Author Topic: Low battery warning  (Read 974 times)

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Offline CW2274

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Low battery warning
« on: October 26, 2021, 06:36:18 PM »
New territory for me. I had to replace the transformer that powers the case fan as it gave up the ghost after 6+ years of 24/7 service. Now, three weeks later, I'm getting a low batt warning three nights in a row. I haven't been able to get out to the ISS just yet, but am wondering if I forgot to plug the solar panel back in. If so, the ISS has been on battery power since. The thing is, the warning comes on at about 8pm, then clears itself at midnight and doesn't come back on til the next night. Why? All my data is still transmitting as well. The PCBA board, at least visually, is in pristine shape.  :???:

Offline fkapp

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2021, 08:56:21 PM »
I'm not an electronics expert, but could it be the supercap?
Not sure how long these last.
Just thinking out loud and would be interested in other thoughts in case experience this down the road.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2021, 09:10:14 PM »
Supercap is possible but highly unlikely. I saw zero leakage and the timing is wrong. Everything was fine til I replaced the transformer. I'm going out to the ISS tomorrow and I'm betting I didn't plug the solar panel in. What puzzles me is why the warning stays off after the midnight reset.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2021, 04:54:11 PM »
After getting no warning last night, I went out to the ISS anyway to see what's what. The solar panel was indeed plugged in and the battery checked in at 3.19vdc. I've heard of glitches before with low battery warnings from Davis PWS's and I can only assume that's what occurred here. Hopefully it's cleared it's throat.

Offline johnd

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2021, 05:14:20 PM »
The problem AIUI is that there are something like 34500 wind packets sent every day and any one of these can contain a low battery flag. This will trigger a warning that won't get reset until the general midnight console reset. So one spurious low battery flag can then show up for the whole of the rest of the day. That's not to say that there might not be some real issue with your ISS, but a single one-off flag by itself is not necessarily any cause for concern.
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
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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 CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2021, 05:40:33 PM »
Being that I was just out to the ISS three weeks ago and then the subsequent three nights in a row warnings made me think I forgot to plug back in the solar panel. Had it been only one night, I probably would have looked the other way. At least now I have "peace of mind"...unless the warnings come back, then plan B comes into play (maybe a new PCBA..wouldn't need the -0.9F offset either). It is pushing 15 years old after all. Thanks for the info.

Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2021, 06:29:49 PM »
This may be a dumb question but are you sure the low battery warning is for the ISS and not the Davis console itself? A battery warning message for the console itself will say something like "Low Battery". If that's the case, just change the batteries in the console and make sure the console is plugged in. If the warning is coming from the ISS, the battery warning message will say something like "Low battery on station #1".

Just a thought.

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Offline CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2021, 06:34:58 PM »
Yes, I'm sure. It came from "station #1" which is my ISS. The remote anny is #2. My console has 4.19 volts according to WL. Thanks for the thought.

Offline SteveFitz1

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2021, 06:48:15 PM »
My second thought would be the SuperCap issue. It's my understanding the battery power only kicks in when the SuperCap goes "dry". And it only goes "dry" if the solar panel isn't receiving any sunlight for days to recharge it (unless it's gone bad). Sunlight during the day could power the ISS, but if the SuperCap has gone bad, the only power at night would be from the battery, unless the battery has run out of juice because it had to supply power for several nights. If the SuperCap is the problem, replacing the battery may make the message go away for some period of time, but only until that new battery ran down again.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2021, 08:02:44 PM »
My second thought would be the SuperCap issue.
Of course. I saw no visible evidence of failure (my board literally looks brand new and gets a CRC cleaning every service) but will obviously keep an eye on it. Living in Tucson gives the supercap a very easy life as it only needs to work at night 98% of the time. I got 12 years outta my first ISS battery and it surely didn't need replacing from use, but simple old age and cooking in the AZ heat. It was the original Duracell that came with the ISS.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2021, 05:52:22 PM »
Hopefully it's cleared it's throat.
:roll: It's back. Guess I'll let it ride for now and see what happens. I've had batteries that have had good voltage before in remotes but didn't "work" for whatever reason. Quite annoying.

Offline CW2274

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Re: Low battery warning
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2022, 03:03:52 PM »
The problem AIUI is that there are something like 34500 wind packets sent every day and any one of these can contain a low battery flag.
I'm following up here in case someone else has this issue, but I think I've inadvertently solved the problem, I just don't understand why. I quote johnd here as his statement may be the explanation. So, I lost wind data a couple of weeks ago and then received the subsequent low battery warning for TX2 a day later. Went out to the remote TX, sure enough, corroded supercap. Battery at 2.5vdc. Replaced battery and ordered new TX from Ryan. Now getting low battery warning back on TX1. What the... Anyway, new TX comes, installed, still low battery on TX1. Next day, warning gone and hasn't returned....so far. I guess something johnd alluded to caused the warning to for TX1 when in actuality it was TX2 battery that was bad all along. Speculation. :???:

 

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