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Davis vatahe Vue issues

Discussion specific to Davis weather stations
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Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

Hello all. I have a Davis Vantage Vue and I have been having issues for about 6 weeks with it giving the message of " LOW BATTERY TRANSMITTER 1 " in a regular basis. For no appearnt reason, this just starts happening. The battery ( CR 123 ) is NOT being drained and test fully charged everytime I test it. Therefore, the message Im getting on the consol is false. I was told, by Davis to clean out the battery compartment, clean off the four gold contacts and re lube them. This was done, to no avail. Also, I have now stopped getting transmissions from the ISS every morning between the hours of 5am and 7:30 am regularly. Has anyone had this happen ?

Yes, am in contact with Davis support, but up till now, they too are just scatching their heads over this.

Colin
gemini06720
Posts: 1700
Joined: Mon 10 Aug 2009 10:16 pm
Weather Station: No weather station
Operating System: No operating system
Location: World...

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by gemini06720 »

Colin, a few question...

You wrote:
Colin2151 wrote:The battery ( CR 123 ) is NOT being drained and test fully charged everytime I test it.
How can you be sure that the battery is not being drained? How can you be sure that the battery is being fully recharged by the solar panel (at this time of the year, the sun is much lower than during the summer and that lower angle could prevent the battery from fully charging)? How do you test the battery - do you just test the voltage or do you also test the current?

I do not have a Vantage Vue ISS - I have a Vantage Pro2 Plus ISS. The solar panel box on the Vantage Pro2 Plus ISS not only contains a battery (a CR-123 3-Volt Lithium cell) but also a power (voltage) regulator and what is called a 'super capacitor' - I could not find any technical information for the Vantage Vue solar panel box.

From what I remember, the 'super capacitor' is recharge by the solar panel and is used to power the transmitter (ISS). When the voltage of that 'super capacitor' falls below a certain level, then the battery takes over. When that 'super capacitor' goes bad, the battery becomes the only source of power - the solar panel does not recharge the battery - the solar panel recharges only the 'super capacitor'.
Colin2151 wrote:Therefore, the message Im getting on the consol is false.
If you feel that the low battery message is false and if your Vantage Vue weather station is still under warranty (one year) then I strongly recommend that you request a RAM (return marchandise authorization) number from Davis Instruments and that you return your weather station for further in-shop test and/or repairs.
Colin2151 wrote:Also, I have now stopped getting transmissions from the ISS every morning between the hours of 5am and 7:30 am regularly.
Although I am not fully versed with the Vantage Vue weather station, the fact that the transmission stops in the early hours of the day before the sun is up and the solar panel is again powering the ISS, really point to a not fully charged battery being drained during the hours of darkness...
Colin2151 wrote:Yes, am in contact with Davis support, but up till now, they too are just scatching their heads over this.
Well, let me just say that I have never been impressed with any of the people at the Davis Instruments support department - just recently, I had to forced a supervisor to give me a RAM (return marchandise authorization) number so I could return my WeatherLink IP adaptor (data logger) for in-shop tests and hopefully a replacement.
gemini06720
Posts: 1700
Joined: Mon 10 Aug 2009 10:16 pm
Weather Station: No weather station
Operating System: No operating system
Location: World...

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by gemini06720 »

Colin, here is a link to a discussion on the WXForum.net about Battery failures on Vantage Vue...
Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

Thanks all for the tips... I know that battery is charged because I tested it in use, and out of the ISS with a volt meter...
and Thanks ray for the LINK to the disgusstion on this topic, I will certainly check it out. As for Davis's customer service dept, they have been nothing but very friendly and helpfull with this issue Im having. Im sorry to hear that the one poster here had such trouble with them, That wasnt the case with me at all. They have been great. And today the ISS and consloe was send back to the factory for repair and or replacment no questions asked .

