Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hey guys!

I sent my unit in awhile back due to the flash not firing; I received it and didn't try and use it until recently.

Here is a basic rundown of whats going on:

I have attempted to charge the battery as long as 24+ hours; the only light that comes on during the charge is a solid red. I read in a previous thread that I should unplug the charging cord and I did. The light on the unit was now green, however, when I plug in my AB1600 and turn on the unit to either slow or fast, I get nothing. Not even one flash.

I seriously do not want to pay the shipping fee for it to go right back to PCB and I believe I was told it was basically previously replaced. Is it the inverter or battery? I have no reservation about going and getting another battery locally since I need one for my motorcycle anyways, but if it is the inverter, what do I do with the most economic efficiency?

Please let me know also what I should test for.

Thanks!

First, does the flash component lights light up, like the power switch or green/red led, perhaps the model lamp? If you plug the VII in as though you are charging it, can you operate a light normally?

No, nothing lights up when I plug the light into the battery. Also the same if I plug the VG II in; nothing.

It could be a severely sulfated battery, one which cannot hold enough charge to run a light, or it could be a faulty inverter. First, check the fuses on the back of the inverter. If they are blown, then there is likely a fault in the inverter which would need to come in. Also, check the battery itself, is it swollen, cracked, corroded, or otherwise mal-formed?
If you sitll have the alligator clips that came with the unit, you can connect to a car battery to test the functionality of the inverter.

The battery is holding a charge; I got 13.2 when we read the voltage on the battery. Fuses are fine.

The battery can have a 13V charge, but not have the amperage to provide power to the light. You would have to put the battery under load to test this. Most auto parts stores can do this for you if you wish to try this route. Given the time between the repair and now, if the unit has not been charging, the battery would be my first suspect. However, this does not preclude an issue with the inverter, which can be tested with the alligator clips included. If you do not wish to test either, you are certainly welcome to send the unit in, and we will gladly test everything for you. However, it appears that the unit and repair are both out of warranty at this time, and the repair would be subject to charge.

hi TS,
i used to be handy with a volt meter and i understand about load testing batteries.
how would one test a possible issue with inverter? should i be metering looking for certain milliamps number while unit is connected (charging) a battery? will V2 output current drop as battery charges?
Paul

Ok, I took the battery to the auto parts store and it passed. How exactly do I test the inverter with the clips?

To be safest, remove the cables from the battery and inverter, starting with the battery. Once the wires from the back of the inverterare removed, replace them with the alligator clip wires. Connect to a car battery just like you are jumping it off, observing proper polarity throughout the process (black to black to black, red to red to red). Try using the inverter as normal. You should not need to run the car for the purposes of testing, however should you shoot this way, you may want to consider running the car periodically to keep the battery charged.

The most the charger will pull is 4A, and the amperage will decrease as the charge nears completetion.