Battery pack problems

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madrancor
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Battery pack problems

Post by madrancor »

Okay, some of you may recall the Acclamator I finished a few months ago with my first lighting attempt. Things were going well the battery lasted about three months running 6hrs a day. Here lately though I put in fresh batteries and after a run they start leaking. Here is my set up as I can remember: I have four white LEDs and four blue LEDs running in series connected to a 3 AA battery back with a 150 ohm resistor. Any ideas why this has started?
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veedubb67
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Post by veedubb67 »

Are you saying the batteries are physically leaking? Do you mean the ends have white corrosion a.k.a. potassium carbonate (normally on the negative end)?

Have you checked the battery box? There may be some corrosion causing the batteries to discharge. You can use vinegar or lemon juice to clean up the corrosion.

What brand of batteries are you using? Energizer batteries have a 'No Leak Guarantee' and will replace them free of charge.

Are you sure about your schematic? When I punch 8 LEDs in series into the LED wizard it says you need 26.4 volts (8 x 3.3V). The optimum solution would be all 8 LEDs in parallel with 47 ohm resistors on each LED.


Rob
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madrancor
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Post by madrancor »

Thanks Rob,

I am pretty sure of my schematic although they might be wired in parallel. I do know there are 8 leds in there.

When I went to change the batteries there was white corrosion on them. I cleaned that off put in new batteries and the next day they were wet. Probably had not dried to the white powder texture yet. I am using Rayovac AA batteries. I will try and see if I have a picture of it before I closed up the hull.

Found a pic and there are 7 leds. Hope this helps.
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n91/ ... 4ambs.jpeg

This was before I installed the resistor and it is 150 ohms and it looks like they are in parallel.
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Kylwell
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Post by Kylwell »

Clean the case thoroughly and switch to a non-alkaline battery or a better quality alkaline battery.
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madrancor
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Post by madrancor »

Okay, I will try that. Thanks.
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