Battery Question

[oilmillcharlie]

To you battery gurus out there I have question. My issue is this. I have 4 Duracell NiMH 2650mah batteries.
After recharging the batteries in a charger, the 4 batteries placed in a Pro9X battery holder meter at 5.2VDC. When placed in any one of my Pro9X series scanners, the scanners react with either a low battery warning or do not work at all. After removing the battery holders from the scanners they still meter at 5.2VDC. I have switched between battery holders (black & yellow) with no change in behavior. I have other batteries that meter at 4.7VDC that work fine in the same scanners with the same holders. Any ideas??? Is it because there is sufficient voltage but no amperage??

B.K.

 

[UPMan]

It is quite possible you have a bad cell. Open circuit metering is not a reliable way to check for battery condition. You need to put the batteries under load and measure the voltage.

 

[gmclam]

... the 4 batteries placed in a Pro9X battery holder meter at 5.2VDC.

Each battery is actually 1.20 volts. 4 x 1.20 = 4.80 volts. It sounds like you are measuring a surface charge.

As UPMan said, you need to measure the batteries with some load on them other than the meter. Additionally, some scanners can be programmed for when their low battery indication comes on. Some newer scanners want to know what kind of batteries you are using. Make sure those settings, if you have them, are correct.

 

[oilmillcharlie]

It is quite possible you have a bad cell. Open circuit metering is not a reliable way to check for battery condition. You need to put the batteries under load and measure the voltage.

Tried pairing and swapping around the batteries in a Pro-84 with absolutely no success indicating that all four batteries are lousy.
UPMan any suggestions as to how to measure batteries under load somehow with a meter attached?

B.K.

 

[UPMan]

You could put a small wire in the holder at each end of a battery put the battery into your PRO-9X and measure under load. (Be careful not to let the other ends of the wires touch together.) That would measure them under actual load. You'd have to do it 4 times (once for each battery). Or, if the PRO-84 lets you see both ends of each battery and you have small enough probes, you can use it w/o the extra wires.

You might also just have a bad charger. Have you tried charging them in the scanner? Takes 14-16 hours, but at least it would be a way to verify whether they take a charge.

 

[oilmillcharlie]

You could put a small wire in the holder at each end of a battery put the battery into your PRO-9X and measure under load. (Be careful not to let the other ends of the wires touch together.) That would measure them under actual load. You'd have to do it 4 times (once for each battery). Or, if the PRO-84 lets you see both ends of each battery and you have small enough probes, you can use it w/o the extra wires.

You might also just have a bad charger. Have you tried charging them in the scanner? Takes 14-16 hours, but at least it would be a way to verify whether they take a charge.

Thanks fo the feedback. Will try the wire method. Charger seems to work fine on other batteries. I am concerned about charging bad cells in the scanner. That can cause bad results if you know what I mean.

B.K.