Metz 60 CT-1 problem charging?

[dpurdy]

I got a Metz 60 CT-1 off ebay and got a dry fit battery sent to me from B&H at the same time.. last September. The Metz arrived without the charger, but the battery arrived charged up. I used the flash quite a bit testing and figuring it out then I used it for a wedding still last September. It worked fine. I finally got around to getting a new charger from B&H a couple of days ago as the battery had gone completely dead. I followed the insructions and put the unit on to charge for many hours and the red light never started blinking and never went off. I tested the battery and it had a little bit of charge but was still basically dead. I flashed off the bit of charge it had and then tried to charge it up again. I left it on for 9 hours again and the same result. I drained it again and tried it one more time and the same result again. So now I wonder what to do. Do I toss the whole unit in the trash and forget it? Or do I spend another 75 bucks getting another dry fit battery sent to me?

thanks for your time reading my problems
Dennis Purdy

 

[Mike Wilde]

even AGM lead cells should not be drained flat!

The dryfit is a battery that uses a technolgy called absorbed glass mat. There is a 'fibreglass' type membrane between the plates to keep the electrolyte from sloshing around, and also keeps the plates from flexing. It does not protect from sulfation if you let the battery go dead.

If you are at all handy:
Check the charger output - it should be about 7 volts AC.

Presuming the charger is healthy then the battery is likely toast.

Go to an electronics store and buy the same type of battery (voltage, approximate same Ah rating, and most critically - dimensions). They are sold for UPS battery replacement, model RC cars, etc. (mine is even made by sonnenchein or however you spell it). It will cost you about $30.

It won't come with the round pads that the photo retailer sells - it will have push on terminals compatible 'tangs'. Look at where the old dead battery pads are. Carefully bend (think gentle needle nose pliers) the tang back over onto itself to these locations. Twist the epoxy free from the daed battery one way only bit of plastic glued to the front, and glue it to the front of the new battery so you cannot put the new battery in backwards (this will most definitely kill the flash, so match polarity carefully).

The modified battery will be a bit taller. Carefully chisel the two ridges of spacer plastic in the battery compartment at the bottom away, and it will fit. Make up a spacer of two to three pieces of matt board the right size and store it in you camera bag for the day when this modified battery dies and you have to use the shorter photo retailer sources OEM battery and wince at the price just beforte you shoot the wedding, etc that forced you to the photo retailer.