HID won't turn on

[grouchyturtle]

Happened the first time on a dive a few days ago. Originally I thought because the battery wasn't charged enough. So I threw it on the charger all day yesterday, and tried again today. The light glowed for a second and then immediately went out. Put the battery on a meter and it read 9.8. If not mistaken that's really low, right?

It's a Nimh about 6-7 years old. Could it be dead already?

If so, I'm thinking it may be time to upgrade to a Li-Ion?
Any suggestions on where I could get just a battery that will fit my current canister and a charger?

 

[a22shady]

Could also be a ballast issue. I had similiar problem where the light would flash on for a few seconds then turn off. If I shut it off and turned it back on it would the same things and not light after that unless it sat for 15min. &yrold nimh is an older battery and could be time for an upgrade. i would have it checked and diagnosed as that 1st before investing money.

 

[grouchyturtle]

So, any suggestions on where to get a custom light made by 2 companies that are no longer in business diagnosed?

 

[deepair]

Batteries Plus is a great source and can test the battery. Who made your light and do you have pics? I have replaced my Head and batteries on my 11 year old Dive Rite HID. Still works like a charm.

 

[ajduplessis]

Nickel Metal Hydrate batteries don't have memory, however they should not be allowed to reach a "deep discharge" state (around 9 volts), this causes damage. If you leave/store the battery for prolonged periods you should leave it on a "trinckle" charger to counter this. All battery also loses its charge capacity after an amount of charges (i know halcyon is around 1000) and this also affects the units over charge cycles. You might also have an issue with the charger itself. 6-7 year is old-ish for a battery, but should still be fine if maintained correctly.

Cold and heat also causes problems for batteries, where and how do you store them??

 

[grouchyturtle]

Wow! I never got email notifications from this.
The canister and battery were made by Stealth Dive, and it's a Terkel light head.

Based on what you're saying ajduplessis, sounds like the battery is probably the problem. 9.8 is a little low, and it hasn't been used in a while, and wasn't on a charger. Guess testing the head with another 12volt source would be the easiest way to confirm, Maybe I can rig something up on my boat.

 

[grouchyturtle]

Turns out it is the battery or charger. I rigged something to connect the light directly the 12volt system on my boat, and it works just fine.