Yongnuo killed my batteries - warranty case?

[Marsu42]

I am a victim of the rather unreliable Yongnuo rt trigger which only performs at least so-so if you put a pair of spanking new, fully charged batteries into it.

But Yongnuo keeps surprising me, now the unit killed my batteries (two rather new Eneloops): I left them in for ~3 months because I didn't use the trigger anymore, and now they're stone dead and refuse to be recharged.

Questions: Does anyone know this behavior? Is this a warranty case (the unit itself works with another set of batteries)?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[privatebydesign]

My YN-E3-RT arrived with a set of batteries in it, which were dead, I don't leave batteries in it anymore, not least because I hardly ever use it, but I have had mine drain Eneloops too, though I have never been 100% certain I hadn't inadvertently left the power switch on, I trusted to my stupidity, maybe I shouldn't have

 

[lion rock]

Marsh,
Rechargeable NiMH, NiCad or Li batteries seem to have an utter dislike to be fully discharged. I have various chemistries of these cells and if I leave them discharged and uncharged for a couple of months, they will totally fail.
Case in point, I have a "yellow brand" portable electrical drill and the battery was fully discharged and I took it out and left it uncharged for a couple of months because I have a second battery I can use. Now, I can't charge that battery again. Other NiCad batteries I used for model cars are the same.
It seems that there is a small discharge of battery power while in circuit, whether the device is turned on or off. This is what would fully discharge your battery. That the cells out when you're not using the device. It is also the best way to protect any battery (primary or rechargeable) operated equipment. Sometimes, the batteries leak and the chemicals will corrode the contacts in the equipment, and damage the instrument if the leak is severe.
Can you imagine what the landfills look like when we throw the dead cells away? Hope they're properly recycled.
Hope your YN still works.
-r

 

[Besisika]

Marsh,
Rechargeable NiMH, NiCad or Li batteries seem to have an utter dislike to be fully discharged. I have various chemistries of these cells and if I leave them discharged and uncharged for a couple of months, they will totally fail.
Case in point, I have a "yellow brand" portable electrical drill and the battery was fully discharged and I took it out and left it uncharged for a couple of months because I have a second battery I can use. Now, I can't charge that battery again. Other NiCad batteries I used for model cars are the same.
It seems that there is a small discharge of battery power while in circuit, whether the device is turned on or off. This is what would fully discharge your battery. That the cells out when you're not using the device. It is also the best way to protect any battery (primary or rechargeable) operated equipment. Sometimes, the batteries leak and the chemicals will corrode the contacts in the equipment, and damage the instrument if the leak is severe.
Can you imagine what the landfills look like when we throw the dead cells away? Hope they're properly recycled.
Hope your YN still works.
-r

Good to know, will charge all my batteries tonight. Haven't used some of them for a while.

 

[Schruminator]

Yeah, as a previous poster mention, rechargeable batteries sometimes won't re-charge if they have been fully drained.

Also, I have some inexpensive radio triggers and a few 3rd party flashes. In general, for non-name brand electronics, I do not trust the "Off" switch. Too many times I have found that they slowly sap/trickle energy out of the battery and kill the batteries in a day or a week. I always pop out at least one battery to break the circuit so they can't drain or put a plastic tab (a piece cut off of a milk jug works) in between a battery contact and a terminal when storing overnight or longer.

 

[Marsu42]

Yeah, as a previous poster mention, rechargeable batteries sometimes won't re-charge if they have been fully drained. Also, I have some inexpensive radio triggers and a few 3rd party flashes. In general, for non-name brand electronics, I do not trust the "Off" switch.

Harrrrgnn, well, it's only two batteries and you never stop learning - thanks for the information. I'll adapt my behavior accordingly if I keep buying Chinese junk products, obviously the cheaper electronics do make a difference - I've never experienced with my Canon flashes.

 

[lion rock]

Best practice: Don't fully charge rechargeable batteries of any chemistries when storing for extended times. Think of what manufacturers do when they ship their products out to stores for sale. Their batteries are charged to about 3/4 of capacities.
If you're not using the batteries for a very long period, use them for a short while and recharge to at least (best guess) 1/2 capacities.
There are some chargers that does discharge and show approximate capacities. I use them to manage my cells, both for cameras, Eneloop, and remote toys, NiMH or Li types.
-r

 

[Kathode-Ray]

You could try to revive those cells with a small power supply.

Set it to 3V, current limit (if available) to a few hundred mA and connect the supply to the cell for a few seconds. Plus to plus and minus to minus. A small 3V...9V wall-wart will also work, as long as it puts out a DC voltage. The higher voltage won't be harmful if you connect it for only a few seconds, just enough to polarize the cell again and give it some voltage.

Then insert the cells back into the charger. There's a good chance it will start charging now, if it works you should let it do a few charge/discharge cycles.

