Screwdriver troubleshooting

[CaseyNY]

Hi All,

I have a the screwdriver ecig model that they sell at Totally Wicked. Has been working great for probably about 2 years at this point, but today it stopped. If i put a volmeter where the atomizer screws in I can push the button and get 4 volts, and let go of the button and it goes way, so that seems to be working ok, but when I attach an atty and push the button it doesn't get hot. I can then take that atty and put it on a usb passthru and ti works fine, so doesn't seem to be the atty either.

Any tips? doesn't seem to be atty or screwdriver, but together they don't work.

Thanks

 

[Eddie.Willers]

Have you tried another set of batteries?
It could be that the original batteries you are using will no longer hold up under load - that is, they read the correct voltage but when you fire an atty they cannot deliver.

 

[CaseyNY]

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have been cycling through 4 batteries. I just tried 3 of them that are all fully charged and no luck, one is still on the charger. I'm thinking maybe the small circuit board in the body of the screwdriver is shot. Even though the voltage is getting through, maybe with the atty load on it that board is doing something funny. Or not so funny i guess as of course I don't have a spare. Arggggg

Thanks

 

[Switched]

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have been cycling through 4 batteries. I just tried 3 of them that are all fully charged and no luck, one is still on the charger. I'm thinking maybe the small circuit board in the body of the screwdriver is shot. Even though the voltage is getting through, maybe with the atty load on it that board is doing something funny. Or not so funny i guess as of course I don't have a spare. Arggggg

Thanks

The Screwdriver does not have a circuit board. The DSE5 might (knock off) but the MK I and II do not. Have you tried different atties with your SD, seems to me a contact problem between centre posts. Try raising on or the other slightly (atty first).

 

[Bahiaboy]

I am on my 3rd MK11 SD This year,I have been using them with the " Conversion Kit" what I found with the 1st 2 SDs is that the Conversion Kit dislodges the contact on the SD side causing no/bad connection,you may be able to get a small Knife or screwdriver to raise the contact back up so it makes contact,but its only a temporary solution !!!

 

[tonyorion]

Despite a bunch of other mods, I still go to my Screwdriver for the 901 for some juices. I had a similar problem. The well of the 901 connection tends to get gunked up so that the atty does not make good contact. Although the sharp point of a MM probe might show voltage, the atty simply is not getting any because of the layer of insulating gunk.

I have thrown the top into an ultrasonic bath and let it dry out overnight. It worked fine afterwards. There is a rubber grommet inside the top which you should remove and wipe down with a kitchen paper towel soaked in alcohol. It pops back in easily enough.

After everything has dried out, take some conductive grease like Noalox and coat the spring in the contact areas and the top of the screw in the switch portion. You might also want to clean the screw head by giving it the once over with a fine sandpaper to remove any oxidation.

The SD is all mechanical so you cannot do any damage to it with cleaning.

Hope this helps!

 

[CaseyNY]

SWEET! Thanks for all the help! Got it working again!

To be honest, I'm not sure what finally fixed it, but I went through all of the connections again and scraped them a little to make sure there was some bare metal. Pulled the spring up to make sure that was high enough, ran a small pin around the inside circumference of the connector on the screwdriver to make sure there wasn't some metal in there shorting things out Ran a small pin around the outside circumference of the connector to do the same, although was worried I would screw up the threads. Put it all back together and its working again. Nice!!!!!!

Freaking out about not having it I ordered one of these yesterday: DSE-905 Starter Kit (Screwdriver Type) - $39.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Which honestly I'm somewhat concerned about as the button is enclosed and the simplicity of the original makes it easy to try and fix, but at 40 dollars less than the one I am using now i thought it was worth a shot as I could order a second as a spare if it works out. Anyone bad thoughts on the one I have coming?

Thanks again, the tips and motivation to keep dorking with it finally got it going again.

 

[laks]

Ecigs are still new = going to be problems with any brand at some point. I think you just gotta keep 'em clean, just gotta do what you did and take a chance at fixing it yourself or buy a new piece.

 

[Switched]

SWEET! Thanks for all the help! Got it working again!

To be honest, I'm not sure what finally fixed it, but I went through all of the connections again and scraped them a little to make sure there was some bare metal. Pulled the spring up to make sure that was high enough, ran a small pin around the inside circumference of the connector on the screwdriver to make sure there wasn't some metal in there shorting things out Ran a small pin around the outside circumference of the connector to do the same, although was worried I would screw up the threads. Put it all back together and its working again. Nice!!!!!!

Freaking out about not having it I ordered one of these yesterday: DSE-905 Starter Kit (Screwdriver Type) - $39.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Which honestly I'm somewhat concerned about as the button is enclosed and the simplicity of the original makes it easy to try and fix, but at 40 dollars less than the one I am using now i thought it was worth a shot as I could order a second as a spare if it works out. Anyone bad thoughts on the one I have coming?

Thanks again, the tips and motivation to keep dorking with it finally got it going again.

Several known issues were resolved over time with the DSE905, at the end of the day they are still junk. Buying direct from Trog is the cheapest way to go wrt SDs. The only difference between a MK I and MK II is the battery. The MK II is an 18350 whilst the MK I is a 16340. Pop an AW 16340 in it and watch it sing.

 

[Creniker]

I have had 3 MK2s and 1 Mk1 and a DSE905 and the DSE is a nightmare. And its circuit board is so inefficiant it actually puts out about .5 less voltage then it should. The screwdriver is a far better PV. I like the MK2 for the fact that it uses 18350 batteries and there cheap if you get one used off the classifieds. I just got a full screwdriver MK2 kit minus a atty for 30 plus shipping.