Colin
Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

gemini06720 wrote:Colin, here is a link to a discussion on the WXForum.net about Battery failures on Vantage Vue...
WOW,,, Thank you. I had no idea just what a problem this has been for Vantage vue owners. The V V is a new product and I guess we're in the " getting the bugs " worked out stage of the game. I read ALOT of post in that forum, and Davis techs tend to offer 3 or 4 kinds of " advice " to anyone writing to complain about these issues. Instead of telling people to " try greasing the four gold contacts with Lube " they need to get on with finding the cause of all of this. From what I read, customers of been trying that FIX for sometime now and it DOESENT solve the problem. It seems its been about a year now they have been telling people to do this and all that time customers have been in contact with them stateing its had NO effect on the LOW BATTERY TRANSMITTER 1 " issue. Now I just wrote them 4 weeks about, and...low and behold, thats exactly what they asked me to do... and low and behold... Zero results.
gemini06720
Posts: 1700
Joined: Mon 10 Aug 2009 10:16 pm
Weather Station: No weather station
Operating System: No operating system
Location: World...

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by gemini06720 »

Colin according to a UK sales representative/technician, about (only) 5% of the Vantage Vue sold have (real) technical problems...

It appears that the programming contacts located under the battery (see included image) get easily cover with humidity (water) - thus the Davis Instruments recommendation to cover those contacts with a non-conductive grease.
When those programming contacts get wet, a short circuit is cause between the contacts. In most of the cases, when the contacts are shorted (when wet), they activate the transmitter. Since the transmitter is always forced-activated (by the contacts being wet), the solar panel cannot supply enough energy (to power the transmitter continuously) and thus the battery is also being used continuously...
Last edited by gemini06720 on Sun 09 Jun 2013 8:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

well, no matter what, Its on its way back to California to be Repaired OR Replaced and Im having faith that Davis will do the right thing. For $ 300.00 + I shouldnt have to be the one to figure out whats " wrong " with the station after some simple, at home test have been tried, and failed to correct the problems. After going to WXFORUM.NET and reading up on the subject, I see I am far from alone with having these issues with the Vantage Vue. Funny thing here is, I have an older ( about a year old ) LaCrosse WS-1516 IT station, and its prefored flawlessly. Once again, Thank you to all who commented, and once again, Im counting on Davis, a strong and recommened company with a good track record to make it right. I will keep it posted here as to how it all unfolds.
Colin
Skywatcher_ne
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue 09 Mar 2010 12:36 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: Windows 7
Location: Omaha, Ne
Contact:

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Skywatcher_ne »

Just remember that most people only post on a forum when they are having problems. I have had my Vue for about a year now and after having over 31 inches of rain this summer have had no problems. Hopefully Davis will treat you well.

Dave
Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

Glad to hear yours is working flawlessly Dave. I know the Vantage Vue is a relitive newcomer and Im sure Davis, with the help of its consumers, will get the bugs ironed out. It is a great little weather station.
Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

Vantage Vue is on its way back from DAVIS after being either repaired, OR replaced. They didnt state in their UPS notice which or what they did. Just that its on its way back. Well, get her hooked up and report back on the status.

Colin in Oswego NY
Colin2151
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue 05 Oct 2010 6:57 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: windows XP

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by Colin2151 »

Davis Vanateg Vue just back from the shop in California for repairs and so far, all looks good. They said it was a colony of ants that were still alive when it arrived from NY. They had got up into the workings off the ISS and raise holy H***. Plue Davis put in a new set of contacts to help with the LOW BATTERY TRANSMITTER message issue. So far, working 100% after 3 hours running... Yup, its early yet, but well see how it goes for the next week or so. I want to say here and now that Davis was their with suppost all of the time, They were polite, and FAST ~.
Alot of companys these days could learn alittle about customer service from DAVIS ! They'll get my business.
ultralight
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon 17 Sep 2012 10:00 am
Weather Station: Maplin N96FY
Operating System: Windows7
Location: Cockerham

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by ultralight »

Hi all,

Sorry if I am on the wrong forum but FYI.

For what its worth my Fine Offset - Maplin N96FY, without solar charge cct - has started doing the same. The Underground Weather graph shows it stopping transmitting at 5am and then it restarts several hours later around anytime between 10am - 11am without any help whatsoever???
RayProudfoot
Posts: 3372
Joined: Wed 06 May 2009 6:29 pm
Weather Station: Davis VP2 with Daytime FARS
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
Location: Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, England
Contact:

Re: Davis vatahe Vue issues

Post by RayProudfoot »

You've posted in a 2 year-old thread under a different section to your weather station.

You'll probably get a better response if you post in the Fine Offset section here. https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=13
Cheers,
Ray, Cheshire.

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