Pulsar P4 Power Drain

[abem]

Hi.

I was wondering if anyone might have an idea of what may be causing excessive power drain on a P4 module. I had a P4 executive which seemed to work ok for a few months, I sold it, and then the buyer returned it. Now, it seems to drain the batteries in a week or two (which it didn't do before).

Any thoughts?

Could it be a partial short somewhere? Perhaps a bit of corrosion causing a current leak? Any ideas for troubleshooting and/or fixing the issue?

Thanx,

-abe.

[Adam]

If it didn't do it before Abe could it possibly be moisture in the circuit where the watch as been worn near water. I have had a couple of lcds returned for repair only to find out afterwards the owner washed the car with it on over the weekend. Just a thought

Adam

[abem]

Adam,

Thanks. Maybe I'll try running a hair dryer over the module or perhaps doing a surface cleaning (alcohol?). These things can be a bit confounding at times.

-abe.

[grenchat]

Yes, I must concur with Adam. Even if your customer failed to take the watch off while washing his hands, this simple oversight could have been enough to allow moisture into the case/module. He’s really lucky that he didn’t completely short out the IC circuitry and ruin the module.

I’d recommend immediately removing the module/batteries, applying the hair dryer on the cool setting, and using a Q-Tip to absorb any residual moisture in the case.

Good luck, and may the LED force be with you…

Jason

[abem]

Thanks Jason!

Sometimes the LED force is with you, sometimes not so much.

I wonder if there's a decent way to test if there's a current leak other than putting in a set of batteries and waiting a couple of weeks. Should there be a particular resistance across the terminals?

-abe.

[grenchat]

abe,

Someone that owns a Pulsar P4 module or a service manual for said could check the open-terminal resistance value for you. What I do is to keep several used -- but still good -- silver oxide batteries on hand for testing purposes. Once I’ve determined that the module is good, I only then install a fresh set of batteries.

Hopefully the excessive current drain was only caused by moisture accumulated in the case; not from an internal component beginning to fail.

Best of luck,
Jason