Cobalt 2 "Charging Stopped"

[Triker]

My Cobalt 2, which was replaced under warranty for a failure of the first computer last year, is now displaying "charging stopped" when connected to the AC adapter or a USB power supply. The computer has been kept in a temperature-controlled room (70 degrees Fahrenheit), so the out-of-range temperature alarm shouldn't be an issue unless a sensor is failing. The computer is running firmware 2.26/2. Strangely, though the screen reads "charging stopped" the battery does appear to be charging as the percentage has risen from 24% to 35% in the past 60 minutes.

Any advice from RonR or other Cobalt users? The computer behaved well (and was an awesome computer) for about 45 dives, but I'm not sure it is up to another 45.

Update: After leaving the computer attached to the charger overnight, the battery was reading 100% capacity and the text "charge complete" was displayed. I thought the error cleared and the issue was resolved. I took it on a dive today and about 15 minutes in, the screen went dark and the computer was unresponsive to any input. I safely aborted the dive. After five minutes or so on the surface, the computer's screen once again illuminated and I was able to view the logged information for the entire dive, right through surfacing. Of course, I sat out the rest of the dives today. In hindsight, given the issues I had the night before, I likely should not have trusted the computer for today's dives.

Conceptually, these are some of the neatest, most intuitive computers. I am very impressed with how well designed the UX is and appreciate the responsiveness of Atomic's customer service. I keep a very busy dive schedule during summer months, and if I cannot find a replacement for this computer or cannot get some sort of resolution before Wednesday, I will miss two more dives. Hopefully we can reach a resolution for this issue as I really want to keep using this computer. I just cannot seem to trust it now, and even if it is replaced, I am beginning to lose trust in any possible replacement.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Like to know what causes this and the fix

 

[Triker]

Update Three: The computer this morning would not turn on (or at least the display would not illuminate). I had given up on it and sat it on my desk. After coming back from a 60 minute meeting, the screen was on and the computer was displaying the "Set Time and Date" screen as if it suffered a power issue, which is becoming apparent. It is displaying a time and date approximately 20 hours ago, so it seems to have been without power to the RTC for that period.

Todd

 

[RonR]

Todd,

This looks like a problem with the battery power connection. the "Charge Stopped" message can be triggered by out of temperature range, but it will also appear if the thermistor wire is not getting contact. In that case the battery can still charge, which seems like what you were seeing. But it also sounds as if the contact can be lost and came back again. What you describe sounds like a loose battery connector- I hope so, because that is very easy to fix. I'm sending you a PM with the instructions for removing the battery door- very simple- and checking the battery connection.

When the Cobalt resets- as it would after a power interruption- it will always go back to the time of the end of the last dive.

Ron

 

[Triker]

It appears we have reached at least the cause of the symptoms I experienced: The battery compartment had at some point developed a leak. Upon removing the battery door (per Ron's instructions) I found the battery puffed and covered in droplets of water. I also noted a white crystalline solid near the o-ring of the battery door. The three wires that connect the battery to the computer's terminals were corroded; the positive battery wire was completely severed. That would certainly cause the intermittent operation symptoms. Ron asked that I contact Atomic Aquatics and request an RMA (I had called and left a message earlier today for Adan).

After speaking with Ron, I emailed Adan the photographs I took of the battery compartment and shortly thereafter received a phone call from him with an RMA. He said they would ship me a new computer and after explaining that I would otherwise have to miss dives on Wednesday, he offered to get it to me overnight. I cannot say enough for Atomic's customer service and Ron's help. After having two failed computers of the same generation (completely different modes of failure), I was beginning to think I should cut my losses and purchase a different brand of computer.

I can't help but come back to the Cobalt 2 with its feature set, intuitiveness, and most of all folks like Ron and Adan at Atomic who make willing to give this computer another shot. In this day and age, it is extremely difficult to find a company that stands behind their product and offers service like Atomic has shown me. I hope the replacement will be the computer that I will keep for several years.