Streamlight LiteBox - not charging - Help?

I just bought a Streamlight LiteBox (used, returned to vendor). I plugged in the charger that came with it (which was one of the chargers listed as compatible on the "charging box", and left it alone for over 24 hours.

While the red LED on the charging box had gone out, and the green LED on the charging box had come on, I received no light when I removed the light from the charging box and clicked the switch. I proceeded to shut off the light and examine the bulb (again), and detected no damage. I replaced the light in the charging box, and clicked the switch. I received a pale, wan beam.

I then shut off the light and left it alone for three more days. Same results.

Any thoughts? I'm guessing the possibility exists that the battery is shot for some reason. How would I check this? (I do have a digital multimeter {purchased from C. Crane Co., in case that helps anyone identify the meter's capabilities}, and a reasonable willingness to disassemble the light for testing purposes.)

If you have any other suggestions, please include methods for testing to see if that is the case.

I believe that since I purchased the light as a used item, Streamlight might be reluctant to honor the warranty (I'm not the original purchaser, after all). I do, however, still have the option of returning the light to the supplier from whom I purchased it, if I act within the next three weeks. I just hate to give up a LiteBox. Even if I need to purchase a new battery, I might consider it worth the money to keep the light.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Cyclops942:

Take the 6 screws out of the bottom and check the battery voltage with your meter. I made the mistake with my litebox, charged it and threw it in the truck - forgetting about it for about 14 months. Later I couldn't charge it - even with those special 'pulsing' chargers which are supposed to recover 'dead' batteries. Can't remember the exact voltage but if its under about 5.5 volts it probably won't come back. Mine was under 2V!

Brightguy sells a replacement 6V 12AH battery for $ 22.95.

In a pinch, if you have one of those cheap rechargeable spotlights, check to see if they have a 6V battery - you won't get the runtime and it will wobble around in the battery compartment but you can verify the light works and the charger is operational.

Hope this helped..

Caddyshack..

I can check that later tonight, thanks! Also, unless shipping is absolutely horrendous, the price on that replacement battery still makes what I paid a good deal for the light.

Again, thanks!

EEEEEP!

I hooked up my multi-meter, and it said 0.11 volts DC. I think it's time to buy a new battery! I know the light works, because I could get a beam from it when the AC charger was hooked up.

We replace every litebox cell once a year.

Oh, yeah... I also know the light works because I hooked up my car's battery charger (in the 6V jump-starting mode) to the terminals on the light, and got one whale of a beam!

Looks like it's off to the local Battery*Mart (or whatever its name is) for some price comparisons, and then to the recycling center to drop off the old battery (since it's of the lead-acid kind).

Thanks ever so much for the advice (Caddyshack) and the anecdotal evidence (FC.)!

In my line of business we deal wiith SLA batteries frequently. Something to bear in mind - SLAs do not take kindly to being discharged deeply, and just hate it when they`re left like it. So they like to punish you by never holding a charge again.

Try not to routinely discharge SLAs lower than about 10% of their indicated voltage and never below around 25%. Forget to recharge it again within 24 hours and it will be damaged leaving a reduced capacity. Give it a week or so like that and it`s now just an expensive doorstop....


I have a 3MCp spotlight here that has (had) two 6v 4Ah cells inside. Left it for only 2 months following only 5 minutes of its total 20 minute life (I forgot about it!) and one cell was left totally shot. The other one managed to struggle back to life but has a severely reduced capacity.

The moral of the story is: look after your SLA batteries and always keep them topped up!

Roger, Chris!

I do have to ask how you forgot about a 3,000,000CP spotlight for 2 whole months, though.

<font color="800080">I do have to ask how you forgot about a 3,000,000CP spotlight for 2 whole months, though.</font>

Hmm, that`s a tough one. I think it was the arrival of my A2 and more recently Arc LSH-P that I was too busy playing with....er....evaluating. That, and catching up with a bit of the backlog at the Torch Reviews Site.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I use 2 lightboxes (both 20W wide spread beams as worklights - one has the power fail auto-on option) - I agree with FC's note - replace the cell 1x/yr due to SLA behavior. Even though after a year the light still seems bright when you take it off the charger - you'll note that it quickly drops with an old cell. You're not getting your rated runtime or brightness with old SLA's - they are relatively cheap.

Another SLA note - avoid buying surplus batteries (I buy them from electronics wholesalers at a reasonable price) - you might get the replacement battery for $6 from a surplus electronics store - but check the date code - they're often shiny new looking but have a 9x date code somewhere - that's 4+ years old, which is why they've been surplused. If you get an 03 mfgr date on your cell - you'll get a good strong year of service from it and a little more if you forget to change it. I've been getting lightbox 6v, 10AH batts for ~$13 as electronic parts - about $1/mo operating cost for a great light!

And where would you get them as electronic parts? And how come 12V SLAs work for 5, 6, and 7 years in automobiles, but 6V SLAs work only for 1 year in flashlights?

I just got an e-mail response back from the vendor who sold me the LiteBox with the dead SLA battery. (There were two other items also mentioned in that e-mail that were, shall we say, less than optimal in their functionality.) It says, and I quote, [ QUOTE ]
Thank you for your request. The Saturday Sale is a rummage sale of used items. If an item is malfunctioning we are happy to give credit back for that item within the 30 day warranty period. Consumable parts like bulbs and batteries are not covered under this warranty. In order to receive credit back for any item, just send us the items that are malfunctioning along with your complete billing address or order number.

[/ QUOTE ]
I replied that I found this policy to be acceptable, and that, since I could obtain a replacement battery easily and cheaply, I would not be returning the LiteBox. I then went on...
[ QUOTE ]
I would like to make something perfectly clear, though; the battery in the Streamlight LiteBox was sold to me when it was already in its non-functioning state; I did not use up its useful life after it was sold to me in a functioning state.

I was unaware that items offered for sale at the Saturday Sale were not tested and proven to be fully functional. This is gravely disappointing to me. This is the first time in several years of purchasing products from the Saturday Sale that I have been unfortunate enough to pay good money for someone else's cast-off trash. Always before, any defect in the item had been immediately obvious (engraving for personalization that had been ground off and covered with some black treatment, or engraving that had been left on the instrument, for example), and I had been able to make a fully-informed decision on whether I was still willing to buy the item or not. I feel that in the case of these three items, I had been asked to buy "a pig in a poke" while being given no opportunity to untie the sack and determine whether the contents were the pig I wanted, or the cat the buyer didn't want.

[/ QUOTE ]
I went on to thank the customer service representative for listening to my concerns, and for answering my questions (in the original e-mail) so quickly (it was less than 24 hours). I also copied the president of the company on this reply.

Okay, I quit. I got another reply from the customer service rep. I'm wasting his time complaining about something he can't change. I guess I was just being naive, thinking those folks would have time to test something that has to charge for 12+ hours.

Nowhere did that company say that the stuff was tested before it was offered for sale; that was my assumption. Next time (and yes, there will be a next time /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif, just not next month-- I'm on call then /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif), I'll just be more aware of this.