Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I decided to do a little Vagabond II battery maintenance today as I've been following a few threads about this lately. So I plugged in my two now retired X2400 units into the VII, set the power level on the X2400s to 1/4 with modeling light on track mode. The VII was not fully charged.

I then put the power mode on my VII to I(lowest setting) and began to fire the lights with my CST remote to get the battery to drain down to a low level(only because I haven't done this in a while and I read this would be good for the maintenance of the battery)and then charge it again. I was firing the lights as soon as the modeling lamps came back on. When I had reached a count of about 25 pops, I heard a quick beep. At first I thought it was coming from the VII as I was expecting to hear the low charge warning from it any time soon now. Then I traced it to one of my X2400s but at the time it was only a random beep. Then after about 40 to 50 pops, the beeps became more frequent and the unit's fan came on as though it were over heating.

I shut everything down and quickly plugged the beeping unit's AC cord into a wall outlet and turned it back on to see if it would beep or if the fan came back on but it never did. Did the VII cause this? I normaly don't use the modeling lamps when I'm using the Vagabond II so this is something new I've just experienced today. I'm going to try and do this again but this time, turn the modeling light off and see if it happens again. If it dosen't, I'll be happy. But if it does, then I'll probably send it in for repair.

Gear:
Vagadond II, SN-002197
X2400, SN-297(the unit in question)
X2400, SN-296

PS, The units were all controlled via Cyber Commander and CSRB+s.

RMS

Update:

Charged the VII and connected my X2400 unit in question. Setup on the unit was 1/4 without modeling lamp. VII was at I(low power). Did 200 pops with no issues. Turned the light off and put the VII on II(high power output) and turned the light back on and the fan came on. The fan ran all the time while the light was on(no modeling light) so I must of heated it up enough to activate the sensor and turn on the fan. No beep this time. But it did beep when it was powered off, like a little dying beep fading off.

My conclusion is this: The unit in question has a more sensitive heat sensor than my other X2400 and that I shouldn't be worried about it at all. The fact that it IS working puts my worries to rest and unless TS sees something here that is in need of some attention, I will continue to use these lights with great satisfaction as I have for years.

RMS

I see nothing of concern. Also, with a low charge on the battery, and a high draw from the X2400 and model lamps, could cause the light to chirp, as it is starved for power. Just for giggles, though, be sure your flash tubes are fully seated.