Topic: Talentcell won't recharge

[ts]

Used it quite a bit from 2019 to mid 2023. Then let it sit. Maybe used it a couple times for recharging iPhones etc. after that. Anyway to revive it? Thanks.

[rocksuitcase]

Used it quite a bit from 2019 to mid 2023. Then let it sit. Maybe used it a couple times for recharging iPhones etc. after that. Anyway to revive it? Thanks.

I own two of these. Marking this to see what the answer might be.
1] Are you sure the wall charger was the correct one?
2] Did you move the power switch to the ON (-) position while charging?
3] anyone else have an idea or question?

[mccordo]

Used it quite a bit from 2019 to mid 2023. Then let it sit. Maybe used it a couple times for recharging iPhones etc. after that. Anyway to revive it? Thanks.

I own two of these. Marking this to see what the answer might be.
1] Are you sure the wall charger was the correct one?
2] Did you move the power switch to the ON (-) position while charging?
3] anyone else have an idea or question?

I also own 2 Talentcell batteries purchased earlier this year and am here to second everything rocksuitcase said. Honestly didn't know they could lose charge like that in what seems like a relatively short period of time.

[Gutbucket]

I have 3, earliest circa 2016/17 or so, newest 2024, all work and charge fine.

Like rock' mentions, make sure power switch is in the "ON" position. Not sure if actually prevents charging since I've always charged them that way as recommended, but it might!  They don't seem picky about the particular charger.  I've used a few different 12V power supplies in addition to the ones they came with and they all have worked.

Do the charge level indicator lights illuminate when the charger is plugged in but with the power switch in the "OFF" position?  That's normal behavior and at least indicates the charger and the connection to the battery are both working at least.

[ts]

I get one red light when plugged in and switch in off position. All lights light up when switch is in on position. Using Talentcell supplied charger and green light is illuminated on the charger. My other batt, same one, does not act like this.

[jbell]

I had a buddy that had one bite the dust at a Wolf Bros show a few years ago.  We ended up running his mics into my Mixpre 10 II. 

I get one red light when plugged in and switch in off position. All lights light up when switch is in on position. Using Talentcell supplied charger and green light is illuminated on the charger. My other batt, same one, does not act like this.

[audBall]

Considering all the parts that go into them (18650 batteries, PCBs, wiring, and connectors), it's possible one of those malfunctioned or got jostled around, etc. I have a couple that are several years old now with no issues, but wonder when it might be a good time to cycle them out.

https://wavreport.com/2017/11/29/batteries-part-2-diy-modding-the-talentcell-12v-lithium-battery/

[cleantone]

I was coming here today to make a post like this. I've had two issues with TalentCell in my experience. One a while back and one recently. Previously I had a single PB240A1 with it's white GVE wall wart charger. After a good deal of use the wall wart crapped out. I wrote support and provided a video of what was happening. They sent me a whole kit for replacement. This left me with 2 PB240A1's and a new charger. All was good and that's a great resolution. Now the charger works but only one of the batteries charges. One of them is as described here. The wall wart stays green when it should go red. The battery doesn't charge. I reached out to them again. They are sending another replacement. These things have treated me pretty well and they've been doing a good job of making me happy when they fail.

[DavidPuddy]

I have one from about 2019 or so that has a bad DC jack. These things are not built that well it seems

[cleantone]

They sent me TWO complete PB240A1 kits with chargers. I don't know why the one unit won't charge but they really make it right by replacing so easy!

[cleantone]

by the way, these come with the DC female Y-Split and DC male to male. Does anyone here use these to power two devices? How does that work?

[Gutbucket]

Shouldn't be a problem as long as the amp draw and voltage requirements of both pieces of gear remain within the capability of  the battery.  Works the same as any other battery when powering two loads wired in parallel.  The Y splits the amperage which is available through that particular port. Nominal voltage remains the same, but since its unregulated the voltage will drop more due to the reduced resistance of the devices in parallel, and will drop faster in use due to the higher combined load.

I've run both a preamp and recorder off a single Talentcell without problems, but if I recall correctly I think I've always done so by using the separate 12V and 9V ports on the battery.  And going the other way, have used a Y to "hot-swap" between two Talentcells.

[fanofjam]

For what it's worth, I thought I had a similar problem.  I have six talentcell batteries...a couple of them are 3 or 4 years old, and my talentcell charger wasn't working to charge two of the batteries.  All of these batteries are identical looking...exact same batteries from the exterior.  I was flummoxed because I was pretty sure that the two that wouldn't charge weren't dead.  Incidentally, three of my six batteries, including the two older batteries, have no embossed text on the exterior surface of the battery.  The three newer ones have all of the pertinent info...battery model number, battery capacity, input and output voltages, etc.

I was comparing them side-by-side and, lo-and-behold, I realized that the outputs of two of my batteries are 24v/12v/5v USB.  The other four have different output voltages...12v/9v/5v.  Then I looked closer at my chargers and they're different, even though they also look identical except for some are black and some are white. 

Turns out I was trying to charge the 24v/12v/5v batteries with a talent cell wall wart that was for the 12v/9v/5v batteries.  Once I used the correct wal-wart (29v output), it of course charged the 24v/12v/5v batteries fine.

Wonder if any of you guys that expressed charging problems above might have the same issue.