Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello!

My Vagabond has stopped working, and I am trying to figure out the next step.

Last week I noticed the LED's on the Vagabond were out completely. I put it on to charge for approximately 10 hours. BOTH the green and red LEDs came on AS SOON AS the Vagabond was plugged into the wall, and remained on during the entire charging time.

When the charging cable was removed after 10 hours the red light went out, and the green LED remained lit. As soon as I turn on the Vagabond, however, NOTHING happens, and the green LED goes out immediately.

I use this Vagabond on a fairly regular basis, and follow the charging recommendations found in the manual. This is the first time I have found problems with the Vagabond.

I pulled the red fuse and it looks ok, though I don't have the tools to check it.

This Vagabond is just over a year old (I think 14 months). I am wondering if the battery has gone dead and needs replaced, or if this sounds like something else. If the battery was completely dead I'm not sure why the green LED would stay lit until the Vagabond is turned on?

I emailed Tech Support last week and had one reply, but haven't had a reply to my follow up question yet (sent on the 25th). I am trying to figure out the next step. Should I replace the battery? Send the whole thing in for servicing? I have never had to replace / repair a PCB product to date so I am unsure of the process. Shipping is ridiculously expensive though (approximately $52 to ship a $69 battery to my house), so I want to make sure I do this right. It is frustrating to have a repair issue so early in the life of this product, though my other AB products perform flawlessly!

I look forward to your assistance.

Cheers,

Ian

Hi,
I sent a reply to you late on 6/25/10. It sounds like it could be the fuse or maybe the battery charger output.There is a two year warranty on the inverter and one year on the battery. The best course of action would be is to send the unit in for repair.


Thanks, Tech Support

Hello!

Thanks for your quick reply. I did receive your first email. It was a follow up email that I hadn't heard back on. No big deal though, we can disuss it here!

My follow up email asked about the process for sending the item in for repair. Specifically:

1) I am located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Will I send it to your main location in Tennessee, or to KHB Photografix in Ontario, Canada?

2) What documentation do I need to complete, do I receive a warranty repair number, etc?

3) Who pays for shipping during a warranty repair?

Thanks again for the quick replies. They are much appreciated.

Cheers!

Ian

I am having the same problem. I was on a shoot yesterday and the VB just stopped working. Charged it for ten hours today and when I turn it on nothing happens, but if I place it on the charger and turn it on, I get audible beeps.

I cannot find any fuses on this particular VB. The date on the battery is 1-12-09.
Any suggestions?

NEVER mind my las post, found the fuse location!!
I am going to replace tonight to see if that cures the problem...

Okay, changed fuses with a like 40.
Turned VB on and fuse blew again, and the battery started smoking out of the fan area really bad. The smoke detector sounded before I could carry it outside. I am guessing that the battery is of of use at this point.

I appologize for this being a late response, but you should contact customer service for warranty service if you have not done so already.

Received a replacement inverter about two weeks ago along with new battery. I charged the unit tonight, red light comes on along with the fan, If I press the on/off button to either left or right the fan rpm's will only increase.
My previous VBII never made a sound while charging. Is it normal for the fan to come on. The room temperature is a chilling 72 degrees here, so i do not believe that it is overheating.

Are you sure it is the fan, or more of an electric whine? New inverters are coming from a different vendor than some previous versions. The new ones can whine when under load, particularly under an initial charge (which will dissipate as the charge progresses), as well as when being used. When used, the higher the load, the more pronounced the whine. This is a characteristic of the new iteration of inverter, and not a sign of defect or failure.