Author Topic: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?  (Read 166801 times)

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Offline johnd

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #150 on: September 29, 2010, 08:53:12 AM »
I wonder what would have happened had I imported from the US, like many other people on forums I visit.

I suspect you would have struggled to get any UK-based support at all. You would probably be stuck in the classic no-man's land in this scenario where McMurdo won't sanction UK support for a station that they haven't imported and Davis aren't prepared to ship anything direct to you from California.

But I also suspect that this thread is starting to become boring for others so let me desist now.
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Offline killwilly

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #151 on: September 29, 2010, 08:59:32 AM »
I wonder what would have happened had I imported from the US, like many other people on forums I visit.

I suspect you would have struggled to get any UK-based support at all. You would probably be stuck in the classic no-man's land in this scenario where McMurdo won't sanction UK support for a station that they haven't imported and Davis aren't prepared to ship anything direct to you from California.

But I also suspect that this thread is starting to become boring for others so let me desist now.

Agreed
Alan

Offline Maj. Infidel

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #152 on: September 30, 2010, 11:32:56 AM »
But I also suspect that this thread is starting to become boring for others so let me desist now.

I can only speak for myself, but I've found your contributions to this thread, along with the contributions of many others, to be anything but boring.  Being in the position of one who's long contemplated finally making the leap from the novice level $90 Oregon Scientific/LaCrosse indoor/outdoor temperature station, up to something far more substantial, capable, reliable and, yes, expensive, I'm extremely appreciative of this thread. 

Reading reviews and doing research elsewhere online, I had come away with the impression that Davis Instruments was a first rate U.S. based company that stood behind its products, and that the Vantage Vue was the perfect choice for someone like myself who was considering making their first foray into 'enthusiast' level weather station equipment.  It's now clear to me that I was wrong on both counts, at least where the Vantage Vue is concerned.  That Davis has allowed some of you to twist in the wind (no pun intended :) ) for upwards of a year is unconscionable to me.  And it's not as if $300 is some inconsequential amount of money, particularly in this environment. 

Putting out a dud of a product isn't the real issue here.  That happens occasionally to the best of companies.  What's disturbing is Davis' apparent unwillingness or inability to communicate with its customers the plan of action by which these problems will be resolved.

Offline utjer

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #153 on: September 30, 2010, 12:54:33 PM »
But I also suspect that this thread is starting to become boring for others so let me desist now.

I can only speak for myself, but I've found your contributions to this thread, along with the contributions of many others, to be anything but boring.  Being in the position of one who's long contemplated finally making the leap from the novice level $90 Oregon Scientific/LaCrosse indoor/outdoor temperature station, up to something far more substantial, capable, reliable and, yes, expensive, I'm extremely appreciative of this thread. 

Reading reviews and doing research elsewhere online, I had come away with the impression that Davis Instruments was a first rate U.S. based company that stood behind its products, and that the Vantage Vue was the perfect choice for someone like myself who was considering making their first foray into 'enthusiast' level weather station equipment.  It's now clear to me that I was wrong on both counts, at least where the Vantage Vue is concerned.  That Davis has allowed some of you to twist in the wind (no pun intended :) ) for upwards of a year is unconscionable to me.  And it's not as if $300 is some inconsequential amount of money, particularly in this environment. 

Putting out a dud of a product isn't the real issue here.  That happens occasionally to the best of companies.  What's disturbing is Davis' apparent unwillingness or inability to communicate with its customers the plan of action by which these problems will be resolved.

I agree with most of your post. I do have to throw out a word of caution though. Most people on here are looking for answers to problems they have. I dont know the ratio of problems posted here to actual owners but I bet it is small. Most users are not going to go to a web forum just to post that they have no issues. If things are running good then they will leave things well enought alone. I am a vue user since July. I upgraded from a la crosse system. I will tell you that my vue has been flawless. I did have a set up question that davis answered right away and correctly. So just be careful when reading everyones comments about issues, they may not be representitive of the product/company as a whole.
      Davis Vantage Vue - CWOP DW5396

Offline DaculaWeather

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #154 on: September 30, 2010, 04:20:16 PM »
And I will add, you hear a few complaints here about Vue's but there are substantially more that have never had any trouble, including myself. My Vue has worked flawlessly since it was purchased (one year ago oct) and has never locked up, never had the battery replaced, and always provides quality data day after day. My guess is they had a bad batch of some particular part and it happens with any product.

You will always hear from people about problems but rarely hear from those that have none.

Offline Maj. Infidel

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #155 on: October 01, 2010, 12:42:29 AM »
And I will add, you hear a few complaints here about Vue's but there are substantially more that have never had any trouble, including myself. My Vue has worked flawlessly since it was purchased (one year ago oct) and has never locked up, never had the battery replaced, and always provides quality data day after day. My guess is they had a bad batch of some particular part and it happens with any product.

