MH-C9000 and Eneloops charge rate

[Mr Happy]

Mr Happy,
I'm glad the results are positive. I will get my son to give them a whirl (again), he has lost faith in me and these batteries. He has tried them from a fresh charge before, as they only last 10 mins they don't have chance to drain through leaving the batteries in the gamepad.
I agree that it would appear to be the gamepad but I'm confused why they worked fine when installed on pre charge, which given the date stamp you'd think that pre charge would be lower than that of a fresh charge.
Hi Ho. You never know. I'll let you know the results.
Many,many thanks to you and all for your valuable time and help.

Yes, this does seem to be a puzzle. What I'd suggest is that if/when the gamepad stops working after you next put the batteries in it, then don't try to recharge them immediately. Instead, put them in the C9000 on Discharge at a rate of 200 mA and wait for them to finish, see what discharge reading in mAh the C9000 gives. The difference between this number and 800 mAh will be the amount of charge the gamepad used before giving up. Let us know what you find.

 

[blaize]

Yes, this does seem to be a puzzle. What I'd suggest is that if/when the gamepad stops working after you next put the batteries in it, then don't try to recharge them immediately. Instead, put them in the C9000 on Discharge at a rate of 200 mA and wait for them to finish, see what discharge reading in mAh the C9000 gives. The difference between this number and 800 mAh will be the amount of charge the gamepad used before giving up. Let us know what you find.

Okey dokey.
I'm sure he will be on it later today and I've got a funny feeling they are going to go as quick as before. So I may well have the info after discharge soon.
Will get back to you and many thanks again.

 

[billcushman]

Blaize - If you have not already installed the batteries in the GamePad, wait until he is ready to use it before you install the batteries. If you have installed the batteries already, do not remove them unless advised to do so by Mr. Happy. Good luck, I hope you are surprised by a positive result.

 

[TakeTheActive]

TakeTheActive,
I'm not sure if you have misread my posts or you just have an abrasive manner. I have been trying to resolve this problem for 3 months and have read all I can and have followed the instructions fully, so your implication that I am lazy is unjust...

Quite often, new folks join a forum and immediately start asking BASIC questions that have been 'Asked-and-Answered' hundreds of times already. You joined the forum and began posting this month and all of your posts appeared to be complaining about the Eneloops and having to purchase the C9000 - both considered the BEST in their class by many here. I BLUNTLY 'complained' back (as stated at the end of my post ), and offered my observations and suggestions. You did not indicate that you were lurking here for three months, reading all of the STICKYs and FAQs, and were still confused. Instead, you were consistently negative - "...no thicko... ...rocket science... ...big an issue... ...twisted my melon..." etc... My goal was to get you to read and learn about the BASICs of rechargeable cells and NOT have to lead you step-by-step. This forum is the BEST place I've found to learn about the topic and that's why I decided to create my FAQ.

You posted no DETAILS (Charge Rate, Discharge Rate) and described a problem that, to me at least, pointed directly to the El Cheapo gamepad. The C9000 can verify itself and the cells.

I'm sorry that you're having a problem. The numbers you posted indicate the Eneloops are fine - back to the gamepad.

Good Luck!

 

[billcushman]

Blaize - I hope no news is good news. Let us know if the GamePad is in use and if the batteries are still working.

 

[Dry-cell]

Those AA Eneloops (old) I ordered from Amazon came in today, their stamped 10-08ED.

 

[billcushman]

Those AA Eneloops (old) I ordered from Amazon came in today, their stamped 10-08ED.

The 1500 cycle Eneloop AAs I have are stamped 10-08 EG. Do your batteries have a Crown symbol next to the + mark? If they do, they are the new 1500 cycle Eneloops. If they were in a blister pack, did the package list the cycle rating?

 

[Dry-cell]

No no, their the 1000 cycle one's (HR6 HR-3UTG).

 

[Eismagier]

That's very interesting. I thought they'd switched production over to the new model entirely and vendors were just selling off old stock of first generation Eneloops.

 

[billcushman]

My 1500 cycle AA Eneloops dated 10-08 EG are marked HR-3UTGA, have colored jackets and a Crown next to the + symbol. The vents are visible on the positive terminal.

 

[Dry-cell]

Well when I bought the "Sanyo Eneloop 4 Pack AA NiMH Pre-Charged Rechargable Batteries w/ Charger (SEC-MQN064)", like I stated in the first post in this thread. The batteries were dated 10-08EE.

 

[typinghands]

Wanted to say thank you again for the helpful information. As a noob, this reliable info from so many people gives me a great appreciation of the outstanding products that are out there.

