Xplor 600 Battery Problem

Just checking to see if anyone else is having the same issues I am having with my two Xplor 600 strobes. Basically, when I leave them in my bag (not mounted to the strobe) for a few weeks they go flat. This wouldn't be an issue except when I plug them into the chargers, the charger has 3 solid lights and just flashes the fourth (indicating the batteries are nearly full, not empty). If I test the battery via the button on it, it shows one flashing red bar.

Now the even stranger part, if I let it charge over night, the charger will show all solid lights, as if it is done charging but when I unplug it and push the test button it shows again the single flashing red bar, like it is dead.

The strobe acts like the battery is dead and won't flash, but will power on.

One last oddity, sometimes (not reliably) I can put the battery back on the charger overnight and it will actually charge. But the times this works are few and far between.

Keep in mind this happens with 2 battery packs purchased at the same time.

Thoughts?

(I contacted Adorama about this and am still waiting to hear from them. I will update this when they respond. Batteries and strobe are about 10 months old, lightly used)

*UPDATE 05/23/2017 Adorama CS responded and because it is still within the 1 year warranty they will replace both strobes. I am happy with this response but I still question the reliability of the batteries and chargers for these units. The strobes are amazing, the batteries concern me.

*UPDATE 05/31/2017 Just a quick update, strobes have been sent off as of May 24th. Have not heard back from CS yet but it has only been 5-6 days so the lights may not have reached them yet. I will update this thread as things happen.

*UPDATE 06/02/2017 FedEx tracking shows my strobes arrived at Adorama today (06/02/2017 11:31am) and were signed for, should be a few days for for them to process and send out replacements.

*UPDATE 06/13/2017 Last and hopefully final update. Just received my replacement strobes from Adorama. They sent entirely new units to replace the faulty ones. I charged both batteries and tested the bulbs, both units seem to be working great! Hopefully these batteries will not develop the same issue, time will tell. I have to give Adorama high marks for how well they handled this. I will chalk up the 100ish dollars I had to pay for shipping as a lesson learned, I should have messaged Helen here first as it seems the normal CS email link isn't what I should have used. Again, Adorama stood by their product and gave me zero hassles about replacing these strobes and that is refreshing in this day and age. Also thank you to Helen who is fast to offer help on these forums whenever anyone needs it.

when you say, Basically, when I leave them in my bag (not mounted to the strobe) for a few weeks they go flat, is the battery separate from the strobe or both of them together in the bag? If the battery and strobe are together just sitting there and you notice the battery goes flat after some weeks. Have you tried separating them and then see if the battery still goes flat? I am just thinking something might be draining the battery. But then you say when you try to charge them, it looks they already charged 3 out of 4 bars but still doesn't work after charging. I would be interested to know what you find out. I have moved from Alien Bees to XPLOR600 now but my main concern is long term reliability and support. My AB batteries are still working great.

As I said, when they are left not mounted to the strobe (i.e. by itself) it seems to eventually go flat. I don't know exactly how long it takes but lets put it this way. I put the batteries in my bag (full charge). Some period of time later, at least 3 weeks, I have a shoot scheduled so I remove them from the the bag and plug them both into their chargers over night. In the morning I unplug them and take them to the shoot. At the shoot I discover both batteries are showing the single flashing red light when I push the test button. When mounted to the strobe, the strobe will turn on, but shows empty battery and will not test fire.

I switch to using AA speedlights which function fine even if under-powered for what I needed.

I get home and plug both batteries back in to charge. They exhibit the odd charging behavior described in my first post. I let them charge for 4 hours or so and check them. Both still show red flashing single light while charger says full charge. I unplug both, wait a few min and plug both back in and leave them over night. In the morning one of the packs actually shows full charge on the battery and the other is still red flashing empty.

I can't rely on the "good" battery to be charged next time I need to use it. I have never had a lithium pack (for any device) behave this erratically before so I can only assume these batteries and or chargers are bad.

That seems bad. Hope Adorama can take care of it. My case, I leave the batteries attached to the strobe as my strobes sit in the shoulder bags. I disconnect and charge them before the shoot. So far no issues but I haven't used them much even though I bought them last Nov.

I can confirm that there has been a problem with a batch of these batteries.

CS will be very happy to exchange them - all you need do is call in or email.

Toll Free: 800-815-0702
Local: 212-741-0466

E-mail: custserve.e@adorama.co​m
Hours:
Mon-Thur: 9:00-7:30, Friday: 9:00-4:00

Thanks Helen,

I already contacted CS and they advised me that I needed to RMA the entire kit with all parts. I have two lights so I did as requested and at my own expense paid 108 dollars to ship these units back to Adorama under Adorama Warranty. I was not given the option to just send in the batteries.

$108 seems quite expensive to ship even with insurance. Not sure where you are located.

bobbyz wrote in post #18362037
$108 seems quite expensive to ship even with insurance. Not sure where you are located.

California, total shipping weight was 28 pounds and required a 20x20x12 box. FedEx. And add insurance for $1400 dollars of equipment.

ParadisPhotography wrote in post #18362031
Thanks Helen,

I already contacted CS and they advised me that I needed to RMA the entire kit with all parts. I have two lights so I did as requested and at my own expense paid 108 dollars to ship these units back to Adorama under Adorama Warranty. I was not given the option to just send in the batteries.

No doubt Helen will clear that and it is stated that a there is a bad batch of batteries. So even not sending in the current ones is an option and Adorame sending you replacements.

ParadisPhotography wrote in post #18362050
California, total shipping weight was 28 pounds and required a 20x20x12 box. FedEx. And add insurance for $1400 dollars of equipment.

I've alerted the CS Manager; you should have been directed to brands@adorama.com rather than the generic CS service, where you would have been advised to return only the batteries

mmmfotografie wrote in post #18362539
No doubt Helen will clear that and it is stated that a there is a bad batch of batteries. So even not sending in the current ones is an option and Adorame sending you replacements.

For any query regarding our own brands/rebrands, I strongly advise messaging brands@adorama.com

Just a quick update, strobes have been sent off as of May 24th. Have not heard back from CS yet but it has only been 5-6 days so the lights may not have reached them yet. I will update this thread as things happen.

Helen - How do we know if our batteries are from the same bad batch or not?

FedEx tracking shows my strobes arrived at Adorama today (06/02/2017 11:31am) and were signed for, should be a few days for for them to process and send out replacements.

bobbyz wrote in post #18367821
Helen - How do we know if our batteries are from the same bad batch or not?

You would need to contact brands@adorama.com if you are concerned there is a problem with your batteries