Hello,
I have a remote control that keeps running flat. It takes a button battery. The battery voltage is 3 volts. I can only use the remote control twice for about 2 hours. I contacted the company and they replaced the remote for me but i have got the same trouble. I am using the best duracell batteries but even these dont last. I checked the voltage of the battery when the remote control does not work and it reads 2.9 volts. This means the voltage as only got to drop 0.1 of a volt for it not to work. Obviously it is a badly designed circuit, theres no point in me changing it again. Do you think i could modify it to take 2 batteries instead so it would have 6 volts but then i would assume it would damage the circuit if its not designed for this. Any other options you can think of. Thanks

 

Are you using the battery type specified for the remote?

 

Are you using the battery type specified for the remote?

yes button cell 2032.

 

What is the remote control for, what voltage is the battery when you press a button?

 

Hello,
Its for a Toy. I wired the meter up to the battery. when it was off the voltage was 3 volts, when i switched it on it was 2.9 volts.

 

Can you kludge a hookup to measure the current...on and off?

Ken

 

Sounds like its idle current when not being used is way too high.

What do you mean, "I can only use the remote control twice for about 2 hours"?
Is the remote sending a signal continuously for those two hours?

 

If it's for a toy is it RADIO remote control?

Two hours of transmit time is excellent for a button cell.

 

Not all brands of button cells are equal too.

 

Yes it is radio remote, but what gets me is the voltage as only got to drop 0.1 volts for it not to work i will test how much current it takes. thanks

 

Can you kludge a hookup to measure the current...on and off?

Ken

On something similar - I kludged a phone battery and stuck it on the back with blu-tak.

A rechargeable lithium has a higher starting terminal voltage, so more margin to work with. If it packs up at 2.9V - there's no danger of over discharging the cell.

 

hello again,
I have just checked the current. when i switch it on it takes .01 amps then when a press a button it takes .03 amps. The new battery voltage is 3.2 volts. Im not sure what i was on about myself when i said it only works twice in 2 hours just ignore that. All i know is that batteries dont seem to last long, maybe im better off with rechargables if they have a higher starting voltage i can afford to drop.

 

So it's possibly good for 200 mAH. http://data.energizer.com/pdfs/cr2032.pdf

Measuring current is problematic with most meters.

So, 2 hours doesn't make sense. 10 does. Why? Dunno.

Those batteries can be had for $0.50 to $6.00 USD each. I compromise, and get 20 for <$18.00 postage paid.

You can re-package the remote in another case like this: https://www.polycase.com/vm-24https://www.polycase.com/vm-24

Then maybe use Ni-Mh AA batteries and an Opal Charger.

 

OK thanks for all your help. I know that the duracell battery i bought for it only lasted less than an hour. Maybe it was a fake battery. I will try getting them from another supplier but obviously i dont want to pay big bucks for them. the batteries again. If i find im not getting much joy i will convert it to work on ni-mh AA batteries. i guess it will work for hours.

 

My supplier of LR44 and CR2032 batteries is http://infinitelights.com/ I use a bunch of them at home. IF I need another battery, I would try to get it when placing another order somewhere else. I can also use www.mscdirect.com and have it shipped to a local office so I don;t have to pay for postage.

The Opal chargers (Ni-Cd/Ni-mH) seem to work well.