Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I've had my vagabond II for over a year now. LOVE IT! so helpful on shoots. One problem I noticed was this past month. Its charge doesn't last long now. I even left it charging overnight which would usually give my continuous power for about 2 or 3 hours. Now it barely last half an hour. Is there something I can do?

First, all batteries have a finite life. Sometimes, you will get a decline in charge, sometimes it works, then it doesn't. That is the nature of Sealed Lead Acid Batteries (like what your car uses). For optimum performance, you should top off the charge immediately after every use, then again every 2-4 weeks, as all batteries will self discharge. You want a full charge on the battery at all times. Faiulre to keep a full charge will result in the battery sulfating and losing ability to hold a charge, and this process can start very rapidly after use. From the symptoms described, a replacement battery should fix your problem.