Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi!

I got a Vagabond II this fall, but had no lights and was waiting for my Einsteins to arrive (Picked them up yesterday).

From I got the VBII and until yesterday, I plugged it in overnight or for a couple of days every 2-4 weeks.

I used it 3-4 times as a portable power supply to drive <125w appliances (once drove PC speakers + usb charger for my cellphone, once ran a 90w laptop power adapter from it for an hour or so). I'm in 230v land.

I had it charging for 12 hours before connecting it to my Einstein. Flipped the switch to slow, and started playing with The Einstein. turned off the modelling light immediately, popped off 10-20 shots at low to medium power. then had dinner but left the switch on. 30 minutes later I continued and popped off a couple of shots, then everything died.

The Einstein worked well when plugged into 230v mains after this. The VBII was dead. flipping switches did nothing.

I plugged the VBII in to recharge it. Green light was lit. 12 hours later I plugged it out from the mains line, reconnected the Einstein. When I flipped the switch to "slow" (or "fast"), red light lights up briefly, then both lights go out. And after that, it is dead again.

I guess I need to find out if the inverter or the battery is the problem. If it is the battery, my only problem is finding a similarly-sized ~20AH 12v SLA battery here...

I wish I had VML *sigh*

TS, What should I do to proceed?

- I can measure the charging voltage on the inverter using a multimeter
- I can check the current voltage of the battery
- I could try to charge the battery with my car charger (3.6A charger - which can charge at 14.4 or 14.7 volts)

I really would like not to have to ship this back, being in Norway. I guess there are no swaps for VML's :P

Thank you!

Check the battery voltage after charging . . . should be about 12.6 to 12.8V for a full charge with inverter on but nothing connected. If it's much lower than this either the battery is sulfated or the charger is not working.

Ok so I did some checks:

1. Voltage on the battery measured to 12.77 volts - so that seems to be ok
2. disconnected the inverter, plugged it into 230v mains, green led comes on. measured voltage on the battery side contacts: 0 volts.
3. disconnected inverter from mains. removed and inspected the 2 30A fuses - both blown.

I guess I could pick up another couple of fuses and give it another go?

Kudos for quick follow up :)
Molokai

If the fuses are blown, you should probably contact customer service to arrange for warranty service.