We have experienced, and seen on several sites from a websearch several people with similar experiences.
The battery cap on our first vamo v5 got VERY hot on first hard use.
When my wife got home I dug out the VOM and had a looksee:
1) near zero resistance in the spring
2) near zero resistance in the cap
3) about 1.8 ohms resistance between the spring and the cap.
I suspect that this simple fix (in a moment) will help others, and I would also suggest that a good meter be employed to make sure this is the problem, don't be shy about moving the spring a bit to see if it varies from one position to another, etc.
I simply spun the spring in the cap several times, actually thinking I was going to solder the spring to the cap, and when I was done I had the same near zero resistance from spring to cap as both objects had on their own.
I told the wife to watch carefully, and stop if it got hot again and I would solder it for her. A week later she is still using it heavily and has not had a return of the really hot battery cap.
I imagine that some units/models will need a bit more work, some may need soldering, etc. and this is not a new problem by any means. I have seen it in medium to high draw applications MANY times, and in low draw applications like flashlights a few times too. Automobiles which had faulty grounds to a plastic light fixture are another place a similar event can come into play.
Hope this information saves someone from having a bad experience, or worse.
The battery cap on our first vamo v5 got VERY hot on first hard use.
When my wife got home I dug out the VOM and had a looksee:
1) near zero resistance in the spring
2) near zero resistance in the cap
3) about 1.8 ohms resistance between the spring and the cap.
I suspect that this simple fix (in a moment) will help others, and I would also suggest that a good meter be employed to make sure this is the problem, don't be shy about moving the spring a bit to see if it varies from one position to another, etc.
I simply spun the spring in the cap several times, actually thinking I was going to solder the spring to the cap, and when I was done I had the same near zero resistance from spring to cap as both objects had on their own.
I told the wife to watch carefully, and stop if it got hot again and I would solder it for her. A week later she is still using it heavily and has not had a return of the really hot battery cap.
I imagine that some units/models will need a bit more work, some may need soldering, etc. and this is not a new problem by any means. I have seen it in medium to high draw applications MANY times, and in low draw applications like flashlights a few times too. Automobiles which had faulty grounds to a plastic light fixture are another place a similar event can come into play.
Hope this information saves someone from having a bad experience, or worse.
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