BCD436HP/BCD536HP: BCD436HD issue: 1 of 3 batteries die overnight, even powered off!

[Hairball98498]

Hello, fellow scanner enthusiasts! This is my first post in the forums here since joining in 2017, but of course I still and always use Radio Reference for my frequency look-ups and to get opinions and advice!

I just picked up my second Bearcat BCD436HD handheld scanner because the one I bought in 2016 was starting to lose volume. It worked fine all those years, and the clock was always there. But the volume was getting to where I could barely hear it in my car, and would often have to put it up to my ear to hear a local call. Not fun when you're driving. I also noticed it wasn't picking up more and more local frequencies I've listened to here for years. Guess it was just overworked and wearing out, so I picked up a second one. The new (used, but like new) one came with all the original cords, clip, antenna, manual, even the box. It looks and feels like brand new! Even the knob is harder to turn because it's been turned so very little. BUT...

Now for the reason for this post: Within days after I bought it for $250 from a guy off craigslist, I noticed it wouldn't power on in the mornings unless it was plugged in. I only had it plugged in a few nights when I was sleeping, but normally turn it off and unplug it when I go to bed. No special reason other than it's hard to sleep when you hear calls on a scanner all night. Anyway, when I wake up in the morning, it won't power on. I put brand new Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in it, and even checked them with my multimeter, then the next day, ONE BATTERY was dead! Strange!

I can understand that if something is being left on, like in a car, it can cause a draw on the battery enough to need a jump in the morning. But this is a scanner, with no moving parts, and nothing to cause a draw when it's powered off. I don't listen to it on battery power, I always plug it in to either the wall outlet or the cigarette lighter socket in my car, so the batteries SHOULD last for a LONG time! My last BCD436HD got a broken pin in the charge cord socket caused by using a cheap cord off eBay, so I was forced to listen to it for the last 5+ years on only battery power, and it would still last several days using lithium batteries! Not this one! Brand new batteries one day, plug it in all day to scan, then unplug and turn it off for the night... ONE DEAD BATTERY by morning!!!

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem and found out what was causing it. It's very frustrating, and can get very expensive since a 4-pack of these batteries has more than double in price since the covid thing started. I'm already looking for a THIRD replacement for this scanner! But I'm scared that I'll get another defective one! I didn't even get into the second issue with this scanner: the clock! I was trying to stay on one topic. But yeah, I have to reset the clock EVERY TIME it gets powered up. I've read a ton of threads here about the issue. I'm stuck with a lemon this time. But the killing batteries is something nobody in the forum has mentioned.

Any opinions would be appreciated (but not about my super long mini-novel, LOL). Thanks much!

 

[n1chu]

It appears you experienced this only one time. And although you put new batteries in the radio and turned it off, you ended up with one cell going dead overnight. Have you replaced the dead battery and tried it again? I didn’t get that feeling from what you wrote. If you haven’t tried another set of batteries, try that. If you did, did you have the same results?

Just wondering if you had the bad luck of getting ahold of a bad battery… if you did it’s the first time I’ve heard of that ever happening and very remote. But it happens just the same.

 

[Hairball98498]

I installed a fresh set of brand new batteries on Monday, all confirmed good with my DMM. Tuesday morning one was dead, even though scanner was off all night. So Tuesday I replaced that one dead one, only have a different one dead Wednesday morning. On Thursday morning I installed an entirely new set of 3, and as expected, 1 was dead Friday morning. Even more odd was it didn't do this the first week I had this scanner, only started this past week.

To keep track of which battery I replace each morning, I mark each one. And yep, it's a different one each morning. The strangest thing about all this is that NOT ONCE have I listened to this scanner off battery power for more than maybe 5 minutes. It's always plugged in.

I'm already looking for something to replace it with. I can't keep dishing out so much money, only to risk getting another dud with issues. My last one was trouble free since I got it in 2016 (it was made in 2014). THIS one seems to have 2 issues already.

Right now, as I'm typing this, I'm going through my Sentinel app and seeing if there are any settings that may be the problem. I've also just installed the latest version so I'm up to date. But I don't think it's a Sentinel issue, it's more of a Bearcat issue.

 

[buddrousa]

lithium batteries should not be tested with a SIMPLE VOLT METER as the voltage remains almost the same until they are dead.
to test batteries you should be using a pulse type or load tester to test batteries.

 

[dave3825]

To keep track of which battery I replace each morning, I mark each one. And yep, it's a different one each morning.

Not sure that's even possible. Read up on how batteries in a parallel circuit works.

It's very frustrating, and can get very expensive since a 4-pack of these batteries has more than double in price since the covid thing started.

These work well in my 436 and are far from expensive.

LADDA rechargeable battery, HR06 AA 1.2V, 2450mAh - IKEA

LADDA rechargeable battery, HR06 AA 1.2V, 2450mAh You reduce costs and waste by switching to rechargeable batteries, especially if you are a frequent user of traditional alkaline ones. In addition, you will always have working batteries when needed! The battery is ready to use.

www.ikea.com

Pretty decent, only 100 ma less than what came with the scanner from Uniden.