You will always hear from people about problems but rarely hear from those that have none.

Steve, you and utjer make an excellent point, and it would be silly not to acknowledge it as such.  I certainly don't mean to give the impression that I've given up on Davis Instruments.  Far from it.  Based on my limited knowledge, it would appear as though the vast majority of their products receive very few complaints at all.  For the sake of those who have been affected by this particular set of problems though, it's difficult to overlook the fact that this thread is now nearing a year old without a definitive fix having been announced.  
« Last Edit: October 01, 2010, 12:47:36 AM by Maj. Infidel »

Offline dalecoy

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #156 on: October 01, 2010, 09:31:44 AM »
... it's difficult to overlook the fact that this thread is now nearing a year old without a definitive fix having been announced.  

Where, and in what way, would you expect a fix to be announced?  And in what form would you expect that fix to be?

[Reputable companies tend to fix non-life-threatening problems silently, with new revisions to product hardware; and supply corrective measures to customers who experience the problem, through existing distribution channels]

Offline Maj. Infidel

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #157 on: October 02, 2010, 09:44:51 PM »
... it's difficult to overlook the fact that this thread is now nearing a year old without a definitive fix having been announced.  

Where, and in what way, would you expect a fix to be announced?  And in what form would you expect that fix to be?

[Reputable companies tend to fix non-life-threatening problems silently, with new revisions to product hardware; and supply corrective measures to customers who experience the problem, through existing distribution channels]


To my mind, it would depend on the actual incidence of problems being experienced by Vantage Vue owners, a number which we aren't privy to.  At a minimum though, given the extended time span over which these issues have persisted, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that by now DI would have already diagnosed the true nature of the problem and announced the modifications (beyond grease) that will be made to future production units.

Offline dalecoy

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #158 on: October 02, 2010, 10:17:25 PM »
.... and announced the modifications (beyond grease) that will be made to future production units.

Companies almost never make such announcements.  There are several good (business) reasons for that.

Davis has, in the past, made quite a number of "in production" hardware improvements, and I don't remember any of those being announced.

I'm having trouble thinking of any company (in any industry) that has announced an in-production hardware improvement.  [Excepting those companies where each hardware unit is unique and customized for the customer].

How many can you think of?

Offline johnd

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #159 on: October 03, 2010, 03:47:16 AM »
In general, the incidence of faults on Vue units during their first year of production/sales has been encouragingly low. I don't have exact figures to hand but a level of 5% is probably realistic, which is actually very good for the period when a brand new design is released into the field.

The only two types of Vue fault that seem to have been reported with any frequency are - coincidentally - both low ISS battery warnings. I'm pretty sure that these two types have quite distinct causes although because the initial symptom is the same there's obviously a tendency on forums like this to confuse the two and to lump them together.

The first type is a genuine but premature low battery warning, ie when the old battery voltage is checked it's found to have been fully depleted. The incidence of this fault variant is very low - maybe 1-2% - and this is the type that can be fixed by the gel application to the contact pads. A change in production method to prevent this fault was made some 6 months or more ago, ie not long after the first reports of the problem came through and Davis had a chance to investigate the cause in faulty units.

The second and quite separate type are spurious low ISS battery warnings. When the ISS battery voltage is checked on these, the battery is still found to be in good condition and so the warning of low voltage is inaccurate. This type of fault will often clear itself along with other system resets and clear operations at midnight each night. So this type of fault is a minor operational nuisance but nothing more. I haven't seen a detailed write-up of the cause but it seems likely to me that the microcode monitoring the ISS battery is a little oversensitive on a minority of systems, which is presumably also something that can readily be fixed in production. I understand that a new console firmware update to counter this spurious low battery problem is in testing.
« Last Edit: October 03, 2010, 05:00:18 AM by johnd »
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline 4wd

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #160 on: October 03, 2010, 04:52:47 AM »
I understand that a new console firmware update to counter this spurious low battery problem is in testing.

Good news, I think this is the varaiation on the issue that most are experiencing.

Offline Trocketman

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #161 on: October 03, 2010, 05:36:41 PM »
I replaced my battery for low battery transmitter in July (purchased unit Jan. 2010) and it worked until Sept 27. Same message as before except this time it was overcast an it rained for day 1/2 and lost wind direction, speed and outside temp. The sun came out for 3 hours and then nightfall arrive and the low battery problem came back. Next day full sun all day no problem until darkness arrived. Decided time to call Davis support. They asked me to do some tests and what they decided was it is a moisture problem and are sending me logic board and battery board that is now moisture proof. Seems they have had this problem with other vue units and now they are are moisture proofing all electronic parts. Haven't received these part and hoping this is the fix considering there nothing left to replace. 

