►►► Prodigy V1 Troubleshooting Guide ◄◄◄

[SharonLM]

The atomizer short had me stumped. All the thanks goes to DW, Spikey, and tvujec ... Combined and over the span of a couple days ... finally figured out what was shorting when the adapter looked in tact

appreciate the kind words Sharon!

You know, with the way you handle your business, and I mean this, you deserve kind words. You treat your customers like they matter and even when one is upset and steps out of bounds when it comes to polite interactions, you still keep your cool and handle every thing with aplomb. One of the reasons I'm purchasing from you and will continue to do so.

 

[gunz4hire]

Hey Steve I've got that same brown stripe down my resistor, my adapter and atomizers seem intact. What should I do here?


Gunz

 

[CaSHMeRe]

gunz ... Check the thread bud Make sure to hold SHIFT + Refresh to see my responses.

 

[F4u5t]

I think I have figured out the problem .I think that I had cut to much of the plastic cover off the batteries (shortly after this is when I experienced the problem),To fix I completely took all the plastic off the batteries and replaced with electrical tape .Put them back in unit and it is working again !.I did this to 4 sets of batteries and have tested them all .None of them bottom batteries are getting hot anymore .I am still concerned on the resistor in the switch being a brownish color and warped

 

[CaSHMeRe]

o ... Perhaps the batteries were self grounding themselves from the exterior!!!

Brownish color resistor = is no issue. All that is, is a ceramic coating that actually can rub right off. All the brown signifies is that the resistor took a load it wasn't expecting and couldn't handle for longs periods of time. If you test it, it will still read .4 - .6 ohms without a doubt

 

[F4u5t]

haha ... Sharon ... It won't blow up. It just gets warm or extremely hott if you decide to hold the button for a long period of time.

here are pictures i just took guys ... About to make a thread on it so we can get Adapters replaced, and so when you know not to use a certain atomizer.

Hopefully this helps explain some things

mine derlin looks like in between normal and squished and my resistor looks the same as posted above sorry (stick name here) been drinking
so i do believe it was the battery plastic cover which i think was removed to much
so the brown is normal what about it being warped a little my picture looks about the same

o ... Perhaps the batteries were self grounding themselves from the exterior!!!
i do belive this is my case !


atm it is working fine

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Adapter should be fine ... Resistor should be fine

 

[SharonLM]

mine derlin looks like in between normal and squished and my resistor looks the same as posted above sorry (stick name here) been drinking
so i do believe it was the battery plastic cover which i think was removed to much
so the brown is normal what about it being warped a little my picture looks about the same

F4u5t: Thank you, you had me laughing so hard. Truthfully, "mine derlin" is out in the other room watching his favorite show.

 

[F4u5t]

o ... Perhaps the batteries were self grounding themselves from the exterior!!!

i do believe this was my problem the Prodigy is now working fine after taking the batteries plastic completely off an replacing with electric tape
be careful how much plastic you take off i did this to each battery supplied
my resistor looks the same as above which i am assuming is normal

my prodigy has been fine sense i did the electrical tape to batteries
just kind of concerned About the resistor being warped a little


hopefully this helps

 

[F4u5t]

F4u5t: Thank you, you had me laughing so hard. Truthfully, "mine derlin" is out in the other room watching his favorite show.

OMG now i am laughing so hard

i have a derlin in the other room also shh

more Juice !!!!!!!

 

[SharonLM]

OMG now i am laughing so hard

i have a derlin in the other room also shh

more Juice !!!!!!!

OK, taking breath and trying to get serious here. You mentioned in the above post that you took the plastic off and ended up taking too much off. I hadn't realized there was plastic on them until now. I haven't gotten my Prodigy yet, but I did order extra batteries. It looks like this plastic doesn't ever have to be removed, does it? The top post and bottom area doesn't have any plastic covering them.

I'm curious to hear if anyone else has taken the plastic off.

 

[Fusoya]

I took a razor and took the plastic off the bottom of the battery only so I would have to thread and re-thread the end cap when changing batteries.

Honestly I didn't know that removing it was a bad thing or I wouldn't have but it seems I'm safe since I only removed that small part.

Brandon

 

[LuckyCharm]

I took a razor and took the plastic off the bottom of the battery only so I would have to thread and re-thread the end cap when changing batteries.

Honestly I didn't know that removing it was a bad thing or I wouldn't have but it seems I'm safe since I only removed that small part.

Brandon

I don't know why you'd cut away the plastic from the batts, but I used mine as is, and have never had a problem.

~~Cheryl

 

[CaSHMeRe]

I took a razor and took the plastic off the bottom of the battery only so I would have to thread and re-thread the end cap when changing batteries.

