Minelab rechargeable batteries.

[Leon57]

Hi, new to detectoring and have purchased a Minelab Vanquish 540.
I've charged the batteries overnight and the charger is showing 4 green lights. When I put them in the detector nothing happens, they are in the right way. When I use ordinary AA batteries it works fine. I checked the rechargeables with a voltmeter and they showed about 1.3v.
What do you think I am doing wrong.
Cheers.

 

[MasonDixonMding]

Welcome from Maryland
Sorry can’t help with your battery problem.

 

[sube]

Hi, new to detectoring and have purchased a Minelab Vanquish 540.
I've charged the batteries overnight and the charger is showing 4 green lights. When I put them in the detector nothing happens, they are in the right way. When I use ordinary AA batteries it works fine. I checked the rechargeables with a voltmeter and they showed about 1.3v.
What do you think I am doing wrong.
Cheers.

I think the detector runs on 6 volts what's the voltage of all the batteries together if not 6 then that's your answer .
Are all the batteries at 1.3 volts .sube

 

[aj0421]

I would check that your rechargeable batteries are making good connection. Sometimes they can be a little shorter then traditional batteries. Try putting more tension on the battery terminals inside your Vanquish 540.

Did you check the batteries under a load?

 

[aj0421]

I think the detector runs on 6 volts what's the voltage of all the batteries together if not 6 then that's your answer .
Are all the batteries at 1.3 volts .sube

I believe the Vanquish line can run at 4.8v. I started with the 540 Pro pack that comes with 4 NiMh AA which are usually rated at 1.2v

 

[C-COD]

Try each rechargeable battery in your smoke detector and see if there is one not as loud as the others

 

[sube]

I believe the Vanquish line can run at 4.8v. I started with the 540 Pro pack that comes with 4 NiMh AA which are usually rated at 1.2v

I think it would run at 4 to 6+ volts I was asking the total voltage of all the batteries and yes you are correct lf there not making contact . sube

 

[hoser]

First off welcome to the forum. As I understand the RB's are not working but AA batts are. Tells me you have them in correctly. Did you check voltage at the terminals with the Alkaline in vs. the Rechargeables? The green light may just be reading the cells that are charged and not the whole pack. To be truthful, I have the rechargeable pack for my E-Trac and I hate it. I get a whole lot less swing time with the rechargeable's than fresh Alkaline batteries.

 

[robby4570]

I use nothing but Rechargeable batteries in all my detectors that have removable (I have a 'Nox 800 also) batteries. That would be in an E-Trac an MX Sport a Surf PI and a CTX3030. I use good rechargeable batteries not the cheap walmart ones and all of my detectors never show full bars on the battery scale but I can get 12 to 16 solid hours of hunting in on a pack. I have 4 sets of batteries (I know, its a bit of overkill) so a battery change in the field is just a few minute thing and no big deal to me. I'm still getting two 6 hour days of hunting out of the 'Nox after 3 years of use. The important thing is to not leave your rechargeable batteries fully charged when storing them for more than a few days to a week. Also, don't store them in a hot area (or the refrigerator). I suspect you have a bad cell in one of those rechargeables, it may show full but has no staying power...

 

[ucnegold?]

When I put them in the detector nothing happens

I have had similar issues with these Minelab batteries. Under close inspection I found there is sort of a laminated coating on the exterior of the batteries. This surface is degrading and becomes displaced, bits of it becoming entrapped between the battery posts and contacts. Charger indicates full charge but nothing when inserted in machine. Have had to peel this stuff off the batteries to ensure good contact. The battery life has depleted now over 3 years of use, but I can still get a solid 4 hours of use when fully charged. Thanks for your post as this reminds me to buy some new RB's before the weather breaks.

 

[too_pointer]

I use the R/B for my AT Pro, and works great,

 

[Leon57]

Hi, new to detectoring and have purchased a Minelab Vanquish 540.
I've charged the batteries overnight and the charger is showing 4 green lights. When I put them in the detector nothing happens, they are in the right way. When I use ordinary AA batteries it works fine. I checked the rechargeables with a voltmeter and they showed about 1.3v.
What do you think I am doing wrong.
Cheers.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I tried the batteries in the Foxtel remote and they worked fine. So I put them back in the Minelab and checked the voltage at the terminals, not the actual batteries. No voltage. So I pulled them out and reinstalled them and pushed and prodded and now they work. If I pushed them around a bit it stopped working but then it works again if I move them. This never happened with normal AA's. Anyway I'll see how it goes today but I'll have some normal AA's in my pocket, that's for sure. Cheers all.

 

[Leon57]

Try each rechargeable battery in your smoke detector and see if there is one not as loud as the others

I put them in another device and they were all working. Thanks.

 

[Leon57]

I would check that your rechargeable batteries are making good connection. Sometimes they can be a little shorter then traditional batteries. Try putting more tension on the battery terminals inside your Vanquish 540.

Did you check the batteries under a load?

Bad connection appears to be the problem. Working now so will see what develops. Thank you.

 

[ucnegold?]

Bad connection

Yes, you may also want to insert some foam to compress between the batteries and cover. I use a piece about 1/2" thick to retain the batteries in place as they can work loose in the field shutting off the machine. This is one thing that could have been improved with the Vanquish. Otherwise its a very solid machine.