Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

First off, as a previous vagabond II owner, I love my VML. I do HS seniors and youth sports with my lights on location. My concern is my battery now rattles and my charger gets so hot that you can't hold it. Im afraid to charge it unattended. I was in line to buy the first run of the VBM when they first came out and am wondering if this is normal for other users or were there problems with the first run.

Thanks for your input

The chargers can get quite hot when charging a very drained battery, as can laptop chargers and others which are similar. However, if it is getting hat from charging a slightly drained battery, or from just being plugged into the wall, a replacement charger may be in order.

As for the battery rattling, does it sound like several parts inside are rattling, or one big part is rattling. If it is just one big part, then the cell assembly may not be anchored, but should not cause any problems. If it sounds like multiple pieces, then fruther trouble shooting would be recommended.

Thanks for your response. Yes it's a solid rattle like the battery is loose. Saturday I did a youth sports shoot till it started to rain. Maybe 50 pops at lower power due to overcast sky's. Still had all 3 LEDs on so I used less than 25% of battery. When I went to top off the charge, I notched how hot it was 20 minutes or so later. I had to leave and I felt very uncomfortable leaving ing it unintended so I unplugged it till I got back home.

Everything works fine, just concerned is all. I read somewhere here that the rectangular led on the charger is an older type and should be replaced? That's the type I have, what is the issue with them? Mine charges fine but just seems a little hot.

When you did recharge the battery (when you returned home), and the charger got hot, did then cool down once the charge was complete? Does the charger get warmer now than it used to?

We changed design due to some chargers not providing a charge. We have not had issues with chargers causing any problems due to heat, provided they are properly ventilated.

Unfortunately, "really hot" is relative. It would be hard to make a determination without seeing the charger, other than to say it does get hot to the touch during a charge cycle.

If you are uncomfortable with it, you can send the charger in for our evaluation. If it is good, then it would only be the cost of round trip shipping. If bad, a new charger would need to be purchased.