Help - Battery problem with Icom r5

[rboncinelli]

I am having trouble with charging the batteries for my new icom r5 model.

They've been on charge for 16 hours and they are still not fully charged according to the
segments showing on the receiver.

I am using the standard charger provided with the scanner.

Does this mean my radio has a defect?

Thks

 

[N4JNW]

Might mean the charger has a defect... Remove the battery and look at the label on it. See what the voltage the label says the battery should be at. Meter it. On a standard voltmeter/multitester, the voltage shown at full charge should be just above what the battery is rated at.

Check the charger. Take the voltmeter and measure the charger output. Compare it with what's printed or stamped on the charger.

Something else, turn on the radio and talk talk talk. Run it down. Zonk the battery to the point the radio won't turn on. Then charge it overnight and see what happens. Sometimes batteries just need to be cycled.

You can tell if the battery is charging, or is fully charged by feeling of it after charging all night/day. It should be warm, but not hot.

Hope this helps... Sometimes in order to solve a problem, an accurate diagnosis will lead you to the culprit. It might be the charger and not the radio, or it might just be the battery pack. Do some snooping with a multimeter and eliminate the things that are working properly.

 

[MarkWestin]

More information requested:

Are these the Panasonic 1100 mah NiCd cells that came with the radio?

Are you charging the batteries in the radio?

Did you set the Nicd select to Y? ( item 5 page II)

If you are charging high capacity Nimh cells (2500 and plus mah) it will take a very long time to charge in your radio.

Even if you did everything correctly, the IC-R5 is a much better radio than battery charger. Consider purchasing an external battery charger. One that can charge any number of batteries (not just pairs) is much better because each battery has its own circuit.

I never charge batteries in any of my radios (except Ham radios that use LiIon packs).

Mark

 

[rboncinelli]

Mark,

They are Panasonic batteries that come with the radio.

Can I also ask you if the radio can be cdamaged by over charging batteries.
Say if the indicator led is broken and the battery keeps charging can this damage the receiver set or just the batteries?

 

[MarkWestin]

If your batteries haven't been charged before, it can take up to 3-5 charges before they will show as being full on the IC-R5 "battery meter" . The only possible damage would be if the batteries became so hot that something melted (not very likely). The charger in the IC-R5 and most other radios is just a trickle charger and isn't a "smart" charger. The odds are almost zero that your battery indicator is broken.

Mark