2006, 19:54

OK you clever lot

Having missed a dive last week due to a low bat warning on fresh batteries i swapped them again and got it all working. Tonight I switch on my unit and the solenoid wont fire on the main or the slave. Apart from that the hand sets boot up fine. I do a calibration which goes fine the solenoid fires OK. Then the unit holds set point.

Switch off primary switch off slave. Switch on again to try and fire solenoid and I get a low battery warning

Check 02 interstage pressure and its a smidge over 7.5bar

Strip out unit and check batteries. Slave shows 6v and the master shows 5.8v. The unit has had about an hours use on the fresh batteries and dived last on the 29th December Unit is housed in a garage heated to 15c.

I checked two new batteries and they showed 6.48v each.

Q:1 is 5.8v low enough to trigger a LBW and not fire the solenoid?

Q:2 Assuming I haven't got a duff batch of CRP2's what could be draining the batteries this quick?

Anybody got any ideas?

Unit has a Uri HUD on it but thats independently powered and splices into the wires between the cells and the hand sets so i don't think it could effect the unit.

All help gratefully received. Simple answers please as I am only slightly above being an electronics numptie.

ATB

Mark Chase

Pierre Farrugia · 12th January 2006, 20:21

Quote: (Originally Posted by Mark Chase)

OK you clever lot

Having missed a dive last week due to a low bat warning on fresh batteries i swapped them again and got it all working. Tonight I switch on my unit and the solenoid wont fire on the main or the slave. Apart from that the hand sets boot up fine. I do a calibration which goes fine the solenoid fires OK. Then the unit holds set point.

Switch off primary switch of slave switch on again to try and fire solenoid and i get a low battery warning

Check 02 interstage pressure and its a smidge over 7.5bar

Strip out unit and check batteries. Slave shows 6v and the master shows 5.8v. The unit has had about an hours use on the fresh batteries and dived last on the 29th December Unit is housed in a garage heated to 15c.

I checked two new batteries and they showed 6.48v each.

Q:1 is 5.8v low enough to trigger a LBW and not fire the solenoid?

Q:2 Assuming I haven't got a duff batch of CRP2's what could be draining the batteries this quick?

Anybody got any ideas?

Unit has a Uri HUD on it but thats independently powered and splices into the wires between the cells and the hand sets so i don't think it could effect the unit.

All help gratefully received. Simple answers please as I am only slightly above being an electronics numptie.

ATB

Mark Chase

If it was me, and due to my work (as a technician) if I have a doubt, I would first remove it! Like try a pair of batteries from a friend or just bought across the street and if this does not work I would even remove HUD. At least like this you would have removed 2 variables!

Good luck! Me still playing with crimps and sensors so I know what it feels

TheMacallan · 12th January 2006, 21:04

Mark,
This was on the Inspiration Forum a few months back.
...and yes I've had the problem.
AP had a duff batch of resistors that showed a false low battery.
Mine was intermittent.

The factory will know all about this!
It's a back to base fix.

Mark Chase · 13th January 2006, 00:07

Quote: (Originally Posted by TheMacallan)

Mark,
This was on the Inspiration Forum a few months back.
...and yes I've had the problem.
AP had a duff batch of resistors that showed a false low battery.
Mine was intermittent.

The factory will know all about this!
It's a back to base fix.

Interesting, but its been fine for 18months since new July 04? So could this still be relevent?

ATB

Mark Chase

Tim Cashman · 13th January 2006, 11:22

Mark,
Last summer I had a similar problem to this where new batteries would last for 1 or 2 dives at most, then go flat. I switched batteries, switched makes of batteries, resoldered wiring etc etc with no improvement. Finally solved it by replacing the microswitches. Over 6 yrs use they had become slightly corroded and were leaking current when the unit was switched off. (Maplins £1.49 each) Hope this helps?
Tim

