Tony,
Your voltages are NOT normal. Matt's suggestions are good ones. You should
also, as soon as possible, take the cells out of the holder and do two things:
1. Inspect each cell for damage to the plastic cover that is around each cell.
Look around the positive terminal for damage that plastic cover. That can
cause a short in that cell. Check the side of each cell for damage caused by a
battery holder attach screw that is too long. If the builder used the wrong
screw when attaching the holder, it can extend beyond the surface of the
battery holder and damage the plastic causing a short to ground. Elecraft
issued and alert to check the holder for the proper screw length. I can't
emphasize enough that damage to the plastic covering is unacceptable. I don't
think that this is the most likely cause since the cells return to a reasonable
voltage while resting.
2. Measure the voltage of each cell. After charging and resting for an hour
or so, they should all be within about 0.1 volt of each other. A little more
variation is OK for cells that are partially discharged. Be careful when
probing the positive terminal. It is easy to short the cell if the plastic
cover does not extend completely around the top of the cell. That falls under
item 1 above.
These are good steps to take a few times per year. Matt's suggestion of
looking at the current draw is important. That should help isolate the source
(radio vs. cells) of the problem.
It is possible that the wrong screws were used somewhere during the radio's
build and one extends too far causing a short in the supply. Elecraft supplies
all the proper screws for the job, but it is easy to put the wrong one in the
wrong place. I don't know what your situation is, but you may want to consider
returning the radio to the builder for repair.
FYI, I have never seen a bad Eneloops from the factory, but it is possible.
On Monday, April 10, 2017 7:54 AM, Matt Zilmer <[email protected]>
wrote:
You may have a bad cell in your Eneloops. Try monitoring the current
drain while discharging the battery. At idle, it should be200 mA or
less. If it's much more than that, there may be a different problem
with the KX3 itself.
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