WARNING: this only works with 1.2V AA or AAA NiCd or NiMH cells, DO NOT try this with LiPo or Li-ion cells!

 

[ifp]

You could try to revive those cells with a small power supply.

Set it to 3V, current limit (if available) to a few hundred mA and connect the supply to the cell for a few seconds. Plus to plus and minus to minus. A small 3V...9V wall-wart will also work, as long as it puts out a DC voltage. The higher voltage won't be harmful if you connect it for only a few seconds, just enough to polarize the cell again and give it some voltage.

Then insert the cells back into the charger. There's a good chance it will start charging now, if it works you should let it do a few charge/discharge cycles.

WARNING: this only works with 1.2V AA or AAA NiCd or NiMH cells, DO NOT try this with LiPo or Li-ion cells!

You can do the same thing with a NiMH battery that has some charge on it.

See the picture here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RK62EGS3P082I (if that link won't work, google NLee paper clip trick).

If you don't have a charger that has individual battery slots to use, you can use another paper clip to connect the negative terminals.

Or if you have a really dumb charger, you can insert the batteries in it for a while.

 

[Marsu42]

If you don't have a charger that has individual battery slots to use, you can use another paper clip to connect the negative terminals.

Thanks, I didn't know this is possible - after searching the net, below are other relevant links on the topic. And whatdayaknow - it worked! Both batteries are alive again after short-circuiting for a few secs, so thanks to the helpful posts above and in your face, Yongnuo :->

http://michaelbluejay.com/batteries/charging-tips.html
https://www.flickr.com/groups/strobist/discuss/72157627333016541/

 

[unfocused]

Well...all news to me. Questions:

Don't store fully charged batteries anywhere?; Or don't store fully charged batteries inside a device?

Store batteries that are less than fully charged?

Don't let batteries drain completely?

Okay, so if I store a battery that is partially discharged and don't use it for a few months, will it discharge and then become a completely drained battery?

I thought the advantage of NiMH batteries (like Eneloops) was that they held a charge indefinitely and did not develop a memory. Is this wrong? Partially wrong?

With six 600 EX RTs, plus battery packs I've got quite an investment in Eneloops, so this is a real concern to me.

Recommendations?

 

[ifp]

Lots of good information here: http://batteryuniversity.com/

There's no reason to not store Eneloops (or any other NiMH battery) at full charge. It could be a good idea to remove them from devices if you aren't going to use it for a while, since they could be drained to the point of damage.

 

[Skirball]

Yeah, as a previous poster mention, rechargeable batteries sometimes won't re-charge if they have been fully drained. Also, I have some inexpensive radio triggers and a few 3rd party flashes. In general, for non-name brand electronics, I do not trust the "Off" switch.

Harrrrgnn, well, it's only two batteries and you never stop learning - thanks for the information. I'll adapt my behavior accordingly if I keep buying Chinese junk products, obviously the cheaper electronics do make a difference - I've never experienced with my Canon flashes.

I was going to suggest doing a deep cycle, but it looks like you got it fixed with the paper clip method.

As far as Chinese junk products; I guess everyone has their own opinions. I've read countless threads of people who can't get their Canon 600ex-RT $600 flash to even work with Eneloops. So I guess it's a matter of perspective. Third party electronics are never going to have the kind of QC that name brand electronics charging 4 - 10X as much will, it's simple electronics. But personally, I'm glad third party options exist to try to help keep the big guys in line.

FWIW, I leave batteries in RF-602, RF-622 and 560-TX transceivers all the time and never had a problem in any of the 15 or so units I have. I only take the batteries out of my flashes because I have a bunch and only consistently use 2 or 3 of them.

 

[privatebydesign]

FWIW, I leave batteries in RF-602, RF-622 and 560-TX transceivers all the time and never had a problem in any of the 15 or so units I have. I only take the batteries out of my flashes because I have a bunch and only consistently use 2 or 3 of them.

If you leave batteries in the RF-602 trigger you are bound to have a flat batery when you come to use it if left in a camera bag, it doesn't have an On/Off button!

 

[Skirball]

FWIW, I leave batteries in RF-602, RF-622 and 560-TX transceivers all the time and never had a problem in any of the 15 or so units I have. I only take the batteries out of my flashes because I have a bunch and only consistently use 2 or 3 of them.

If you leave batteries in the RF-602 trigger you are bound to have a flat batery when you come to use it if left in a camera bag, it doesn't have an On/Off button!

I cut a toilet paper roll tube in half, put duct tape on one side, and stuffed the other side with some tissue. The trigger fits in nice and comfy and doesn't touch the test button. I keep an extra CR2 battery in my bag just in case, but I've been using the tube case for about 3 years now and never had an issue.