Question

We have been using the fatmeter for about 2 months on Albacore tuna. It seems all works fine, however the battery does not seem to keep the charge. Procedure we are using is to charge the fatmeter every night all night long. In the morning we check the calibration with the pad and during the day we use the fatmeter about 10 times. Each operation will last for a maximum of 5 minutes and between operations we turn it of. So in total the fatmeter will be used for about 1h to 1.5h at the maximum during the day, and yet around 5-6 pm the fatmeter indicates battery low. We rarely had that before while we were using it much more than 1 hour a day. We are planning to go on another trip with intensive use of the fatmeter and I am afraid we will be limited by this problem.

Could it be that the battery is dead already? Was it checked in January when we sent the fatmeter for revision, any solution? Is there any thing I could check?

Answer

It sounds as if the charger is NOT charging correctly (you are getting perhaps 1 hour before batteries are discharged, signifying only a partial charging of the batteries). I suspect that the cable at the 7-way plug has become twisted, and has caused a cable break inside 7-way Plug, and providing an intermittent charging of the batteries.

If you have an engineer available, ask him to check the 7-way Plug, and DC output voltage of the charger, when plugged into mains supply.  He will need a Multimeter to carry out this check.  Proceed as follows…

1. Engineer should dis-assemble 7-way plug, and check if any of the TWO cable connections are broken off, inside.  Any broken cable should be re-soldered, and 7-way plug re-assembled.  Connections are… Pin 1 - Centre Pin = Live (+ve)..white, insulated cable.  Pin 3 = Ground (-ve)… Un-insulated wire. If this is OK, then proceed to step 2…
2. In the Charger’s  connecting lead (with 7-way socket for plugging into Fatmeter)… Remove the FOUR screws from the small black box, and remove plastic lid.
3. Engineer should then connect charger to Mains Power Socket (110V or 230V), and switch ON.
4. Engineer should check to make sure that the RED LED is illuminated
5. Engineer should measure the DC voltage across the two cables entering the black box… this voltage should be ~ 12 volts, DC (If no voltage at this point, this signifies that charger has failed, and we will require to send you a replacement).
6. If voltage at  4 above is OK, engineer should check voltage across TWO cables exiting the black box… this should be 12 volts, DC ( If no Voltage exiting the black box towards the 7-way plug, then the fuse on the PCB has failed (we will need to send you a replacement Charger Unit).
7. If correct voltage leaving the black box, then refit lid, and screws.