Blinking ICOM charger light

[jp]

The light on my ICOM A14 charger was blinking orange/green and the charger was not charging the battery.

I took the battery off the radio, used a pencil eraser to clean the electrical contacts on the battery - they looked fine to me by the way - and now the charger light no longer blinks and it charges the battery.

By the way, I had looked in the A14 manual for info on this blinking light and found no reference to it.

[Tim Newport-Peace[_7_]]

On 11/05/2021 00:43, jp wrote:
> The light on my ICOM A14 charger was blinking orange/green and the charger was not charging the battery.
>
> I took the battery off the radio, used a pencil eraser to clean the electrical contacts on the battery - they looked fine to me by the way - and now the charger light no longer blinks and it charges the battery.
>
> By the way, I had looked in the A14 manual for info on this blinking light and found no reference to it.
>
Hi Jim,

Assuming you are using BC-179 charger, there is a reference to blinking
orange/green in chapter 7 of the manual, "Orange or green (blink):The
battery pack or the charger has a problem". Maybe you have a different
manual? PM me if you need a copy of my manual.

Incidentally, using a pencil eraser to clean contacts is depreciated. It
often leaves residue which insulates.

Tim.

[jp]

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 1:55:10 AM UTC-7, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
> On 11/05/2021 00:43, jp wrote:
> > The light on my ICOM A14 charger was blinking orange/green and the charger was not charging the battery.
> >
> > I took the battery off the radio, used a pencil eraser to clean the electrical contacts on the battery - they looked fine to me by the way - and now the charger light no longer blinks and it charges the battery.
> >
> > By the way, I had looked in the A14 manual for info on this blinking light and found no reference to it.
> >
> Hi Jim,
>
> Assuming you are using BC-179 charger, there is a reference to blinking
> orange/green in chapter 7 of the manual, "Orange or green (blink):The
> battery pack or the charger has a problem". Maybe you have a different
> manual? PM me if you need a copy of my manual.
>
> Incidentally, using a pencil eraser to clean contacts is depreciated. It
> often leaves residue which insulates.
>
> Tim.

Hi Tim,

It is the BC-179 charger. It came in the box with the A14 radio. I don't think a manual for the
charger was included in the box. All seems to working now, fortunately.

I have a spray cleaner for electrical contacts but it seemed like overkill for the contacts
on the battery. After using the eraser on the contacts I did check that no eraser bits remained.
I hope that was ok. The battery is now charged up and the radio is working fine.

Thank you for your help.

Jim

[Tim Newport-Peace[_7_]]

On 11/05/2021 15:39, jp wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 1:55:10 AM UTC-7, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
>> On 11/05/2021 00:43, jp wrote:
>>> The light on my ICOM A14 charger was blinking orange/green and the charger was not charging the battery.
>>>
>>> I took the battery off the radio, used a pencil eraser to clean the electrical contacts on the battery - they looked fine to me by the way - and now the charger light no longer blinks and it charges the battery.
>>>
>>> By the way, I had looked in the A14 manual for info on this blinking light and found no reference to it.
>>>
>> Hi Jim,
>>
>> Assuming you are using BC-179 charger, there is a reference to blinking
>> orange/green in chapter 7 of the manual, "Orange or green (blink):The
>> battery pack or the charger has a problem". Maybe you have a different
>> manual? PM me if you need a copy of my manual.
>>
>> Incidentally, using a pencil eraser to clean contacts is depreciated. It
>> often leaves residue which insulates.
>>
>> Tim.
>
> Hi Tim,
>
> It is the BC-179 charger. It came in the box with the A14 radio. I don't think a manual for the
> charger was included in the box. All seems to working now, fortunately.
>
> I have a spray cleaner for electrical contacts but it seemed like overkill for the contacts
> on the battery. After using the eraser on the contacts I did check that no eraser bits remained.
> I hope that was ok. The battery is now charged up and the radio is working fine.
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
> Jim
>
No. It is in the A14 manual, quote:
• Charging indicator color information
Orange: While charging
Green: When charging is completed
Orange or green (blink): The battery pack or the charger has a problem.

it also says:
Be sure to turn OFF the transceiver power, when charging
the battery pack along with the transceiver.

P.S. Not only does IPA Cleaner clean contacts, but it kill SARS-CoV2.

[jp]

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 8:05:51 AM UTC-7, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
> On 11/05/2021 15:39, jp wrote:
> > On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 1:55:10 AM UTC-7, Tim Newport-Peace wrote:
> >> On 11/05/2021 00:43, jp wrote:
> >>> The light on my ICOM A14 charger was blinking orange/green and the charger was not charging the battery.
> >>>
> >>> I took the battery off the radio, used a pencil eraser to clean the electrical contacts on the battery - they looked fine to me by the way - and now the charger light no longer blinks and it charges the battery.
> >>>
> >>> By the way, I had looked in the A14 manual for info on this blinking light and found no reference to it.
> >>>
> >> Hi Jim,
> >>
> >> Assuming you are using BC-179 charger, there is a reference to blinking
> >> orange/green in chapter 7 of the manual, "Orange or green (blink):The
> >> battery pack or the charger has a problem". Maybe you have a different
> >> manual? PM me if you need a copy of my manual.
> >>
> >> Incidentally, using a pencil eraser to clean contacts is depreciated. It
> >> often leaves residue which insulates.
> >>
> >> Tim.
> >
> > Hi Tim,
> >
> > It is the BC-179 charger. It came in the box with the A14 radio. I don't think a manual for the
> > charger was included in the box. All seems to working now, fortunately.
> >
> > I have a spray cleaner for electrical contacts but it seemed like overkill for the contacts
> > on the battery. After using the eraser on the contacts I did check that no eraser bits remained.
> > I hope that was ok. The battery is now charged up and the radio is working fine.
> >
> > Thank you for your help.
> >
> > Jim
> >
> No. It is in the A14 manual, quote:
> • Charging indicator color information
> Orange: While charging
> Green: When charging is completed
> Orange or green (blink): The battery pack or the charger has a problem.
> it also says:
> Be sure to turn OFF the transceiver power, when charging
> the battery pack along with the transceiver.
>
> P.S. Not only does IPA Cleaner clean contacts, but it kill SARS-CoV2.

Hi Tim,

I'm going to shoot IPA up my nose! Maybe not.

I see the notice you point out in the A14 manual. I missed it the first time around.
The "...has a problem..." notice may have helped but I probably would have had
to guess at cleaning the contacts as a hopeful first step. My guesses usually
don't work out well. I was lucky this time!

Jim