Pandora RMA

[meanmachinedean]

Hi,


I have one of the first batch of Pandora's


Recently, the battery went flat on the unit.


I have tried to charge the unit via USB and from the mains charger and an alternative charging unit and still no luck.


If there is the chance I could send this back via a RMA that would be gratefully recieved.


Many thanks


Mean Machine

 

[mcobit]

EvilDragon to the rescue!

 

[NoeleyC]

does the Pandora work with your battery removed and then plugged into the mains? Most of them (but not all) do...

 

[meanmachinedean]

I did try it again in the mains and still nothing


It's a shame as I really wanted to demonstrate it to a couple of friends of mine who have heard great things about this.

 

[Mr Rob]

Hmm, I've noticed when I have the battery drain completely (accidentally of course), plugging it in had no effect (no lights, nothing). It actually took about five minutes of being plugged in before it came back to life and booted, as it does when plugged in.

 

[meanmachinedean]

I left it plugged into the mains over night...so approx 7 hours and still nothing

 

[NoeleyC]

I left it plugged into the mains over night...so approx 7 hours and still nothing

what I'm suggesting means removing the battery from the Pandora first, then trying to plug it into the mains. This would at least eliminate the possibility that the battery itself might be at fault.

 

[meanmachinedean]

O sorry,


I have done this already.


I will try again one more time when I get home later and see.

 

[SavageMind]

Wonder if the "memory" in the battery is conked. I know batteries have a sorta charge memory. That is why you should always let it charge completely before unplugging it when you first get it and run it until the battery is completely discharged so it knows it's full and empty states.

 

[meanmachinedean]

Hi SavageMind,


Before this happened, always depleted the battery and charged it to its fullest.


I will try the suggested "plugging in using the mains without the battery again", but I am not confident it will fix the problem

 

[Darkknight512]

Wonder if the "memory" in the battery is conked. I know batteries have a sorta charge memory. That is why you should always let it charge completely before unplugging it when you first get it and run it until the battery is completely discharged so it knows it's full and empty states.

That only effects nickel based batteries, Lithium Ion/Lithium Ion Polymer batteries do not exhibit this problem. Also, the lower you discharge a battery the faster it will degrade.


OP, do you ever leave the Pandora on the charger overnight or more? The current charge scripts does not seem to cut off the charge current when the battery reaches 100% and trickle charging a lithium based battery is very very damaging, and is potentially dangerous (the battery could become an explosive).


This is why in remote control aircraft and cars that run off LiPo batteries have to be monitored when charging, and must be charged with a computerized charger. It is also why you should never use a LiPo battery after you drop it (or crash the plane/car it was in). There are warnings all over the Pandora's battery about this.


Another thing could happen to lithium based batteries, if the cell voltage drops below 3 volts (due to self discharge), the batteries charge computer could shut down due to the low voltage, I'm not sure if there is a charge computer built into this battery though, because it is a single cell (technically not a battery), and those don't need a charge computer, they only need some sort of monitoring on the system somewhere (mostly for temperature and charge %)

 

[meanmachinedean]

Hi all,


Ok, we have some news


Yesterday I left the battery out for most of the day. In the evening I put the mains back into it and it started loading


Had a few problems where it was locking up and when trying to shut down kept restarting itsself.


Left it on for a long period of time and it has now started working ok...how long for time will tell.


While I am discussing the Pandora, since mine is a first batch, it also has the "loose battery" issue.


So at the moment I am holding it on with some sellotape (which isn't the most aesthetically pleasing on the eye). Is there a fix I could do or if so, could I exchange it for a updated version?


Will keep an eye on my Pandora today and let you all know of any developments of its battery.


Thank you for all your help so far

 

[meanmachinedean]

Morning all (or afternoon or evening depending where you are)


Ok, seems the Pandora so far is behaving itself...a few random lock ups but seems to be doing ok.


One thing though, regardless if the unit it off, everytime It is plugged into the mains it keeps turning itself on.


Is there a way of disabling this function?

 

[Mr_Loon]

...


One thing though, regardless if the unit it off, everytime It is plugged into the mains it keeps turning itself on.


Is there a way of disabling this function?

No. See the section marked charging in the unofficial user manual.

 

[meanmachinedean]

Thanks Mr Loon


Will check this out shortly.