Battery Fail - BCD436HP

[MCKFD34]

Got an SD card error. Opened compartment and re-seated it. Put in freshly re-charged batteries, had them for over a year. In a few mins, the device got real hot! Battery compartment cover melted. Kept getting hotter. Had to use a tool to flip open the compartment and get the batteries out. Almost too hot to handle. Plastic melted inside. Still works when plugged in. What could've happened?

 

[doctordialtone]

What could've happened?

Did you charge the batteries IN the scanner?


If so, this is a common result.

 

[tumegpc]

It looks like it got hot enough to warp the microSD clip. What brand name batteries and charger were you using?

 

[MCKFD34]

Did you charge the batteries IN the scanner?


If so, this is a common result.

no - i use a separate 'La Crosse Technology' charger

 

[MCKFD34]

It looks like it got hot enough to warp the microSD clip. What brand name batteries and charger were you using?

EBL2300 mAh

 

[MCKFD34]

It looks like it got hot enough to warp the microSD clip. What brand name batteries and charger were you using?

EBL 2300 mHa

 

[MCKFD34]

Did you charge the batteries IN the scanner?


If so, this is a common result.

No I use a separate 'La Crosse Technology' charger

 

[MCKFD34]

It looks like it got hot enough to warp the microSD clip. What brand name batteries and charger were you using?

EBL 2300 mHa with a LaCrosse Technology charger

 

[n1chu]

Charging the batteries in the scanner using the built in charging system? You say this is a common issue? Ok. I don’t doubt you. But it’s the first time I’ve heard of the radio’s charging system causing a meltdown. What I’m stumbling over is the fact the batteries were charged outside in a good charger, and then installed in the radio... this causes me to guess the charging system may have been improperly set for the most rapid charge setting Causing the batteries to overheat and then the batteries were installed, where they continued to cook, or were just still too hot and damaged the radio in the process of cooling down. Since we were not told if the batteries were hot when installed we need more input.

 

[n1chu]

The External charger has a good name and is versitile. I own 3 of them but do not alter the recommended charging rate. In fact, I use the slowest rate as it charges at a cooler temp. We all know heat is the enemy of these batteries. The more heat the faster dielectric paste drys out and kills the battery.

 

[MCKFD34]

Charging the batteries in the scanner using the built in charging system? You say this is a common issue? Ok. I don’t doubt you. But it’s the first time I’ve heard of the radio’s charging system causing a meltdown. What I’m stumbling over is the fact the batteries were charged outside in a good charger, and then installed in the radio... this causes me to guess the charging system may have been improperly set for the most rapid charge setting Causing the batteries to overheat and then the batteries were installed, where they continued to cook, or were just still too hot and damaged the radio in the process of cooling down. Since we were not told if the batteries were hot when installed we need more input.

Hi. The batteries in the charger were not hot at all. i would have noticed when I took them out so as to put them in the scanner. This is weird

 

[n1chu]

Ok. The batteries were charged properly? Outside the radio? And they were not hot when installed? I will accept a YES answer for the 3 questions. Therefore;

The only thing that I can think of was the batteries were installed incorrectly... the correct polarity was not observed. And in doing so the internal circuitry of the radio allowed these batteries to short circuit. Or, since the SD card mount was mentioned, possibly the metal door had come unhinged and dislocated where it somehow caused a short. Again, the batteries shorting out, which is a highly probable cause for the origin of heat is my guess. I’m waiting for someone to tell me what caused the batteries to short out and produce that heat.

 

[gh6406]

+1 on the batteries being inserted improperly. I think that one battery had to be inserted backwards. If all three had been inserted wrong, I think that it would have only blown something in the radio.

 

[MCKFD34]

If that SD clip was warped, or bent like it appears, could that have made contact between two of the batteries, and thus the short?

 

[MCKFD34]

I should mention again, that the device still works, but only when plugged in now. As soon as its energized, it turns on.

 

[buddrousa]

Looks like batteries may have been reversed

 

[n1chu]

I should mention again, that the device still works, but only when plugged in now. As soon as its energized, it turns on.

So if not for the warping of the plastic case, batteries could still provide power and the radio would work. That further backs up the probability of this scenario... Warped plastic case caused by heat... Heat caused by batteries improperly installed.

It all boils down to this one question when determining what caused the batteries to heat up... Do you remember turning the radio on after installing the newley charged up batteries? Did it work? Because, if it did not, the batteries were installed incorrectly, If it did it means there was an internal problem with the batteries. That problem is probably a direct short. That direct short may have been caused by the batteries themselves meaning the batteries became defective. There is another possible cause we need to consider... the metallic SD card holder. Did it become dislodged and somehow helped in completing the electrical path that led to the direct short. Thats highly improbable. The part is just not big enough to help create a electrical path by itself. So, why do I keep bringing it up? For one thing, I hate that SD card carrier design. They should be outlawed, period. Secondly and more to the point is this... when I read the initial posting, I took a look at my BCD436HP. I opened the battery compartment and noticed a piece of metallic foil I had stuck onto the inside of the battery cover. This was a down and dirty fix for a degradation of signal strength on UHF frequencies. And that Metallic foil got me a noticeable UHF reception improvement. (Uniden offered to fix the issue with the install of a component.) This homemade fix worked for me so I never sent my radio in for the permanent fix. The homemade metallic foil worked just fine. But because the metallic strips were homemade, all kinds of sizes are possible. Which means the homemade fix could have helped complete that direct (or dead) short.

 

[MCKFD34]

Hi thank you. yes, it worked after i put them in. I know that for sure.

 

[MCKFD34]

Hi thank you. yes, it worked after i put them in. I know that for sure.

So if the homemade foil did fine, then s loose sd card cover shouldn't have been an issue either?

 

[MCKFD34]

Hi thank you. yes, it worked after i put them in. I know that for sure.

well, I shouldn't I know for sure, I am 98% sure