SDS100/SDS200: SDS100 charge light blinks red w/ new larger battery (again)

[scannerhead]

As posted in the prior thread (that was closed) I am also experiencing the red charge light begins to blink after hours into charging with the new larger battery. I've only recharged a couple of times overnight after fairly deep discharges. Have found the flashing red charge light the next morning. Unplugged for a moment, replugged and solid red charge continues. Green light after a couple more hours and appears fully charged.

Using the included cable and adapter. Always have. Could it be there is a firmware defined time limit that the big battery is exceeding when needing a full charge after deep discharge. Admittedly, I haven't tried running down the battery for a short time and then charging. Have been away from my radio for the holiday. Never had this happen with the original smaller battery.

PS Jason Houk said "A blinking red charge indicator is a charging error" not an overheat issue.

Thanks

Prior thread that quickly went off the rails... http://forums.radioreference.com/un...nks-red-w-new-larger-battery.html#post3026391

 

[rcool101]

Mine did this tonight. Charging a long time being turned off. Unplugged and re plugged and in 2 min green was on. And cold too

 

[ecarvalho]

I had it happen on my 2nd full charge. Unplugged and plugged back. It worked. Charged to green.
scannerhead has a point, this might actually be a firmware issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jasonhouk]

I have submitted this issue to engineering for them to review.

Houk

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[KK4JUG]

When I first got the SDS100, I used the included charger for the first few charges with no problems. Even so, now I only use 3A chargers. That assures me that I can run the scanner and internal charger at the same time, if I want. Still no problems.

 

[ecarvalho]

I have submitted this issue to engineering for them to review.

Houk

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[letarotor]

This is happening to me right now. I did a full charge on my new battery when I got it, ran it down one time and then did another full charge but was not looking for this issue, and then I used it yesterday and ran it down to the beeping alert on low battery stage. At 11 p.m. last night, I plugged it in and had it turned off to charge in the radio. At 9 p.m. this morning it still was not fully charged and I just looked about 5 minutes ago and saw that I have the blinking red light.

What I'm wondering is this. Could this be the stage where the battery slows down its charge before completing? Mine is flashing right now and I'm contemplating just leaving it flashing or maybe even filming it, unplugging it, and then plugging it back in. I definitely think that 10 hours of charging should have fully charged the radio by now but I forget what the specs say about length of time.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[letarotor]

It took approximately 11 to 12 minutes after I unplugged my radio as the red light was flashing and then plugged it back in for the green light to finally come on. I don't know if I had just kept it plugged in for 12 more minutes if the light wood has turned green or not? I'm still wondering if this flashing light could be an indicator that the charging cycle has slowed down until the radio is completely charged as it does in the final stage.

I shot a video, and I did pause it so that it's not more than 3:30 minutes/seconds long. I'll try to upload the video here but I'm not sure if that will work. So here is the link to where you can watch it on my Google Photos account if it doesn't upload here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FV6Wo5DYrGUC6MEg8

Brian (COMMSCAN)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[racing1]

It took approximately 11 to 12 minutes after I unplugged my radio as the red light was flashing and then plugged it back in for the green light to finally come on. I don't know if I had just kept it plugged in for 12 more minutes if the light wood has turned green or not? I'm still wondering if this flashing light could be an indicator that the charging cycle has slowed down until the radio is completely charged as it does in the final stage.

I shot a video, and I did pause it so that it's not more than 3:30 minutes/seconds long. I'll try to upload the video here but I'm not sure if that will work. So here is the link to where you can watch it on my Google Photos account if it doesn't upload here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FV6Wo5DYrGUC6MEg8

Brian (COMMSCAN)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Mine just goes from solid red to solid green not flashing as of yet. Was yours overheated in anyway?

 

[letarotor]

Mine just goes from solid red to solid green not flashing as of yet. Was yours overheated in anyway?

