SDS100/SDS200: External (EBC100) battery charger question

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NWI_Scanner_Guy

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Is the red light supposed to flash when the battery is charging? It's been a while since I've used the external battery charger for one of my large SDS100 batteries and I don't remember if it was solid red or flashing red the last time I used it. Somewhere along the way, I lost the documentation that came along with the battery and charger, so I can't reference that. I've had it charging for a couple of hours now and it's been flashing the entire time.

Thanks in advance for any / all info provided.

:)
 

budevans

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Here's a pdf copy of the instructions for the EBC-100 charger. FYI, it's been mentioned in the Uniden forums that if the battery gets too low, it can't be recharged.
 

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NWI_Scanner_Guy

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Had that happen to me a couple of times...
Unplug the AC adapter and giggle the battery around to wipe the contacts
then plug the AC adapter back in... Should be ok...

Well, unplugging the adapter from the wall didn't help, but it did 'inspire' me to unplug it at the charging cradle and plug it back in. That seemed to do the trick, so thanks for the inspiration RandyKuff!! (y) (y)
 

rvacs

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Sometimes they are picky on the seating of the battery...I sometimes have to wiggle mine a bit.
 

n1chu

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Usually just removing and replacing the battery will do the trick. You may need to do it a few times before the light stays solid red but that hasn’t happened with mine... yet. If the light continues to flash it could be either the battery or the charger that’s at fault. If you have another battery you can see which is at fault. If it’s the battery, it could be it has discharged to zero volts, in which case it’s toast. However, there may be a way to bring it back to life if it has not gone completely dead (zero volts)... Place another battery across the suspect battery in parallel for a minute or two. The battery may have discharged not to zero but to a point that will not allow the charger to work, It’s hard to connect the batteries together with the way the contacts are on the battery but if you have a steady hand you can pull it off. While the batteries are connected in parallel (plus to plus, minus to minus) feel if it is getting hot. If it is remove it to preferably outside where if it does continue to heat it won’t catch anything on fire. Then dispose of the suspect battery properly. The idea is to increase the charge in the suspect battery to a point above where the charger will activate and start charging the battery. Monitor that battery while charging, it’s still suspect... checking for excesive heat just to be safe. Lithium ion batteries need to be respected because of fire and explosion but as long as you continue to feel no rapid buildup of heat, you should be ok. To be extra safe, only try and recover a suspect battery outside your house or garage... and pop it out of the charger if you feel heat and put some distance between you and the battery... toss it out onto the lawn and give it 15 minutes. Then dispose of it as directed. It’s bad.
 

n3obl

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It also flashes red after ten hours charging if you run the big battery down too far as it trips something in the charger to stop charging due to too long time. If you remove it and reseat it usually finishes charging within an hour or two.
 

kb7gjy

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Usually just removing and replacing the battery will do the trick. You may need to do it a few times before the light stays solid red but that hasn’t happened with mine... yet. If the light continues to flash it could be either the battery or the charger that’s at fault. If you have another battery you can see which is at fault. If it’s the battery, it could be it has discharged to zero volts, in which case it’s toast. However, there may be a way to bring it back to life if it has not gone completely dead (zero volts)... Place another battery across the suspect battery in parallel for a minute or two. The battery may have discharged not to zero but to a point that will not allow the charger to work, It’s hard to connect the batteries together with the way the contacts are on the battery but if you have a steady hand you can pull it off. While the batteries are connected in parallel (plus to plus, minus to minus) feel if it is getting hot. If it is remove it to preferably outside where if it does continue to heat it won’t catch anything on fire. Then dispose of the suspect battery properly. The idea is to increase the charge in the suspect battery to a point above where the charger will activate and start charging the battery. Monitor that battery while charging, it’s still suspect... checking for excesive heat just to be safe. Lithium ion batteries need to be respected because of fire and explosion but as long as you continue to feel no rapid buildup of heat, you should be ok. To be extra safe, only try and recover a suspect battery outside your house or garage... and pop it out of the charger if you feel heat and put some distance between you and the battery... toss it out onto the lawn and give it 15 minutes. Then dispose of it as directed. It’s bad.

Agreed, Very safe way to do this. Over the years I have had customers bring in a battery that was at or near zero that wouldn't take a charge. Depending on the battery makeup I could "jump start" the battery and bring it back. Again, do it safely and monitor it. Also remember each time you do it you are taking the overall battery lifetime down each time. Batteries don't like being jump started.

Stay safe
 
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