Txs again.

 

[blaize]

Blaize - I hope no news is good news. Let us know if the GamePad is in use and if the batteries are still working.

No news is no news. Usually you can't get him off it ( not true he's pretty good about it),I restrict his use but now I'm asking him when he'll be going on it ha ha. He's had loads of school work so hasn't had time since I finished the charge process, which is better for him but no so good for our investigation. W/E coming up so.......
I have 8 x AAA so 2 sets fully loaded so it will be interesting to see if either or both hold up, I certainly haven't forgot you guys.

 

[blaize]

Blaize - If you have not already installed the batteries in the GamePad, wait until he is ready to use it before you install the batteries. If you have installed the batteries already, do not remove them unless advised to do so by Mr. Happy. Good luck, I hope you are surprised by a positive result.

Suprised,very, positively, not.
The 1st set lasted.........3 mins (is that a record). The 2nd set ( in 2nd controller) 20 mins.
I have left the batteries in the controllers as advised so advice on next step much appreciated.
The batteries were charged on wednesday and it is sunday today but I would expect the batteries to hold a charge for those 3 days but what do I know anymore.
Surfing the web I get the distinct impression that RF gamepads are notorious for draining ALL types of batteries, maybe this is just a lost cause.

 

[Eismagier]

Surfing the web I get the distinct impression that RF gamepads are notorious for draining ALL types of batteries, maybe this is just a lost cause.

There are good wireless controllers that don't burn through batteries. Putting good cells into a crap device won't solve your problems.

 

[Mr Happy]

Suprised,very, positively, not.
The 1st set lasted.........3 mins (is that a record). The 2nd set ( in 2nd controller) 20 mins.
I have left the batteries in the controllers as advised so advice on next step much appreciated.
The batteries were charged on wednesday and it is sunday today but I would expect the batteries to hold a charge for those 3 days but what do I know anymore.
Surfing the web I get the distinct impression that RF gamepads are notorious for draining ALL types of batteries, maybe this is just a lost cause.

Well, that is disappointing of course. Now is the time to put a set of the "spent" batteries (the three minute ones?) into the C9000 and set it to Discharge mode at 500 mA. This will have the C9000 measure what charge remains in the batteries. When you start the discharge, make a note of the voltages recorded in each slot in the first minute or two of the discharge. This will give a further indication of how well charged the batteries are at present.

 

[blaize]

Well, that is disappointing of course. Now is the time to put a set of the "spent" batteries (the three minute ones?) into the C9000 and set it to Discharge mode at 500 mA. This will have the C9000 measure what charge remains in the batteries. When you start the discharge, make a note of the voltages recorded in each slot in the first minute or two of the discharge. This will give a further indication of how well charged the batteries are at present.

Each slot reads 1.22v
Do I now leave them on discharge till finished?

 

[Mr Happy]

Each slot reads 1.22v
Do I now leave them on discharge till finished?

Yes, leave them to finish and then record the final mAh capacity readings in each slot.

I am going to guess that the discharge will take 3-4 hours and the final readings will be in the 1600-1700 mAh range. Let us wait and see.

I am estimating that the game pad is giving a premature low battery signal, which likely means it is not well designed. A well designed device should not give a low battery signal until the voltage is less than 1.1 V per battery, or even lower than that.

Does the game pad actually stop working, or does it just give a low battery warning? If it is only giving a low battery warning but continues to operate, then I would suggest ignoring the warning and continuing to use it until it actually does stop.

 

[blaize]

Yes, leave them to finish and then record the final mAh capacity readings in each slot.

I am going to guess that the discharge will take 3-4 hours and the final readings will be in the 1600-1700 mAh range. Let us wait and see.

I am estimating that the game pad is giving a premature low battery signal, which likely means it is not well designed. A well designed device should not give a low battery signal until the voltage is less than 1.1 V per battery, or even lower than that.

Does the game pad actually stop working, or does it just give a low battery warning? If it is only giving a low battery warning but continues to operate, then I would suggest ignoring the warning and continuing to use it until it actually does stop.

Thanks Mr Happy,
There are LEDs that flash on the reciever unit but they don't appear to be low charge indicators as when they flash the gamepad is totally inoperative.
Will get back to you with final discharge mah when done.

 

[Eismagier]

I am going to guess that the discharge will take 3-4 hours and the final readings will be in the 1600-1700 mAh range. Let us wait and see.

I wouldn't mind some 1600 mAh AAA Eneloops