No the scanner was not warm at all. I have noticed that with the new battery it runs cooler and the battery never heats up but the upper half of the radio sometimes gets warm but not hot. With the original, smaller battery the battery itself would get pretty darn hot sometimes but not all the time. But in this specific incident or case, nothing at all was even warm on the scanner.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[Pat]

Maybe there's an internal timer that cuts charging off after a set amount of time has passed without the battery reaching 4.2V, and when the big battery is fully discharged it exceeds this time limit while recharging due to the larger capacity?

 

[scannerhead]

Thanks for reporting this Jason. Forgot to add that the radio was off during charging. The radio was not warm at all but I don't know how long it was flashing red. I think the flashing is occurring late in the charge cycle though.

 

[jasonhouk]

Thanks for reporting this Jason. Forgot to add that the radio was off during charging. The radio was not warm at all but I don't know how long it was flashing red. I think the flashing is occurring late in the charge cycle though.

My flashing has occurred during the last stage of the charge. Like others have stated this could be a safety timed feature that possibly could be extended.

Houk

 

[billajr]

Mine also did the same thing last night. I ran it down till it quite plug it in. The next morning when I got up the red light was flashing. I turn mine on it said 4.17 volt turn it back off plug it back in and a little while later it turn green. I was using the uniden charger but with a 6 foot long Amazon basic cable. But I bet Pat might be right about a internal timer.

 

[seth21w]

Any time you use any non uniden cable or wall plug expect flashing! I have had mine for 3 months and no flash at any time.

 

[KK4JUG]

Any time you use any non uniden cable or wall plug expect flashing! I have had mine for 3 months and no flash at any time.

A quality cable and at least 2A in the charger should be no problem, regardless of the brand.

 

[seth21w]

You and i understand that but im on the fb page and here and every since the big battery there have been more and more post of my battery is blinking, its not due to the big battery it is the power supply problem ie Cable/Plug. And anyone with a blinking senario should before posting plug in the included power supply and charge then if its flashing definetly post.

 

[KK4JUG]

Those items with larger batteries (SDS100, power packs, my Galaxy S8) will benefit from extra amperage. I have found that many 2A chargers are not actually 2A. I use only 3A minimum chargers and have never had any problems. The batteries will use what they need but they can't use what isn't supplied to them.

Having said that, my first two charges on the SDS100 were with the supplied charger. Once again, though, no problems.

 

[kc5igh]

As posted in the prior thread (that was closed) I am also experiencing the red charge light begins to blink after hours into charging with the new larger battery. I've only recharged a couple of times overnight after fairly deep discharges. Have found the flashing red charge light the next morning. Unplugged for a moment, replugged and solid red charge continues. Green light after a couple more hours and appears fully charged.

Using the included cable and adapter. Always have. Could it be there is a firmware defined time limit that the big battery is exceeding when needing a full charge after deep discharge. Admittedly, I haven't tried running down the battery for a short time and then charging. Have been away from my radio for the holiday. Never had this happen with the original smaller battery.

PS Jason Houk said "A blinking red charge indicator is a charging error" not an overheat issue.

Thanks

Prior thread that quickly went off the rails... http://forums.radioreference.com/un...nks-red-w-new-larger-battery.html#post3026391

I've experienced the flashing red light issue just once since my high-capacity battery arrived.

I'd left the radio in its "set charge while on" mode when I turned it off for the day. I left it plugged in to charge, and I woke up to find it flashing red later that evening. When I disabled the "set charge while on" setting, the light turned green very quickly.

I don't leave the radio in "set charge while on" mode when I turn it off now, and I haven't experienced a flashing red charge light since then. FWIW, I was using the Uniden-supplied adapter and cable at the time.

I can't say with certainty that's what caused my charging light to flash red, but it may be worth looking into.

Hope this helps.

-Johnnie

 

[UPMan]

The safety timer is expiring, likely because during "charge while on" the battery is not able to charge at a full rate, thus it does not get fully charged within the expected time frame. The safety timer is important to prevent overcharging in cases where something is wrong with the battery, preventing proper voltage/current cutoff (it is the safety backup of last resort).