Offline DaculaWeather

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #162 on: October 03, 2010, 07:44:16 PM »
It's good to know they're replacing that for you. Let us know how the replacement goes.

Offline Sartori

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #163 on: October 08, 2010, 02:30:02 PM »
... it's difficult to overlook the fact that this thread is now nearing a year old without a definitive fix having been announced.  

Where, and in what way, would you expect a fix to be announced?  And in what form would you expect that fix to be?

[Reputable companies tend to fix non-life-threatening problems silently, with new revisions to product hardware; and supply corrective measures to customers who experience the problem, through existing distribution channels]


To my mind, it would depend on the actual incidence of problems being experienced by Vantage Vue owners, a number which we aren't privy to.  At a minimum though, given the extended time span over which these issues have persisted, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that by now DI would have already diagnosed the true nature of the problem and announced the modifications (beyond grease) that will be made to future production units.

Very well said, thats the way my mind works too:)

Offline dalecoy

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #164 on: October 08, 2010, 02:55:42 PM »
... it's difficult to overlook the fact that this thread is now nearing a year old without a definitive fix having been announced.  

Where, and in what way, would you expect a fix to be announced?  And in what form would you expect that fix to be?

[Reputable companies tend to fix non-life-threatening problems silently, with new revisions to product hardware; and supply corrective measures to customers who experience the problem, through existing distribution channels]


To my mind, it would depend on the actual incidence of problems being experienced by Vantage Vue owners, a number which we aren't privy to.  At a minimum though, given the extended time span over which these issues have persisted, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that by now DI would have already diagnosed the true nature of the problem and announced the modifications (beyond grease) that will be made to future production units.

Very well said, thats the way my mind works too:)

What would many people do if Davis publicly "announced the modifications that will be made to future production units"?

Offline Bushman

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #165 on: October 14, 2010, 12:09:33 PM »
That continuous improvement happens all the time in electronics.  Hopefully Davis would have a reasonable upgrade for those who wanted it.
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Offline MaverickNH

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #166 on: October 18, 2010, 09:42:08 AM »
New twist on an old story.

Unit received 22 Oct 2009 and has been running perfectly since installation. This last week, while I was traveling, the unit appears to have gone off-line due to battery failure. On my return Friday, I saw the console indicated "Low Transmitter Battery 1" and no external data was displayed. The antenna icon was absent.

I replaced the DuraCell battery and pressed the button. No LED illumination. I cleaned the contacts with an eraser, still no LED flash. I bought a 2nd DuraCell and still no LED flash. The console was not receiving either, so it's not just a dead LED.

Any clues?

Offline VE3RTV

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #167 on: October 24, 2010, 03:21:47 PM »
The first time I bought the Davis Vantage Vue I had the same problem a few days after I bought it. The LOW BATTERY TRANSMITTER  kepted coming even after I reset the unit....plus I put a brand new battery in it too and still it came up.
So I packed it back in the box it came in the sent it back to the store that I bought it from.
I got another Davis Vantage Vue to replace the first one so far no LOW BATTERY TRANSMITTER hasn't showed. If it does I will pack it back up in the box and send it back. And not bother no more.

Jim.

Offline CapeHazeWX

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #168 on: November 26, 2010, 02:05:40 PM »
On my third battery since 01/11/10.  Went through a series of diagnostics with Davis tech support folks.  The "old" battery is showing 2.96 volts while a brand new one is showing 2.99.  the verdict at this point is that the gold contacts on the ISS board which are visible on the INSIDE, SIDE of the battery compartment, are too close together.  Moisture due to high humidity is shorting the board out and giving a false reading. If so, that is a design flaw which needs to be remedied.  I can't imagine that holding up very long in a marine environment.  

I'm not convinced, because even during low humidty times the low battery indicator remained even when the reading was supposed to "reset" after midnight.  

The Davis solution?  Dielectric grease on the contacts in the battery compartment.  I'll give it a try and see what happens.  However, that's the last time this ISS goes on the tower without being replaced.

Tom, Ira and Edward have all been very helpful and it's kind of refreshing to be able to talk to a human in tech support.  I wish I could have stuck with one of them though.  Ira had indicated a new ISS would be sent out.  Edward decided on the Dielectric grease fix instead.

We shall see.  
Well, I began to receive the "Low Battery " warning again on 11/23.  Not quite 7 months since applying the Davis "fix".  I am requesting a new unit.  This one is 11 months old and has a recurring issue.  An e-mail has been sent and I await their response.