AA High Capacity NiMH Rechargeable Batteries, 4 Pack

Amazing deals on this 4Pk High Capacity Nimh Aa Batteries at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[donc13]

I installed a fresh set of brand new batteries on Monday, all confirmed good with my DMM. Tuesday morning one was dead, even though scanner was off all night. So Tuesday I replaced that one dead one, only have a different one dead Wednesday morning. On Thursday morning I installed an entirely new set of 3, and as expected, 1 was dead Friday morning. Even more odd was it didn't do this the first week I had this scanner, only started this past week.

To keep track of which battery I replace each morning, I mark each one. And yep, it's a different one each morning. The strangest thing about all this is that NOT ONCE have I listened to this scanner off battery power for more than maybe 5 minutes. It's always plugged in.

I'm already looking for something to replace it with. I can't keep dishing out so much money, only to risk getting another dud with issues. My last one was trouble free since I got it in 2016 (it was made in 2014). THIS one seems to have 2 issues already.

Right now, as I'm typing this, I'm going through my Sentinel app and seeing if there are any settings that may be the problem. I've also just installed the latest version so I'm up to date. But I don't think it's a Sentinel issue, it's more of a Bearcat issue.

I wouldn't use lithium batteries, NIMH are better and typically cheaper.

If your old 436 is still available, send it to Uniden for their flat rate repair. Total cost with shipping should be under $100. Or send the new one in.

 

[Hairball98498]

I've been a photographer for over 40 years and have always used lithium batteries since they came out because rechargeable batteries have such a short life. Believe me, I've tried pretty much every type of battery known to man. As a drag race photographer, I shoot literally hundreds of pictures per day on race weekends, sometimes upwards of 2,500 shots at an event. When you're taking so many pictures, one after another, as fast as I do, and you're draining the batteries so fast you feel them getting hot in the camera, you KNOW you're putting them to their biggest test. I used to fire through a set of rechargeable batteries in less than a couple hours, about as fast as ANY brand of alkalines. When I discovered these lithium batteries and started using them in my cameras (I only used cameras that took AA batteries up until the last year or two and still have 4 or 5 that take AA's), I found that I could install a fresh set of Energizer ultimate lithium batteries on a Friday afternoon, and could shoot over 500 shots until they died. On a typical weekend with cars only running Saturday and Sunday, I can shoot all day Saturday and into about half the day on Sunday before the batteries died. NO OTHER BATTERY lasted that long, not even the square batteries that are used in my Canon DLSR's. So THIS is why I've been stuck on this battery for so long, in spite of it's cost.

I'm not going to read up on how batteries work. I'm 65 years old, and have used batteries in various things since I was a kid and NEVER, EVER had ANY of them die OVERNIGHT when something was turned OFF. It's obviously a short in the scanner. As a former auto mechanic who has worked with 12 volt car audio, security and pretty much everything else around cars and wiring, I know exactly what kills a car battery every few days even when the car isn't being driven... SOMETHING is causing a continuous draw. Could be as little as a light bulb staying on a a shorted wire, but it's something. Well, the same theory should hold true when it comes to AA batteries or any other size, SOMETHING has to be causing a draw. A battery doesn't just simply die overnight in something turned off, which brings me back to the original reason for my post: MINE ARE BEING DRAINED OVERNIGHT!!! Believe me or don't. I'm not making this stuff up. I have better things to do than get up at 6:00 on my day off and go online and post about something that is not true. If this thread can be closed or deleted it wouldn't bother me at all. Seems nobody believes me. In spite of people thinking you can't test a battery with a DMM, you CAN get a quick basic idea if a battery is up to charge or is low or dead. This isn't a car battery required to fire up a high compression engine, it's a simple AA battery used to power an electronic device. You can read all the thousands and thousands of online reviews about Energizer ultimate lithium batteries and I'd bet you anything you won't find anyone say they have one die overnight right out of the package when it's not even being used.

 

[dave3825]

As a former auto mechanic who has worked with 12 volt car audio, security and pretty much everything else around cars and wiring, I know exactly what kills a car battery every few days even when the car isn't being driven... SOMETHING is causing a continuous draw. Could be as little as a light bulb staying on a a shorted wire,

Ha, had that on my truck. Every couple days, dead battery. After some parasitic draw testing, turned out to be the glove box light switch was the culprit.

As far as the scanner, whats odd is you said each day you know it's a different battery because you marked them. Have you marked the battery slots in the scanner? I would do that and if it turns out to be the same slot each time, then that could point to a resistance/current/corrosion issue on one of the tabs..

I use a charger like this and test the batts bi weekly. When ever I find an under performer, I try to condition and if no go, then to the trash it goes.

https://www.amazon.com/Tester-Analyzer-Battery-Charger-Black/dp/B00FTDHUVA/

 

[BC_Scan]

for what its worth my 436 since new does the same thing , I have been through countless sets of rechargables since new 2014 ?
Im not surprised your having issues with the batery

 

[n1chu]

lithium batteries should not be tested with a SIMPLE VOLT METER as the voltage remains almost the same until they are dead.
to test batteries you should be using a pulse type or load tester to test batteries.

