AW C cell died on me?

[Greg G]

I tried searching for an answer but no joy.

I have a septa Cree M@g that runs off 4 AW C cells and a blue Shark. This is my latest build and hasn't seen much use. It sits mostly on my nightstand.

Anyway I was planning to use it more in the coming weeks and it had been months since I topped off the batteries. I put them by pairs into my modified WF-139 charger. One battery kept the light green and would not take a charge. I left it in for about an hour. It measured ~1.4 volts before leaving it in. I *thought* that the protection circuit had been tripped but would eventually start charging. It didn't.

I then removed the protection board at the base of the battery and it still checked the same voltage and would not take a charge.

Is this thing dead? I can't believe it would be. It's practically brand new.

 

[ElectronGuru]

I used my WF-139 to charge a pair of AW C's today. A few basic thoughts:

Swap the cells?

Charging them at the same time may overheat the unit with unpredictable results. Have you tried one at a time?

When I put in a cell and get a green light, its a connectivity issue. Verify that both ends of the cell are hitting both ends of the chamber (especially if its a tight fit).

How long was the battery unused and at what storage voltage?

 

[GLOCK18]

I have 4 AW C that would not charge on a WF139, but charged with no issues on my BC6.

 

[Greg G]

I used my WF-139 to charge a pair of AW C's today. A few basic thoughts:

Swap the cells?

Charging them at the same time may overheat the unit with unpredictable results. Have you tried one at a time?

When I put in a cell and get a green light, its a connectivity issue. Verify that both ends of the cell are hitting both ends of the chamber (especially if its a tight fit).

How long was the battery unused and at what storage voltage?

I tried it in both bays.

I tried it by itself with the other bay empty.

The other three batteries still had close to 4 volts. This one had very little, like it had drained.

 

[Greg G]

I have 4 AW C that would not charge on a WF139, but charged with no issues on my BC6.

I've never had a problem charging AW C cells on a 139. All of my other C cells charge perfectly on on it.

This battery appears defective.

 

[gswitter]

The same thing happened with one of the cells in my 3C 1185. The light had not been used for a few months. I attempted to charge it up for Halloween last year, and one of the cells wouldn't take a charge. Tried a DN/Tenergy at a number of different rates, a WF-139, even a DSD. No luck. I think it read ~2.0V.

 

[Greg G]

I understand that crap happens, but the really bad thing about this is I can't get a replacement battery. I had to rob a battery out of a functioning light (disabling it) to get this light back running.

No more of this single manufacturer stuff for me. No support? Fine, I'll move on. It's my fault for getting caught up in the *trick of the week* AW C cell craze. I should have known better than to set up several of my lights with batteries from a source that could (and DID) dry up.

I'm boring this light out tomorrow for a 12AA FiveMega battery holder tomorrow. At least I can find Eneloops.

 

[gswitter]

I feel your pain.

I was fortunate enough to have a spare cell. I also have another multi-"C" build I can cannibalize cells from, so I can absorb a couple more cell deaths if I have to. This 3C 1185 is still my favorite high-output light. Hopefully, my remaining "C"s will last long enough for a similar or smaller-sized warm white LED build to eclipse the 1185 in both output and runtime.

I haven't ruled out the IMR26500s (at least a custom host will still be compatible with standard C cells), but I have no need to buy any yet.