Offline 4wd

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #169 on: February 16, 2011, 10:40:49 AM »
My Vue will be a year old any day now, but has just started showing the Low Battery warning.
Now at a year old that's reasonable, so I got a replacement and put it in today - all seems well.
However I noticed that the green LED under the unit was on continuously before I put in the new battery and 're-set' it by pressing the button.
Could it be I only needed reset without replacing battery yet?
It seems odd if detecting low battery makes the LED stay on as an indication, since it would discharge even quicker!
The LED normally flashes very briefly when data is transmitted I think.  

Offline DaculaWeather

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #170 on: February 16, 2011, 10:42:09 AM »
Had mine a year and 4 months now... battery still good.

Offline HopeMaineWx

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #171 on: February 17, 2011, 11:13:12 AM »
Bought and installed my Vue in Oct. '10. In the middle of Dec. I received the low battery transmitter warning message. Went up on the roof took the station down and tested the battery and it tested great. Nonetheless I put in a new battery and within 12 hrs the low battery warning msg went away.

Last week, the infamous message reappeared, went back to the roof, tested battery, tested great. This time I put the same battery back in, within 12hrs, the messgae was gone again.

I noticed each time that I did get the messgae my station would stop reporting at about 3 or 4am and would start backup as soon as the sun hit the station.

Im very interested to see how the dielectric grease solution works out for you FortWhite. It sounds like this might be a fairly commom problem with at least a large batch of Vue's?

I must say my last 2 large ticket purchases have been a bit frustarting with issues. My Vue works great except for this battery issue and the screen on my new 55" tv works great except when it periodically freezes up. Gotta love technology!!! LOL

Vantage Vue
Software: WL, Cumulus, VVP
WU: KMEHOPE3
CWOP: DW6466

Offline DaculaWeather

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #172 on: February 17, 2011, 11:19:24 AM »
What TV? I'm looking at the Samsung 55" 3D TV's

Offline HopeMaineWx

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #173 on: February 17, 2011, 10:49:41 PM »
Vizio XVT553SV, great picture, nice internet apps. Not 3-D but the next model above is. Vizio did some troubleshooting with over the phone today and asked me to try out what we did and if doesn't work they will repair or replace the tv.

Vantage Vue
Software: WL, Cumulus, VVP
WU: KMEHOPE3
CWOP: DW6466

Offline paradigm

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Re: Battery failures on Vantage Vue?
« Reply #174 on: February 27, 2011, 10:13:01 AM »
In general, the incidence of faults on Vue units during their first year of production/sales has been encouragingly low. I don't have exact figures to hand but a level of 5% is probably realistic, which is actually very good for the period when a brand new design is released into the field.

The only two types of Vue fault that seem to have been reported with any frequency are - coincidentally - both low ISS battery warnings. I'm pretty sure that these two types have quite distinct causes although because the initial symptom is the same there's obviously a tendency on forums like this to confuse the two and to lump them together.

The first type is a genuine but premature low battery warning, ie when the old battery voltage is checked it's found to have been fully depleted. The incidence of this fault variant is very low - maybe 1-2% - and this is the type that can be fixed by the gel application to the contact pads. A change in production method to prevent this fault was made some 6 months or more ago, ie not long after the first reports of the problem came through and Davis had a chance to investigate the cause in faulty units.

The second and quite separate type are spurious low ISS battery warnings. When the ISS battery voltage is checked on these, the battery is still found to be in good condition and so the warning of low voltage is inaccurate. This type of fault will often clear itself along with other system resets and clear operations at midnight each night. So this type of fault is a minor operational nuisance but nothing more. I haven't seen a detailed write-up of the cause but it seems likely to me that the microcode monitoring the ISS battery is a little oversensitive on a minority of systems, which is presumably also something that can readily be fixed in production. I understand that a new console firmware update to counter this spurious low battery problem is in testing.

Well I've also been having the infamous "Low Battery Warning" on my ISS and after reading all the previous 7 pages of this thread, JohnD's Post (above) is by far the most informative.

Paraphrasing:
If you're getting the problem on a new system, the best thing to do seems to be to first check the battery voltage.  
If it's over 3 Volts then you're good and you don't need to worry too much apart from check that the green LED under the ISS isn't always flashing or is constant.  Keeping an eye on it and checking the ISS battery voltage every week or so wouldn't hurt.  
If the voltage is under 3V or the green LED is flashing/constant, then you should do a full reset on the system.  If the green LED is on or flashing after more than 5-10mins of the ISS being on, check the white sync button isn't pressed in.
One of the next best steps seems to be to apply a dielectric grease (if not already done in manufacture) to the 3 pins under the ISS battery (especially in a highly humid/wet environment).

After this, reset the ISS by removing the old ISS battery over night then replace the battery in the morning. At the same time, reset the Console by holding down the DONE/SETUP button after you power up the ISS.

Sometimes the message disappears after midnight and doesn't re-appear.  If it still appears after the above, then you really are best to talk to Davis.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2011, 10:40:44 AM by paradigm »

 

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