Is it the batteries or is it my Spartan?

Hi there,

Got my DL 1W Spartan for two months now. Also got a pair of Tenergy RCR123A 3.0V 750mAh Rechargeable LiFePO4 Li-Ion Batteries (the yellow ones) for the same time. I have been using my Spartan and batteris once a week, hence been using it for something like eight times or so.

The problem is, that recently I noticed that the batteries die faster and faster compared to what I am used to.

The Spartan works, but it seems that it is weakening quickly.

I want to believe that it's the batteris that are not as strong as they were before and not that the Spartan diode weakened.

So how will I know if it is the batteries or if it is my Spartan?

TIA.

Best way to tell is to buy some new batteries as it's most likely the batteries and not your diode.

Thanks Coherent, but if it is actually the batteries, how come that they have become defect at such a short time?

I recharged them maybe 8 times or so, while it says in the description that they have a Life cycle of 1000 times (Traditional Li-ion: 500 times)?

Did you encounter with a similar problem before?

Tenergy like most Chinese batteries are a crap shoot as to the quality and longevity IMO. Sometimes You win and sometimes You lose. I have a few different CR123s that all perform differently, so it's luck of the draw.

Its probably the batteries. If you have a multimeter check the batteries voltage when they need recharging. If any of the batteries go below 2.2V they are probably dead.

The batteries voltage when they need recharging is 2.5 - 2.6v. When I finish charging it's 3.5 - 3.6v and when I use it the day after (I always charge them a day before I use for my own reasons), they are 3.2v.

They should be ~4.2v when fully charged not 3.6v. Your batteries are bad.

Coherent Light said:

They should be ~4.2v when fully charged not 3.6v. Your batteries are bad.

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His batteries are LiFePO4 batts not Li-Ion so 3.6v when fully charged is normal. If they would be Li-Ion then they should be 4.2v when fully charged but quickly drop to about 3.7v after some use.

Frank from DL told me that I have to condition the batteries before use, hence meaning I have to fully recharge and fully discharge them for 4 to 5 times.

If I didn't do so when I just got the batteries, can I do it now, or is it too late and my batteries are already irreversibly bad?