12th January 2006, 19:54	#1 (permalink)
Mark Chase RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kent Posts: 2,821	Help repeated low batery warning :( OK you clever lot Having missed a dive last week due to a low bat warning on fresh batteries i swapped them again and got it all working. Tonight I switch on my unit and the solenoid wont fire on the main or the slave. Apart from that the hand sets boot up fine. I do a calibration which goes fine the solenoid fires OK. Then the unit holds set point. Switch off primary switch off slave. Switch on again to try and fire solenoid and I get a low battery warning Check 02 interstage pressure and its a smidge over 7.5bar Strip out unit and check batteries. Slave shows 6v and the master shows 5.8v. The unit has had about an hours use on the fresh batteries and dived last on the 29th December Unit is housed in a garage heated to 15c. I checked two new batteries and they showed 6.48v each. Q:1 is 5.8v low enough to trigger a LBW and not fire the solenoid? Q:2 Assuming I haven't got a duff batch of CRP2's what could be draining the batteries this quick? Anybody got any ideas? Unit has a Uri HUD on it but thats independently powered and splices into the wires between the cells and the hand sets so i don't think it could effect the unit. All help gratefully received. Simple answers please as I am only slightly above being an electronics numptie. ATB Mark Chase __________________ See my "Doing It Chasey" video where I'm locked into a padded room, naked, with two ball bearings and within an Hour, I manage to lose one and break the other!!! Kevin Juergensen 16/11/08 [/quote] Last edited by Mark Chase : 13th January 2006 at 00:08.
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12th January 2006, 20:21	#2 (permalink)
Pierre Farrugia Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Malta Posts: 636	Re: Help repeated low batery warning :( Quote: (Originally Posted by Mark Chase) OK you clever lot Having missed a dive last week due to a low bat warning on fresh batteries i swapped them again and got it all working. Tonight I switch on my unit and the solenoid wont fire on the main or the slave. Apart from that the hand sets boot up fine. I do a calibration which goes fine the solenoid fires OK. Then the unit holds set point. Switch off primary switch of slave switch on again to try and fire solenoid and i get a low battery warning Check 02 interstage pressure and its a smidge over 7.5bar Strip out unit and check batteries. Slave shows 6v and the master shows 5.8v. The unit has had about an hours use on the fresh batteries and dived last on the 29th December Unit is housed in a garage heated to 15c. I checked two new batteries and they showed 6.48v each. Q:1 is 5.8v low enough to trigger a LBW and not fire the solenoid? Q:2 Assuming I haven't got a duff batch of CRP2's what could be draining the batteries this quick? Anybody got any ideas? Unit has a Uri HUD on it but thats independently powered and splices into the wires between the cells and the hand sets so i don't think it could effect the unit. All help gratefully received. Simple answers please as I am only slightly above being an electronics numptie. ATB Mark Chase If it was me, and due to my work (as a technician) if I have a doubt, I would first remove it! Like try a pair of batteries from a friend or just bought across the street and if this does not work I would even remove HUD. At least like this you would have removed 2 variables! Good luck! Me still playing with crimps and sensors so I know what it feels __________________ Pierre Farrugia My wife told me " If you don't quit diving I'm going to leave you" My reply " God, I'll miss you" www.atlam.org www.divemed.com
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12th January 2006, 21:04	#3 (permalink)
TheMacallan New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Scotland Posts: 48	Re: Help repeated low batery warning :( Mark, This was on the Inspiration Forum a few months back. ...and yes I've had the problem. AP had a duff batch of resistors that showed a false low battery. Mine was intermittent. The factory will know all about this! It's a back to base fix.
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13th January 2006, 00:07	#4 (permalink)
Mark Chase RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Kent Posts: 2,821	Re: Help repeated low batery warning :( Quote: (Originally Posted by TheMacallan) Mark, This was on the Inspiration Forum a few months back. ...and yes I've had the problem. AP had a duff batch of resistors that showed a false low battery. Mine was intermittent. The factory will know all about this! It's a back to base fix. Interesting, but its been fine for 18months since new July 04? So could this still be relevent? ATB Mark Chase __________________ See my "Doing It Chasey" video where I'm locked into a padded room, naked, with two ball bearings and within an Hour, I manage to lose one and break the other!!! Kevin Juergensen 16/11/08 [/quote]
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13th January 2006, 11:22	#5 (permalink)
Tim Cashman RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 55	Re: Help repeated low batery warning :( Mark, Last summer I had a similar problem to this where new batteries would last for 1 or 2 dives at most, then go flat. I switched batteries, switched makes of batteries, resoldered wiring etc etc with no improvement. Finally solved it by replacing the microswitches. Over 6 yrs use they had become slightly corroded and were leaking current when the unit was switched off. (Maplins £1.49 each) Hope this helps? Tim
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