Dead auto darkening helmet

[Car Doc]

My helmet quit last week at a time when I had to weld something right then so I bought a new one from Snap-On he showed up about the same time.

Then later I fiddled around with the Miller and apparently the battery connections are touchy (odd ball battery anyway) because a slight tweak and its working again heck I don't know what to say except there may still be hope for yours?

 

[lhfarm]

My helmet quit last week at a time when I had to weld something right then so I bought a new one from Snap-On he showed up about the same time.

Then later I fiddled around with the Miller and apparently the battery connections are touchy (odd ball battery anyway) because a slight tweak and its working again heck I don't know what to say except there may still be hope for yours?

Apparently the connections are touchy and not a great design. But I wired the battery to the terminals, checking to make sure I had 3v present. Nothing. So I'm assuming there is another failure. Guess I'll buy another and NOT store it in a bag, to make sure it is charged.

Going to do some searching here for suggestions.

Thanks,

 

[Treemonkey1000]

If you weren't so far away I would say that I could take a look at it for you. There might be some other electronic geeks in your area that can look at that.

 

[lhfarm]

Well, I decided to take the helmet apart and see if I could find
another battery. I removed the headband and the inside and outside
shields. On a lark, I placed the battery in the slot while I was
holding the mask away from the workbench. I saw the mask go dark
twice. So I replaced the battery cover and held the on button and it
darkened. Took it outside and it is working again.

No idea what I did or if it was a random act. But it is good I tried again.

I follow-up to see if it keeps working. I did report the results to Miller. They haven't responded to my last few notes

 

[texasjohn]

Ah, yes, the old "I messed with it a lot, didn't really do anything and it started to work" trick.

Thanks for letting me know this happens to someone besides myself....glad it now is working again.

 

[lhfarm]

Ah, yes, the old "I messed with it a lot, didn't really do anything and it started to work" trick.

Thanks for letting me know this happens to someone besides myself....glad it now is working again.

I hate it when that happens. I'm glad to have the helmet back, but I'd like to know what I did to fix it. First I want to know so I don't waste a lot of time when it happens again. Second, I wanted to post the fix here to share with others. That is one of the things I really like about TBN.

Looking back through this thread, it may be if the recommended cleaning and bending the contacts doesn't work, then the "mess with it" is the fix.

 

[texasjohn]

Hmm... maybe we should have a sticky thread..."I messed with it just before trashing it and..."

Last time this happened to me, I was convinced that the drill switch was fried, thus the drill dead and decided to salvage the cord. Discovered a pinch in the cord right at entry to the drill which caused wire to melt. Barely could see discoloration in black insulation. Cut out 3 inches of cord and all is properly screwy again:laughing:

 

[weldingisfun]

Go back through the disassembly steps you took. Analyze each step in your mind and you will probably find that something was causing a contact to be maladjusted or a broken lead to make contact somewhere in that process and when you took things apart the contacts were re-established. Then again, maybe not.
Regardless, you need to have your shop sprayed for Gremlins.
Happy to hear you are up and running again. Have the same helmet myself.

 

[Car Doc]

Well, I decided to take the helmet apart and see if I could find
another battery. I removed the headband and the inside and outside
shields. On a lark, I placed the battery in the slot while I was
holding the mask away from the workbench. I saw the mask go dark
twice. So I replaced the battery cover and held the on button and it
darkened. Took it outside and it is working again.

No idea what I did or if it was a random act. But it is good I tried again.

I follow-up to see if it keeps working. I did report the results to Miller. They haven't responded to my last few notes

There ya go just like I said I did the other day strange how that happens isnt it!?

Glad yours is working and mine too except I now own a real expensive new helmet also toys toys toys never enough....:laughing:

 

[Steve_Miller]

It doesn't take very much corrosion or dirt to cause a malfunction with these low power circuits. The current draw is so minute that very little resistance (aka - dirt, corrosion) will essentailly open the battery circuit and make it appear that the electronics are no good. Mine has acted up a few times as well.

Steve