IQ Premium not charging

[NeilP]

Hello, would it be normal for the red light on the charger to not illuminate when I haven't charged the batteries for over a year? I've changed the fuse in my charging adapter but that didn't change anything.

[FifeingEejit]

Have you tried charging the batteries in a standard AA charger?

[NeilP]

No as I don't have one. I guess my options are put in some normal AAs and see if light works, swap original batteries for other AA rechargeables to eliminate batteries, buy a new charger 

[FifeingEejit]

Aye, it should work fine on normal AAs

Is it a 2 pin or UK 3 pin charger you've got?
I got the Europe 2 pin one with mine as I bought it from a german retailer and have occasionally had issues with my adapter that meant it's not got feed which I've always noted as resulting in the light not showing.
What I can't remember is if the light goes off when fully charged or if it changes colour.
If it goes out when fully charged then it's also possible your rechargeables have a fault, so would need to try with other rechargeables.

Edit: Although now I think of it, you should be able to power the light off the chargers feed as if it was a E-Werk... I'll go and dig mine out of the garage.

[FifeingEejit]

Chargers red light only comes on if there are batteries in the unit needing charged.
Light only operational if there are batteries in the unit

[NeilP]

The light in the main light does not illuminate, the red light on the charger does not illuminate, I have not charged for over a year, they are original batteries, I'm using what amounts to a shaver adapter but this is what I used previously as it was still attached to the 2 pin charger which came with the light. I'm wondering if the batteries are "dead" through lack of use.

Thanks for your views.

[GavinC]

A vaguely similar thing happened with mine. I was going quite long periods between using the light (although months rather than years). The red light on the charger would come on for maybe 10 or 15 minutes and then go off to indicate the batteries were charged. However the light would only work for a few minutes before dying.

I eventually bought a standard ‘smart’ AA charger and it showed that one of the four batteries was dead, so I replaced all of the batteries and all has been good since. I’m only using the standalone charger now though, not the original B&M one.

[andrew_s]

No as I don't have one. I guess my options are put in some normal AAs and see if light works, swap original batteries for other AA rechargeables to eliminate batteries, buy a new charger

That more or less sums it up.

If the batteries were original, it's likely that they were standard NiMh rather than the low self discharge (LSD) variety, in which case it's certainly possible that the charge all leaked away and they've been sitting flat as a pancake for the last 6 months. Rechargeables generally don't like being run completely flat, and like being left in that state even less, so it isn't unlikely that one or more of the cells is dead. If you've still got the instructions, you'll probably find something in there about charging the light every 3 months or so if you aren't using it long term.

For new rechargeables, it would be best to get some of the LSD variety, which are normally sold as "ready to use" or "pre-charged". These will hold their charge for quite a long time, largely avoiding the "gone flat in storage" problem.
I use the black Eneloop Pros, but they are relatively expensive.

For a charger, there are any number of cheap "smart" chargers, but if you use rechargeable AAs or AAAs much, you would be better off with something like a BC-700 or a BL-700 https://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline-bl700n-battery-charger.asp
These will charge/discharge/recharge a battery, and report its actual capacity. This allows you to match up pairs and to keep an eye on the state of the battery, allowing you to avoid the other method of killing your AAs, which is to use a set where one goes flat whilst the others have enough life left to force current through the flat (and soon dead) cell.
With a basic charger, and using sets of 4, this may not be avoidable, as I've come across more than one new set where one cell didn't give much more than half it's nominal capacity until it had been charged and discharged on its own for 2 or 3 cycles.

In principle, it's better (for the batteries) to take them out and charge them in a decent charger, but there is a drawback to this - the wear and tear on the battery compartment catch.

[NeilP]

No as I don't have one. I guess my options are put in some normal AAs and see if light works, swap original batteries for other AA rechargeables to eliminate batteries, buy a new charger

That more or less sums it up.

If the batteries were original, it's likely that they were standard NiMh rather than the low self discharge (LSD) variety, in which case it's certainly possible that the charge all leaked away and they've been sitting flat as a pancake for the last 6 months. Rechargeables generally don't like being run completely flat, and like being left in that state even less, so it isn't unlikely that one or more of the cells is dead. If you've still got the instructions, you'll probably find something in there about charging the light every 3 months or so if you aren't using it long term.

For new rechargeables, it would be best to get some of the LSD variety, which are normally sold as "ready to use" or "pre-charged". These will hold their charge for quite a long time, largely avoiding the "gone flat in storage" problem.
I use the black Eneloop Pros, but they are relatively expensive.

For a charger, there are any number of cheap "smart" chargers, but if you use rechargeable AAs or AAAs much, you would be better off with something like a BC-700 or a BL-700 https://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline-bl700n-battery-charger.asp
These will charge/discharge/recharge a battery, and report its actual capacity. This allows you to match up pairs and to keep an eye on the state of the battery, allowing you to avoid the other method of killing your AAs, which is to use a set where one goes flat whilst the others have enough life left to force current through the flat (and soon dead) cell.
With a basic charger, and using sets of 4, this may not be avoidable, as I've come across more than one new set where one cell didn't give much more than half it's nominal capacity until it had been charged and discharged on its own for 2 or 3 cycles.

In principle, it's better (for the batteries) to take them out and charge them in a decent charger, but there is a drawback to this - the wear and tear on the battery compartment catch.

Wow, extensive and thorough reply, I really appreciate you taking the time to write this. In hindsight I ought to have maintained charge, it does seem likely they are dead, the only nagging doubt is the lack of red light on the charging plug but this could be moot if I buy a new charger. I'll look into your recommendations, Thanks again