Are you referring to rechargeable LI batteries? I got the impression the OP was using Everready Energizer LI disposables. He said they were expensive so I guessed he was concerned about the cost of replacing them… I’ve got the AA rechargable LI batteries and have had success with them in my BCD325P2. Wondering if your caution about testing them is true for the Eveready Energizer disposables or only applied to the rechargables?

 

[buddrousa]

I use those also and a VOLT METER is not the tool to test LI Batteries.
I use both Disposable and rechargeable
Also 3 batteries in series and only 1 dies is a battery failure not the scanner.
the 436 uses 3 1.5 volt batteries to have a working voltage of 4.5 volts

 

[Rq17954z]

Hello, fellow scanner enthusiasts! This is my first post in the forums here since joining in 2017, but of course I still and always use Radio Reference for my frequency look-ups and to get opinions and advice!

I just picked up my second Bearcat BCD436HD handheld scanner because the one I bought in 2016 was starting to lose volume. It worked fine all those years, and the clock was always there. But the volume was getting to where I could barely hear it in my car, and would often have to put it up to my ear to hear a local call. Not fun when you're driving. I also noticed it wasn't picking up more and more local frequencies I've listened to here for years. Guess it was just overworked and wearing out, so I picked up a second one. The new (used, but like new) one came with all the original cords, clip, antenna, manual, even the box. It looks and feels like brand new! Even the knob is harder to turn because it's been turned so very little. BUT...

Now for the reason for this post: Within days after I bought it for $250 from a guy off craigslist, I noticed it wouldn't power on in the mornings unless it was plugged in. I only had it plugged in a few nights when I was sleeping, but normally turn it off and unplug it when I go to bed. No special reason other than it's hard to sleep when you hear calls on a scanner all night. Anyway, when I wake up in the morning, it won't power on. I put brand new Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries in it, and even checked them with my multimeter, then the next day, ONE BATTERY was dead! Strange!

I can understand that if something is being left on, like in a car, it can cause a draw on the battery enough to need a jump in the morning. But this is a scanner, with no moving parts, and nothing to cause a draw when it's powered off. I don't listen to it on battery power, I always plug it in to either the wall outlet or the cigarette lighter socket in my car, so the batteries SHOULD last for a LONG time! My last BCD436HD got a broken pin in the charge cord socket caused by using a cheap cord off eBay, so I was forced to listen to it for the last 5+ years on only battery power, and it would still last several days using lithium batteries! Not this one! Brand new batteries one day, plug it in all day to scan, then unplug and turn it off for the night... ONE DEAD BATTERY by morning!!!

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem and found out what was causing it. It's very frustrating, and can get very expensive since a 4-pack of these batteries has more than double in price since the covid thing started. I'm already looking for a THIRD replacement for this scanner! But I'm scared that I'll get another defective one! I didn't even get into the second issue with this scanner: the clock! I was trying to stay on one topic. But yeah, I have to reset the clock EVERY TIME it gets powered up. I've read a ton of threads here about the issue. I'm stuck with a lemon this time. But the killing batteries is something nobody in the forum has mentioned.

Any opinions would be appreciated (but not about my super long mini-novel, LOL). Thanks much!

Sounds strange, the batteries are hooked up in series as the voltage of one battery isn't sufficient to operate the radio. Don't see how one battery would go dead overnight !

 

[dave3825]

Also 3 batteries in series and only 1 dies is a battery failure not the scanner.

To keep track of which battery I replace each morning, I mark each one. And yep, it's a different one each morning.

OP marked each batt and says a different one is dead each day so not the same batt. I am betting on something related to what I wrote.

 

[buddrousa]

Dave with series connected batteries the scanner draws from all 3 batteries not one. This only leaves battery failure.
Cheap batteries failing AMAZON IKEA COSTCO ect

 

[dave3825]

Dave with series connected batteries the scanner draws from all 3 batteries not one.

I do know that. The OP is stating that he marked each of his 3 batts and each morning a different one of the three is dead.

 

[KevinC]

Just a WAG, but maybe you have a little bit of corrosion on the contacts on the circuit board causing a little parasitic current draw.

OTOH, I wonder if having C1 makes any difference? His original one probably didn't have it.

 

[buddrousa]

Good point Kevin but still the draw is from all 3 batteries not just 1. I have tried off brand batteries that have failed for no reason.
The OP has not revealed the source of the batteries

 

[KevinC]

Good point Kevin but still the draw is from all 3 batteries not just 1. I have tried off brand batteries that have failed for no reason.
The OP has not revealed the source of the batteries

Understood. I suspect bad/weak cells as well, but something may be drawing current, whereby exposing the faulty cell. But that's all just a guess.

 

[buddrousa]

The clock like you said is the only draw when the scanner is off nothing else would draw and the corrosion would cause more current draw.

 

[KevinC]

The clock like you said is the only draw when the scanner is off nothing else would draw and the corrosion would cause more current draw.

Ok. I'm not going to argue, but I've seen corrosion cause as little as a few milliamps current draw.