M401 battery-dead or stuck?

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conniedee

New Member
Jul 18, 2009
4
0
California
First casualty since I started vaping in July. When I plug my 401 battery into the charger, it blinks 5 times as it's supposed to do. Then the charger shows fully charged after a couple of minutes. But the battery doesn't appear to be working. I've tried it with a known good atty. I also know the charger is working properly with other batteries. I've cleaned the threads and contact point with alchohol.

This is a vacuum (?) type battery. Is it dead? or the "stuck switch" a possibility? The flashing when I plug it into the charger is what is confusing me. Would it flash if it's dead? If it's stuck, any suggestions?
:confused:
Thanks for helping a newbie.
 

Jim Davis

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Mar 16, 2009
4,260
83
Retired in Houston, Texas / USA
The center button of the battery may have gotten pushed down by the charger. If this happens, it won't contact the atty. You can take a paperclip, tiny screwdriver or similar tool to insert into the center hole, and gently work the button up a bit. It's mounted on a rubber ring, and may have slipped down.

This is all covered in the Troubleshooting Guide at;
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-cig-technical-issues/31787-ecf-troubleshooting-guide.html

EDIT; Forgot to mention, there is also a 401 forum at;
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/m-401-402-mini-m403-super-mini/

Cheers;
jd
 
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Ez Duzit

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Aug 16, 2009
731
17
Southern California
I also have a 401 and had some problems with one of my original batteries. Sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't. Sometimes I had to draw really hard to get it to work. I found if I hold the battery vertically, with the LED facing down, and tap it on my desk a few times, it would work properly for a while. So whenever it got stuck I would tap it, and it would be ok. Now it works fine and I haven't had to tap it for over a week.
 

conniedee

New Member
Jul 18, 2009
4
0
California
Thanks for the advice guys. I didn't realize that there was a 40x specific forum so will post there next time I have a problem. Er, can a newbie post there?

So if the battery LED still works when I plug into the charger, that means that the battery is NOT dead and I should play around with the methods outlined in the troubleshooting guide?
 

conniedee

New Member
Jul 18, 2009
4
0
California
So while performing the autopsy, I finally understand what you were talking about. Pretty sure the center section which you refer to as a "button" was stuck down too far. In the process of pulling it up I broke the wire to which it was connected/soldered.

It's little carcass has not gone to waste since I now understand how it was constructed. I won't make the same mistake again and hopefully will be able to fix the next one that does this.

Has anyone ever posted photos of a dissected battery? Or atomizer? I think it would be helpful to dim folks like me.

Thanks again for all the advice. Back to the autopsy....heh, heh, heh.....
 

Jim Davis

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Mar 16, 2009
4,260
83
Retired in Houston, Texas / USA
Thanks for the advice guys. I didn't realize that there was a 40x specific forum so will post there next time I have a problem. Er, can a newbie post there?

So if the battery LED still works when I plug into the charger, that means that the battery is NOT dead and I should play around with the methods outlined in the troubleshooting guide?

You can post in most forums. You just can't start a new thread other than in the New Members Forum until you have 15 posts. This is to help combat spam.

Just because the LED works doesn't mean the battery is good. Old batteries will drop in voltage, and when the voltage gets too low, they wont fire the atomizer. I have 4 right now that are only putting out 2 volts. Not enough. They're junk to me.
 
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