Ultrafire WF-138 Question?

[flipsidenv]

I received my Ultrafire WF-138 charger yesterday. The one I received from battery junction doesn't have the switch option on the side for AA 3.6v or AAA 3.6v. Also the green indicating lights never turn off. I put a Tenergy Li-ion 14500 3.7v 800mah that was discharged to 2v in the charger and the green light still stayed on. When I pulled the battery 4 hours later (with the green light still on) it showed a charge of 3.7v. On the back of the charger it says WF-138 Switching Charger. Does anyone know if this is normal. I was wondering how you're suppose to tell when the battery is fully charged and the amount of time it takes with out taking it out of the charger every couple of hours to check.

 

[AlgaeEater]

Hi flipsidenv

I actually got the same exact chager from Batteryjunction and my charger doesn't even light up. I have the same exact batteries you do and mine doesn't even charge the batteries. (So it would seem) Using my multi-meter, my batteries that I received are currently giving out 3.9V

The picture displayed on the website (before it was corrected) is the picture is for the CR123A charger from Ultrafire, the other one.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1236 (This is the other one)
http://www.batteryjunction.com/wf-138.html (This is the one we have)

I e-mailed Matt from Batteryjunction, and he said he would contact me soon once he finds out what's up with either my particular charger, or the behavior of the batch of WF-138 chargers he received, i'm assuming.

 

[flipsidenv]

Matt emailed me and said it would be 5-7 days before he got another batch of wf-138 in to test the led/operating function. Let me know if you hear anything before then and I'll do the same. I tried charging another 14500 for 3 hours and the voltage only got up to 3v. After 4 hours still only 3v. Led stayed on the whole time.

 

[AlgaeEater]

Alright, I'll keep you notified if any news pops up. Right now I'm trying to discharge my battery below 3.7V to see if the charger I got actually charges at all, becuase it doesn't do anything when I place batteries inside like I said. At least you should be thankful it's charging to 3V!

 

[Lite_me]

I recently purchased a WF-138 AA-AAA charger from Lighthound. It has no switch on the side. Mine lights up Green when plugged in. When charging a AAA 10440, (that's all I have at this time) the light turns Red w/ quick flashes of Green every 1-2 sec. It's my understanding that this flash is the charger checking standing voltage. When the battery is finished charging (about 60-90min @ 4.25v) the light turns Green again. Note: Just before completion, the light alternates between Green and Red.
Actually, I assume it the light turns solid Green when finished, as I removed the battery both times I've used it when the light alternated between colors. Here's a pic of the bottom.

 

[AlgaeEater]

Alright, now I'm downright confused. The picture you show looks like to me the CR123A charger. But the charger me and flipsidenv got was a gray charger that has this on the back:

I'm not sure what's going on anymore :S

(Sorry for the blurry image, not good with a camera)

 

[flipsidenv]

Lite Me can you fit AA 14500 in that charger? That's not the one that I received. I got the one AlgaeEater is showing. You would think that a Product Number like WF-138 Switching Charger would only apply to one product and not multiple versions.

 

[Lite_me]

Yes, they fit. Here's a link showing the top side and where I ordered it from.
http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2463

 

[MattK]

Hi guys - This is a new item for us so there was a bit of a confusion - sorry about that.

When I went to test a unit after AlgaeEater first contacted me I found we were out of them so I was unable to determine if his LED's behavior was normal or not.

I have confirmed that the switch is only on the CR123A version, which we don't carry, so you can adjust v/ah for 3.6 and 3.0V batteries. Since all AA/AAA sized Li-Ions are 3.6/3.7V the switch isn't necessary for this unit.

What Lite Me is describing for LED behavior is actually quite helpful as it could suggest that the proper LED behavior. But since the charger is slightly different I cannot be sure..

Anyway, as flipsidenv noted I'm OOS on these and cannot test until we have new inventory which should be here in about 5 days.

In the meantime please be patient so we can resolve whether the chargers are operating correctly or not. As usual please do not charge unattended and I would recommend limiting charge times to no more than 3 hours at which point I would remove the batteries or disconnect the charger.

 

[flipsidenv]

Thanks Matt.

 

[MattK]

Hi Guys,

Testing now!

When plugged in LED's are GREEN.

When batteries are insterted LED's are RED but flash GREEN every few seconds.

If batteries are inserted with reverse polarity LED's stay green, no current moves.

When batteries are full charged LED's show solid green.

 

[Sneed]

Is there an update on this WF-138?

My lights stay green, no matter which way I put the AA batteries in. And the batteries never charge.

Hi Guys,

Testing now!

When plugged in LED's are GREEN.

When batteries are insterted LED's are RED but flash GREEN every few seconds.

If batteries are inserted with reverse polarity LED's stay green, no current moves.

When batteries are full charged LED's show solid green.