How can I tell when my battery has gone bad?

[Zavenoa]

I think one of mine has/is going bad. It's a SafeCig batt model rn4081 and I've charged it many, many times. It seems to be holding a charge and charging just fine, but it started having problems with connectivity a couple of weeks ago, and I would have to suck in while screwing and unscrewing the carto to get it to work. Now it seems to be getting worse, I'm having to constantly fuss with it to get it to work right, and even when I think I've found the right spot it will work for a drag or 2 then stop.

I ordered an eGo set last week, but I'm on business this week so I won't be able to get it until Friday. I've tried cleaning it each time I use it, but it doesn't seem to help much. Is there anything I can do to get it to last for a few more days? Luckily I have 2 other batts, but one is starting to lose its charge quickly so it doesn't last very long.

 

[Zavenoa]

I just tried using it again, and within a few minutes of fussing with it I got sick of it and packed it up. I'm next to positive it's gone bad, unless anyone has any tips for how I can get a better connection out of it for a few days which would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Beans]

Oh no sorry, have you tried cleaning the connections? Both battery and charger, then try to charge again, sometimes this will help. Sorry for your luck.

If that doesn't work, maybe a cheapy set from the gas station till you get home.

 

[provoked]

Since you didn't mention it, have you tried cleaning the connection at all? I know sometimes juice residue could build up and cause issues maybe.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

 

[Iffy]

Have you tried 'lifting' the center conductors/posts?

 

[dormouse]

You probably have auto batteries and they can be much more easily damaged by juice getting in the hole in the threaded end. Many manual batteries are totally sealed there (including the manual RN4081 battery at AZSMokeFree.com which should be the same threading as Safecig)

Troubles with the drag switch and shorts inside the battery are usually juice in the battery. If you think there is loose juice in there you can try to flick it out. Some use some kind of a rice method? Sticking the battery end in a cup of dry rice or something like that? Someone who uses auto batteries will have to help you. And for sticky drag switch I know one method is when the battery is totally out of power, stand it threaded end down in some rubbing alcohol (about 1/2 inch?) and let it soak then shake it out well and let it dry - that might clear up sticky drag switch.

If the drag switch is working fine... You can try cleaning the threaded end of the battery. If it is working fine and just not connecting well with the carto, see if the center post of the battery or the carto can be pulled up a little bit.

Other than that, when a battery gets old it may start holding less charge or fail to properly recognize low battery condition and not do the protective flashing and disabling of the battery, but rather let you run the battery down to nothing which adds more stress to the battery. It may also fail to detect electrical shorts and not disable the battery to protect it.

 

[Nachtengel]

i agree with most of the comments here it sounds like contact problems, but its always a good idea to test charge and resistnace. if you want to do this and be sure the battery is holding charge you will need an e-meter. get your product details and find out the voltage of your battery. then use the leads to test it, voltages will be low for batteries with low charges, not 0 but lower than they should.

for example a fresh AA battery (ususally labled as 1.5V) will read out when its fresh about 1.6V, and when its about to be useless it will read out about 1.1V

your battery is no different except the voltages, take your fresh ones, charge them and test them
then use this number against your charged suspect battery. if it reads nearly the same the charge is fine, but the contact is not. if it reads different it could be both the charge and contact that are broken.

 

[Iffy]

If your batt center post has a hole, ya might want to try THIS for troubleshooting purposes. Don't leave it in your batt.

 

[ShaunHunting]

Thx for the link Iffy.

 

[Chilliwillikers]

I got myself a wire brush and some rubbing alcohol for cleaning my battery connectors when they get gunked up, affectng the battery's performance. I was having similar issues and a good scrubbing fixed me up!