FF Sentry battery dead

4

4RNB

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4RNB
Has anyone gone through the process of replacing a battery in a FF Sentry? Mine won't charge at home or in the plane. In the plane it won't stay powered up when plugged in.
 
4RNB said:
Has anyone gone through the process of replacing a battery in a FF Sentry? Mine won't charge at home or in the plane. In the plane it won't stay powered up when plugged in.
Click to expand...
I'm curious about this, too. Mine will stay on as long as it's plugged in, but if it's unplugged it'll only last a few minutes.

I think it maybe I left it on inside the plane during a food or fuel stop during a hot day, which must've ruined the batteries.
 
mark.staggs said:
I'm curious about this, too. Mine will stay on as long as it's plugged in, but if it's unplugged it'll only last a few minutes.

I think it maybe I left it on inside the plane during a food or fuel stop during a hot day, which must've ruined the batteries.
Click to expand...


Since you asked, I will attach the email reply from Fish Finder support. I think I have now charged this up on a different cable, the blue light stayed on longer. I've also ordered a fancy gizmo to learn better what cords and charge things to trust per this video:

​

[td]
Hello

We have some questions to help us learn more about the charging problem you are experiencing.

1) Are you using the factory charging cable that came with your Sentry? If not, be sure to use that charging cable.

2) Is your charging cable connected to a 5-volt USB charger capable of delivering 2 amps? Connecting the Sentry charging cable to an iPad charger is a good option.
NOTE: Sentry does not support charging from fast chargers.

3) When you plug your Sentry into the charging cable, does the PWR LED turn Blue? If it does, a full charge of an empty battery will take 10-12 hrs with a 2A charger. The Sentry will charge most quickly when turned OFF while charging.

4) If you connect your Sentry to your iPad/iPhone and open ForeFlight, what is the battery percent that is shown under More > Devices > (Tap on the Sentry device tile) after charging overnight?

5) If you remove power to the Sentry, does it immediately turn off?

6) Does rebooting the Sentry resolve the issue? To do so,

  • Power the Sentry on
  • Press and hold the power button on the Sentry until you see white lights blink (About 15 seconds)
  • Power the Sentry back on.




If your Sentry will not charge using the factory cable and a 2A charger, or if Sentry powers off immediately when unplugged, we would like to get diagnostic files from the iPad or iPhone you connect to your Sentry. To send us diagnostic files, follow these steps:

1) Open ForeFlight Mobile and go to the MORE page.
2) Select SETTINGS.
3) Once on the Settings page, tap the word "Settings" near the top of the screen (in the top dark blue menu bar) 3 times in quick succession. An "Upload Diagnostics" popover will appear.
4) Review that the email address presented is correct.
5) Select UPLOAD.

Thank you,
Darby
Pilot Support Team
[email protected]
www.foreflight.com
ForeFlight Support Center
ForeFlight Video Library
ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide
For your reference, here is the message that was originally sent:
Subject: Sentry battery

[/td]


​
 
4RNB said:
Since you asked, I will attach the email reply from Fish Finder support. I think I have now charged this up on a different cable, the blue light stayed on longer. I've also ordered a fancy gizmo to learn better what cords and charge things to trust per this video:

​

[td]
Hello

We have some questions to help us learn more about the charging problem you are experiencing.

1) Are you using the factory charging cable that came with your Sentry? If not, be sure to use that charging cable.

2) Is your charging cable connected to a 5-volt USB charger capable of delivering 2 amps? Connecting the Sentry charging cable to an iPad charger is a good option.
NOTE: Sentry does not support charging from fast chargers.

3) When you plug your Sentry into the charging cable, does the PWR LED turn Blue? If it does, a full charge of an empty battery will take 10-12 hrs with a 2A charger. The Sentry will charge most quickly when turned OFF while charging.

4) If you connect your Sentry to your iPad/iPhone and open ForeFlight, what is the battery percent that is shown under More > Devices > (Tap on the Sentry device tile) after charging overnight?

5) If you remove power to the Sentry, does it immediately turn off?

6) Does rebooting the Sentry resolve the issue? To do so,

  • Power the Sentry on
  • Press and hold the power button on the Sentry until you see white lights blink (About 15 seconds)
  • Power the Sentry back on.




If your Sentry will not charge using the factory cable and a 2A charger, or if Sentry powers off immediately when unplugged, we would like to get diagnostic files from the iPad or iPhone you connect to your Sentry. To send us diagnostic files, follow these steps:

1) Open ForeFlight Mobile and go to the MORE page.
2) Select SETTINGS.
3) Once on the Settings page, tap the word "Settings" near the top of the screen (in the top dark blue menu bar) 3 times in quick succession. An "Upload Diagnostics" popover will appear.
4) Review that the email address presented is correct.
5) Select UPLOAD.

Thank you,
Darby
Pilot Support Team
[email protected]
www.foreflight.com
ForeFlight Support Center
ForeFlight Video Library
ForeFlight Mobile Pilot's Guide
For your reference, here is the message that was originally sent:
Subject: Sentry battery

[/td]


​
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting this. I'm going to go through some of this to see if maybe it's just cable-specific. I don't believe it is since I've bought quality cables, but who knows without following through.
 
I haven't gone through the process yet but it seemed a good place to start. When I plugged in the Sentry to a new iPad charger the blue light stayed on for hours. I ordered the Klein tools thing in the video and am going to check lots of things out. I might get obsessed with labeling wires and keeping them for specific tasks at specific locations after testing. I'm hoping it is not my USB charge port in the plane.
 
Mine certainly wont charge on certain cables, the higher amp ones. Also you can go into FF and see battery percentage on the sentry unit as well.
 
Yes I ran into the same problem with a sentry. Some cables wouldn't charge or power it.

The Stratus however didn't seem to care.
 
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