Batteries blew up
- Thread starter buckbull
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Seen that happen before. That's why I ALWAYS charge in a battery charger, not in a scanner that has a limited charge function.
Likely what happened is one of the cells developed a short and the energy of that cell manifested itself as heart (and lots of it). The most likely time for internal shorts to develop is during charge which brings us back to my first paragraph.
I've seen it much more often on GRE/Whistler units, but it is possible for it to happen in anything. I'm not saying it's an inerrant GRE/Whistler flaw or anything. Maybe it's because the GRE/Whistler units are 33% more likely to have it because there are 33% more cells (4 rather than 3). Once one cell goes, it can trigger others to follow which looks like what happened, as the heat was concentrated right where two cells lie in the holder.
Your friend is lucky the heat stopped there and didn't spread to other things such as the table or what not. Always charge cells in a charger designed for NiMH cells (or the cell chemistry you are using). Did I mention that?
Likely what happened is one of the cells developed a short and the energy of that cell manifested itself as heart (and lots of it). The most likely time for internal shorts to develop is during charge which brings us back to my first paragraph.
I've seen it much more often on GRE/Whistler units, but it is possible for it to happen in anything. I'm not saying it's an inerrant GRE/Whistler flaw or anything. Maybe it's because the GRE/Whistler units are 33% more likely to have it because there are 33% more cells (4 rather than 3). Once one cell goes, it can trigger others to follow which looks like what happened, as the heat was concentrated right where two cells lie in the holder.
Your friend is lucky the heat stopped there and didn't spread to other things such as the table or what not. Always charge cells in a charger designed for NiMH cells (or the cell chemistry you are using). Did I mention that?
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That in pretty bad shape. That one reason why to use a separate charger. I see this a lot when people use scanners to charge batteries.
Can this one be fix, not going to be as easy as the Whistler 1080 I fix for you, as have to neutralize the acid and see damage done to traces in detail. So will be a gamble.
Can this one be fix, not going to be as easy as the Whistler 1080 I fix for you, as have to neutralize the acid and see damage done to traces in detail. So will be a gamble.
you have a price (ball park ) what it would cost ? or would it be cheaper to buy a new scanner .
I try to keep it cheaper then buying a new one and within reason, but price is going to be hard to come up with on this one, as have to see the extent of the damage, as have to clean up the PCB first, now good thing is good reverse engineering at fixing multi layer boards.
Did your friend try turning it off and on again?
THIS is why I never, EVER charge batteries in my radios. I had an old Pro92 where I learned this lesson. My MAHA MH-C801D is great. Well worth the $50 bucks.
DJ11DLN
Member
+1,000! Learned my lesson with an old AM/FM portable and rechargeable D cells many years ago. Luckily it was kind of a cheapie, so no great loss. I even take the batteries off of my FD H-T's before I drop 'em in the chargers, just in case.:wink:
In my opinion, nothing is beyond repair. Isn't that a digital scanner? If so it is certainly more worth repairing than something 20+ years old.
byndhlptom
Member
Dammage looks worse that is probably is. Mostly solder mask/silkscreen damage. The "batt-" pad will need some rework, otherwise I would not consider it "gone", definitly worth trying to repair.
scooter1968
Member
when i got my BCD 396 XT it came with NI CAD batteries 2300 mAh, i never had troubles with it, but will need to get new rechargable batteries for it if i want to take it on the road
T
Tryceleon525
Guest
I need the idea here how can I use my battery for long time? Has any way to use battery for long time?
902
Member
I agree! I would at least attempt to repair it. First step is getting in there and cleaning up the damage before chemicals begin to corrode other assemblies. First, I'd round up my magnifying lamp, then I'd use some rubbing alcohol, a modified acid brush or old toothbrush to scrub off the stuff, maybe run some distilled water over it to clear any residue, and let it air dry thoroughly. Then start checking components and traces. At the very least, if I couldn't resurrect the charging circuit (I tend to be a little lazy and government work has conditioned me to sometimes accept "good enough"), I'd at least get it to the point where it takes alkaline batteries. This looks a lot worse than it probably is.
902
Member
When you get it back, please post a pic of it. I'd love to see what he did.
I had this type of problems with several models of Radio Shack Pro- handheld scanners. Usually I would loan it to someone who did not notice which switch position the battery switch was in, and try to charge the wrong type of batteries.
This was even with the color coded AA cell holders that came with them at that time. Yellow was for one type of battery and black or gray was another. Now those get used with wall wart adapters.
I also do not charge or even leave batteries in my portable devices anymore. (Mag-lite flashlights used to leak acid and self destruct too.)
This was even with the color coded AA cell holders that came with them at that time. Yellow was for one type of battery and black or gray was another. Now those get used with wall wart adapters.
I also do not charge or even leave batteries in my portable devices anymore. (Mag-lite flashlights used to leak acid and self destruct too.)
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