Honestly I didn't know that removing it was a bad thing or I wouldn't have but it seems I'm safe since I only removed that small part.

Brandon

Hey Brandon ... Removing from the bottom only or simply making the circumference larger, shouldn't be an issue. Removing the ENTIRE plastic from the battery = no bueno.

I don't know why you'd cut away the plastic from the batts, but I used mine as is, and have never had a problem.

~~Cheryl

Hey Cheryl ... We have shipped roughly 400 - 450 Prodigy's to date. There are bound to be issues arise ... so, that's what we are here for

Many people won't have issues and some will ... This thread is dedicated to the latter Trying to guess what issues may arise is another intriguing point ... So far ... We have the shorts worked out ... Not sure what will be next

 

[Papa Lazarou]

hey papa ... yes, you shouldn't have any issues with the Joye KB atty's ... The only atomizer I have seen issues with to this point are M201 ...

Hi. Got the Prodigy now, and its great. Loving it

Just an FYI, the Kissbox atomisers do not work properly on it. The reason is that on these, the air is drawn through two "channels" cut into the thread on the atomiser. On the Prodigy (and in fact standard 801 or RN4072 batteries) its near impossible to draw any air through. I guess a similar issue to the M201? Not a big deal as I have loads of 801's to use but thought you should know.

 

[starbkjrus]

I wrote earlier about how much I liked my new prodigy etc. etc. etc.

It was wonderful until it just stopped working entirely. I've had it a total of 6 hours.

1. Tested the batteries - each giving out 3 + volts

2. Put batteries in housing and tested the post and thread UNDER the adapter. 5+- volts when switch pushed

3. Added adapter and tested using contacts against center post and threads. 5+- volts when switch pushed

4. Checked attys: Not sure what I'm looking for here. I get connectivity touching threads and center post. What am I looking for here?

5. Center post in adapter looks flush with brass ring around it and the "black ring stuff" looks like I think it ought to.

6. With atty screwed into adapter I can touch the bottom of the adapter outer circle and inner post and show connectivity.

7. If I take the adapter itself w/o an atty and touch the outer ring and inner post (bottom) there is no connectivity.

I'm no electrician but what have I missed here??

WAS happily vaping away.....now unhappily frustrated.

Oh, and I've tried w/ three brand new 801 adapters that shipped w/ my Prodigy. One worked great for a bit but now none work at all.

Suggestions??

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Hi. Got the Prodigy now, and its great. Loving it

Just an FYI, the Kissbox atomisers do not work properly on it. The reason is that on these, the air is drawn through two "channels" cut into the thread on the atomiser. On the Prodigy (and in fact standard 801 or RN4072 batteries) its near impossible to draw any air through. I guess a similar issue to the M201? Not a big deal as I have loads of 801's to use but thought you should know.

Good to know Papa !!! Will make sure to relay this info !!!!

I wrote earlier about how much I liked my new prodigy etc. etc. etc.

It was wonderful until it just stopped working entirely. I've had it a total of 6 hours.

1. Tested the batteries - each giving out 3 + volts

2. Put batteries in housing and tested the post and thread UNDER the adapter. 5+- volts when switch pushed

3. Added adapter and tested using contacts against center post and threads. 5+- volts when switch pushed

4. Checked attys: Not sure what I'm looking for here. I get connectivity touching threads and center post. What am I looking for here?

5. Center post in adapter looks flush with brass ring around it and the "black ring stuff" looks like I think it ought to.

6. With atty screwed into adapter I can touch the bottom of the adapter outer circle and inner post and show connectivity.

7. If I take the adapter itself w/o an atty and touch the outer ring and inner post (bottom) there is no connectivity.

I'm no electrician but what have I missed here??

WAS happily vaping away.....now unhappily frustrated.

Oh, and I've tried w/ three brand new 801 adapters that shipped w/ my Prodigy. One worked great for a bit but now none work at all.

Suggestions??

Hey starbkjrus ... Lets see ...

1) Perfect. Batts should be in the 3.3v range when tested (atleast most of mine are)

2) Perfect.

3) Perfect

4) Flip the atomizer over. Stick you Red Probe (power) to the center of the atomizer, and the Grounding Probe (black) to the threads. Turn the multimeter to ohms ... and you should be right in the 3.3 - 3.7ohm range.

5) Perfect and as it should.

6) Sounds good.

7) Sounds good.

So, from everything you have tested ... You are getting power from batts, through resistor/switch housing, to the atomizer, but there is a miss somewhere in there.

