Faulty Lidl Battery Charger

[Pete735]

Some time ago on one of the Lidl/Aldi battery charger threads a couple of people mentioned that their chargers were now faulty. At the time my Lidl £13.99 one was working fine, but between that thread and a couple of weeks ago it has developed the same fault, being unable to switch between the various modes.

I did a little googling and it seems as though this is relatively common and I suspect most people shrug it off and next time an "offer" comes up buy a new one.

However I repaired mine a few days ago by buying a new switch and soldering it in, cost was £!.19 and it took a little fiddling with but I am hoping to at least get a few more years out of it, for anyone who is interested I bought a 6 x 6 x 5mm momentary PCB Tactile Switch (2 in fact for the £1.19) from an outfit called Switch Electronics. I did have to add a blob of epoxy on top of the button to extend its length slightly - thought I ordered correct one, but maybe not.

Interestingly the switch is claimed to be good for 6 million operations (as opposed to about 60 for the Lidl product it seems to me).

Also of interest is in the Lidl 3 year warranty, it states that the warranty does not include switches! Curious I thought, and being of a suspicious disposition I did wonder if the Instructions/warranty had been reprinted to avoid claims, probably just me being cynical though.

Just thought this may be of interest to other owners.

 

[pvb]

Also of interest is in the Lidl 3 year warranty, it states that the warranty does not include switches! Curious I thought, and being of a suspicious disposition I did wonder if the Instructions/warranty had been reprinted to avoid claims, probably just me being cynical though.

There's only one reason they'd specifically exclude switches - it must be the main mode of failure!

 

[BERT T]

There's only one reason they'd specifically exclude switches - it must be the main mode of failure!

If that were the case it renders the charger "NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE"

 

[pvb]

If that were the case it renders the charger "NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE"

Yes, but it was very cheap!

 

[hartcjhart]

Yes, but it was very cheap!

price under soga has no relevance

 

[ghostlymoron]

Mine has recently packed up as well. I assumed it was something electronic but will now investigate further.

 

[RIBW]

Mine has recently packed up as well. I......but will now investigate further.

I too thought mine had packed in (the switch appeared not to work). I was trying to charge a suspect/discharged battery. However when I moved the charger across to a known good battery , it worked as it should and the switch worked smoothly!

Bemused
Bob

 

[JumbleDuck]

I too thought mine had packed in (the switch appeared not to work). I was trying to charge a suspect/discharged battery. However when I moved the charger across to a known good battery , it worked as it should and the switch worked smoothly!

They can't cope with fully discharged batteries, which I suspect draw too much current and overload the charger. Sometimes you get a recovery mode where a small amount of charge is banged in as pulses until the charger can cope, but normally I find that it's easier to use an old-fashioned dumb charger for an hour or too, then switch to the Lidl.

 

[RIBW]

They can't cope with fully discharged batteries, which I suspect draw too much current and overload the charger. Sometimes you get a recovery mode where a small amount of charge is banged in as pulses until the charger can cope, but normally I find that it's easier to use an old-fashioned dumb charger for an hour or too, then switch to the Lidl.

Agreed!
Cheers
Bob

 

[NickRobinson]

Additionally to proven faulty switches, mine appeared to show these symptoms and unplugging and replugging the mains and croc clips sorted it, which is good because I've been on the boat for days waiting for this weather to pass over......:disgust: ... Shift+R improves the quality of this image. Shift+A improves the quality of all images on this page.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Further to my previous post, I had a look on good old YouTube and found this.
Lidl Ultimate Speed ULG 3.8 A1 Battery Charger Ca…: https://youtu.be/YFJplsH29e8
Hope link works. You may have to copy and paste!
My problem now is that I haven't got a triangular screwdriver and there are no Chinese supermarkets nearby. So I've started drilling the screws out and my battery drill has gone flat. But, not withstanding, I am hopeful I'll get it restored to working order. Thanks for the heads up!
I also came across some geek who'd modified his to overcome the power off/ reset problem but this is well out of my comfort zone. No doubt Nigel or Angus would understand it.

 

[RIBW]

My problem now is that I haven't got a triangular screwdriver ....

As we are talking Lidl, it might be worth checking the 4 June offerings - Is there a triangular bit in the £7.99 Screwdriver and Bit Set? There was in the last cheap set of bits I bought (can't remember where).
Cheers
Bob

 

[Pete735]

Looks like I did it the hard way, wish I had checked you tube, I did not even consider it.

I should also have mentioned the triangular screws. Fortunately I have a small pack of anti tamper bits and there was a suitable one in there.

 

[ghostlymoron]

As I said, I've already started drilling them out.

As we are talking Lidl, it might be worth checking the 4 June offerings - Is there a triangular bit in the £7.99 Screwdriver and Bit Set? There was in the last cheap set of bits I bought (can't remember where).
Cheers
Bob

 

[ghostlymoron]

I've just got around to doing mine. The switch measures 6x6x8high. Does it need to be SPST or SPDT or DPDT or what? Not confident that my soldering skills/equipment are up to it but its worth a try.
PS after a succession of accidental deletes on android phone, I've resolve to only attempt posts on Hudl.

 

[Pete735]

If you read my first post again it's all there. On the plus side mine has had considerable use since the repair and it continues to operate correctly.

 

[tigr]

MIne worked for one go. Then stopped..
Back to Lidls
But they do look fairly well built compared to most stuff nowadays.

 

[LadyInBed]

Does it need to be SPST or SPDT or DPDT or what?

Momentary, so press to make contacts then releasing opens contacts again.

 

[davids0865]

If you read my first post again it's all there. On the plus side mine has had considerable use since the repair and it continues to operate correctly.

Pete, Given that you have done the job and that the 6x6x5 needed extending, would these be a better bet? http://www.switchelectronics.co.uk/...hes/6x6x7mm-momentary-pcb-tactile-switch.html

I have several Lidl chargers knocking around the workshop to fix!!

 

[ghostlymoron]

That's the one I'm going for. Couldn't find any 6x6x8.