Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Today i really needed the Vagabond..

When i first tried to recharge the V2 the fan started for about 30 min then it just stopped.

The fan stopped and the red light started to blink.

I left the V2 plugged for atleast three hours for recharge to see what happen... The red light is just blinking.,,no fan, no green... only the blinking red light.
The red light is blinking even if you unplug the unit!

So I used the voltmeter to check the V2. There was 120 volt coming from the wall.
there was 120 volt coming from the electric cable when plugged to the wall. (which mean the cable is not the cause)

The battery is giving me 11.2 DC
The Sinewave unit is giving me 123 volt AC.

I know the Battery is underwarranty ( i bought it less than a year ago). Geetting a new one is not the issue. The problem is that i need the battery almost everyday. And shipping this super heavy V2 back will probably cost more than a new unit.

My first question is:

1) is my unit deffect ? anything i can do on my side ?

How are you supposed to get a new one without paying the insane shipping cost for returning this deffect unit ?

The v2 number is 015044
does it belong to a bad batch ?

im really not interested in paying the crazy shipping fee to return this unit.

any help would be appreciated.

thanks

First, if the unit needs repair, you can send it to us if you are in the U.S., or KHB in Missisauga in Ontario if in Canada. When was the last time the VII was used, and when was the last time the VII was charged? Is there any swelling, cracks, corrosion in/on the battery? Do you get any lights when unplugged?

If the battery is really, really low the red LED will blink for some time as it charges, then go red, then green.

I just left the battery plugged for another 6 hours and still nothing.
Usually i can hear a fan and the full non-blinking red light when its charging... but this time it doesn't behave like it used to. The red light just blink now. It doesn't look like it is recharging anymore

If i turn the unit to (slow or fast) i can hear the fan (for 10 seconds only) and the green turns on. ( i beleive the battery is low on power)

The battery has some power as i'm typing this.. I would have to deplete it completely to see if it still recharges itself... there is no swelling, cracks, corrosion on the battery. The battery looks almost new.

I did a test with the voltmeter, i disconnected the sinewave from the battery. I plugged the Sinewave to the wall and checked the voltage coming from back of the Sinewave.
The reading is Zero!... It appears there is no power at all coming from the Sinewave when plugged. Is this normal ? Could it be the fuse ? if i unplug the fuse, i lose the blinking light. If i put the fuse back the red light start to blink again.

Should the Sinewave unit be warm or hot when leaving plugged ? because mine is extremely cold and i just left it plugged for 6 hours straight... red light is blinking, no sound from any fan, no voltage coming from the back when plugged and the sinewave is cold. Could it be the Sinewave unit ?
In this case i would have to ship the Sinewave ? which is far less expensive to ship than the whole battery kit.

Anythine else i could try ?

no luck so far,

I have replaced the fuse
Also i've used something to boost some energy to the battery (after disconnecting the inverter) just enough to bring the battery DC output from 11.2 to 11.8 DC.

After pluging back the inverter to the battery the Inverter unit still won't charge the battery. I was hopping that 11.8 would wake the inverter up (same as in a car )

To me it appears that the inverter is the cause of the problem.

Even at 11.8 DC output, (if i set the inverter to slow or fast) the whole V2 will run approx 10 sec before the complete silence...

It other words, the red light is blinking

Let suppose that the battery sulfated, how can a sulfated battery damage the inverter ?
Should the sulfated battery (with 11.8 DC) light atleast some green light on the inverter ?
well It doesn't...

The inverter should be outputting 13.85VDC. A sulfated battery should not damage the inverter (unless maybe excessive heat, but even then, I doubt the battery damged the inverter). First, I would find a means to charge teh battery. A battery tender for your car/lawn mower would work. Otherwise, you should be able to take it to an auto parts store. They can typically charge a dead battery, as well as test its capacity. Assuming the battery is fine, the inverter can be sent in for repair, either to us, or KHB. I recommend calling and speaking with one or both parties' repair department to ensure which method is best.

The inverter is in the mail, i just shipped it to Nashville today.

The DC voltage coming from the inverter was showing 0 volt. (a wall plugged inverter and unplugged from the battery ofcourse )

Apparently new units are backorder. I hope this won't slow down my ticket.