ZTS flashing at 10%!

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Lord Bear

Enlightened
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Nov 2, 2009
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Went rechargeable 18650 lithium/2xcr123a primary route cuz Malkoff dropins with appropriate host with said batteries worked out real well. Recently tried some "newest and brightest XML lights" with 18650's and when tested with my ZTS battery tester, the LED at 10% started flashing! Before I'd gotten the batteries down to 40%-60% and had no fear recharging them.
With absolute safety in mind I haven't recharged them and learned 2 things.
First any flashlight with "standby current" should be "locked out" or have the batteries removed when not EDC'ing said flashlights.
Second: I don't honestly know what the ZTS is telling me when "10% is FLASHING". Never happened before and instruction sheet is useless.
Edit: The ZTS model is the MBT-1. The batteries are 3 AW protected 2200mah 18650 lithium rechargeables. Got the batteries from Lighthound about 3 months ago.
 
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Is the ZTS tester made and approved to test Rechargeable Li-Ion cells ?

Or is it just for testing standard and Primary 16340 size cells .

Are ZTS testers avail. in different versions for various battery chemistry ?

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Which ZTS model are you using? The MBT-1 does have leads for Li-Ion, including 18650.

Have you checked the batteries in the ZTS itself? I have gotten the flashing 10%-LED "error signal" before when the battery-testers' own power was low.

Do you have a voltmeter (DMM)? What does that show for the voltage on your 18650 cells? ZTS pulse-load testers are invaluable for lithium primaries, NiMH, and alkaline chemistries, but Li-Ion state-of-charge can be reasonably approximated by voltage alone.
 
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It's the MBT-1 model. The AA's IN the ZTS tester are fine showing 80% when tested. (I do have other AA's to test with.) A newly charged 18650 reads 100% when tested.
 
Lord Bear said:
It's the MBT-1 model. The AA's IN the ZTS tester are fine showing 80% when tested. (I do have other AA's to test with.) A newly charged 18650 reads 100% when tested.
Click to expand...

I think you will need to check the voltage of the suspect 18650 cell(s), as it is certainly possible that you may have over-discharged them.

Are they protected cells? If so, the protection circuit may have been tripped.

Certainly prudent to exercise caution, as you note, with regard to safety issues.
 
Purchased a DMM couple days ago and after much headscratching finally figured out how to measure battery voltage properly. The three 18650's read 3.61/3.62/3.76 volts.
 
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Lord Bear said:
Purchased a DMM couple days ago and after much headscratching finally figured out how to measure battery voltage properly. The three 18650's read 3.61/3.62/3.76 volts.
Click to expand...

Yep, they're empty, but (hopefully!) not damaged. Since you say that they are protected cells, they are likely OK to cautiously recharge.

I think it is a good idea for everyone who uses Li-Ion cells to have a voltmeter (DMM or equivalent), as it makes it easier to monitor and use these batteries safely - :thumbsup:
 
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The instruction sheet for my Pila charger states that "For extended storage time, the battery charge shall be kept between 3.7V and 4.0V and not fall below 3.6V." Since they all measured above 3.6V I'm going to go ahead and recharge them.
Thanks for everything archimedes. (Should've gotten a DMM from the getgo.)
 
Thanks again archimedes for the link. Think I'll spend some time at the university.
 
Get a voltage meter and compare its' reading against another meters to confirm voltage to the nearest 10th of a volt. I have one meter that is .2V off, which is huge testing Li-Ion.


4.2V - 100%
4.1V - 90%
4.0V - 80%
3.9V - 60%
3.8V - 40%
3.7V - 20%
3.6V - 0%
 
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