So, lets start with a couple things.
1) Test ohms on the atomizer (yes I realize they are brand new)
2) When attaching atomizer ... Twist until it snugs up. Once snug, make sure to give it another 1/4 turn and you should be set.
3) Make sure there is no *loose* delrin on the adapter contact post.
4) Lastly, to test for a short, pull the resistor and switch housing and tell me if the resistor feels warm.
5) Another Thing I Forgot -- Take the batteries out, and really twist/untwist the battery end cap. Do this several times working in the threads. We have been trying to clean this barrier as best as possible but there is still sometimes debris.

 

[starbkjrus]

Good to know Papa !!! Will make sure to relay this info !!!!



Hey starbkjrus ... Lets see ...

1) Perfect. Batts should be in the 3.3v range when tested (atleast most of mine are)

2) Perfect.

3) Perfect

4) Flip the atomizer over. Stick you Red Probe (power) to the center of the atomizer, and the Grounding Probe (black) to the threads. Turn the multimeter to ohms ... and you should be right in the 3.3 - 3.7ohm range.

5) Perfect and as it should.

6) Sounds good.

7) Sounds good.

So, from everything you have tested ... You are getting power from batts, through resistor/switch housing, to the atomizer, but there is a miss somewhere in there.

So, lets start with a couple things.
1) Test ohms on the atomizer (yes I realize they are brand new)
2) When attaching atomizer ... Twist until it snugs up. Once snug, make sure to give it another 1/4 turn and you should be set.
3) Make sure there is no *loose* delrin on the adapter contact post.
4) Lastly, to test for a short, pull the resistor and switch housing and tell me if the resistor feels warm.

Damn, that's fast service!

I'm now more frustrated than ever.......8-o

I took the batteries out several times and felt them for heat and didn't feel anything. Didn't take the resistor out but felt the case and didn't feel any heat at all. I DID remove the batteries several times and tried to pay attention to the spring to make sure that it was in the right place and so forth for connectivity. I WAS getting voltage on my meter.

Now here is what happened next and why I"m more frustrated (with myself for not knowing what I'm doing) and embarrassed.

Here are today's sequence of events:

1. Got Prodigy from mailman.

2. Immediately placed batteries out of the box into unit and dripped. Vaped like a champ all afternoon.

3. Meanwhile, knowing better than to use brand new non-charged batteries I put the other set into the charger. The indicator light showed green after about an hour and a half but left them in for 2 3/4 or so. Changed batteries.

4. Left office and went to pub. Vaped happily for 1 1/2 hours

5. Stopped on the way home at grocery. Dripped before leaving parking lot for trip home.

6. Died in car after two blocks.

7. Got home, tried other two new attys (primed and ready) didn't work. Also put first set of non-charged batteries into charger.

8. Went through all the steps listed in orignal message. Volts looked good, connectivity etc.

9. Posted unhappy camper message.

10. Went upstairs and decided "what the heck" and put other set of batteries (that now have a green light) in and VIOLA: vaping like a champ.

Ok, so what did I do wrong?? Something to do with not charging for 5 or 6 hours even though the light was green?

Every piece of this equipment checks out (as far as I can tell) and now it's working beautifully. Maybe it doesn't like me?

Could it be that since neither set of batteries had a "full" break-in run that even though my meter showed a charge that it wasn't up to it?

I"m off to our club's Thursday night happy hour (read full steam vaping for an hour or so) so I'll see what else I can do wrong.

I swear I should be a beta tester. If you can make it work for me it'll work for anyone.

thanks again for your quick response and I'm sorry if jumped the gun or did something stupid.

Dee

 

[CaSHMeRe]

Haha ...

Hey Dee ... No biggie.

There are batteries that show voltage but actually don't provide enough amperage to power anything. So, a battery may very well be the culprit. What I suggest you do, over the next day or two, is something DW told me to do with his batteries when I was testing them.

As soon as you pop them off the charger, take the 5 seconds and test the voltages. When the batteries start to get low and need a recharge, test again BEFORE you stick them on the charger. We may be able to find the *bad* straw in the bunch.

Another thing, you very well could have accidentally not charged the batteries LOL. I know it sounds odd, but its true. Make sure they fit in the charger snug, if they don't take a small screwdriver or pliers, and pry the little piece of alluminum forward so they do fit snug

So, give those things a shot and report back!!!!

Enjoy Happy Hour !!! Wish I could be there myself!

-Steve

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I had an issue where I tried to charge two batteries in the supplied charger, only one of them charged. Only found out by testing them both with a multimeter. I put the uncharged battery back in the charger and got a green light. Only when I moved it around a bit did I find that it wasn't making good contact and once the contact was made it charged OK.