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Equinox 800 Charging Takes 12 Hours


Horst

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I recharged my Nox 800 as usual 3 days ago and it took about 12H. Before it took about 4 hours in average. I did not change any items nor did I use a different socket. What came to my attention for some while is that the magnets of the charger cable became weak not holding on to the unit as they used to. I have about 100 charging cycles done in the past 7 months since I got my machine going out about 5-6 times a week. I'm curious if anyone made the same experience? I will try the other cable which came with the machine after running it flat. I usually charge after 2-3 detecting sessions (usually about 2-3 hours each session). As I have a trip to CA coming up beginning of September I don't want to take a chance getting into trouble being there. Should I have the battery replaced?

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I haven't had the problem but the others that have mentioned it it was slightly corroded/dirty contacts. It seems unlikely that the magnet would weaken. Does anything seem loose inside the charger or detector? 

The expected life on the battery is over 3 years, and a battery problem should show by the detector losing its charge faster, not taking longer to charge.

That's all I can think of.

One more, you could always use a clamp of some kind to hold the charger tight to the back to test that 

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I have also had it not quite align just right hooking it up (or I bumped it?)  before and have it stop charging and had to hook it up again.

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I guess check the charger and make sure it hasn't warped or deformed at all. That could keep it from making a flush connection.  Honestly I'm just grasping at this point. Cleaning the contacts is my first choice.

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2 hours ago, Horst said:

What came to my attention for some while is that the magnets of the charger cable became weak not holding on to the unit as they used to.

This is likely the problem.  Did you try the second cable?

 

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once I run it flat ( I will use it until it switches off) I will clean the contacts and use the other cable and let you know the outcome. Thank's for your replies!

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5 hours ago, Horst said:

once I run it flat ( I will use it until it switches off) I will clean the contacts and use the other cable and let you know the outcome. Thank's for your replies!

Also, you should avoid intentionally running your detector flat.  Lithium batteries do not like to be repeatedly run to minimum voltage as this reduces overall lifetime.  Although the Equinox likely has protection circuits to switch off the battery output before it gets into the detrimental low voltage region, you should avoid doing this if you can (sometimes it is obviously unavoidable for marathon field detecting sessions).  Ideally, you should simply recharge after each use unless you are going to keep the detector in standby idle storage for a significant period of time several weeks, in which case, storage at 60 to 75% capacity is ideal.

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Yeah, the run flat routine your thinking of Horst was for nicad batteries. Its actually the opposite for lithium batteries and you want to not run them down completely if you don't have too.

(Thanks Chase, I missed that he was doing that)

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Just had this problem.  Twice in a row.  Charging started out with usual slow blinking of LED then LED went out after about 1 hour.  Checked contacts, they were clean, cleaned them anyway with eraser, reconnected charger and it started charging again as usual.  About an hour later I walked by and saw LED blinking rapidly.  Then it started blinking rapidly, but erratically and eventually returned to normal blinking patter for a few minutes.  I tried 3 different iPad chargers, an iClever charging strip and both cables that came with the 800. This blinking sequence repeated for over 7 hours and never did indicate charge was complete.  I disconnected charger overnight.  Plugged it back in the next day and the LED finally lit solid green after an hour or two of crazy blinking.  I recorded a video of the blinking sequence for emailing to Customer Service.  I had used the detector for about 5 hours.

Next time it happened was after 3 hours of detecting a couple of days later.  Same LED blinking pattern repeating.  Tried same chargers and cables.  Finally reached full charge after 7 or 8 hours.

Called Jamie, got RMA right away, sent coil & pod to PA service center.  Emailed them the video.  Service center said battery checked good.  I figured it was a charging circuit problem because battery eventually fully charged both times.  New pod should arrive today.  Minelab service is the best.  John & Dan in PA are tops.

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dear all,

many thanks for your suggestions and comments. The new cable fixed the problem instantly. Everything is back to "normal".............

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