Tivoli Pal BT quiet

[Donstaff]

My Tivoli PAL BT worked perfectly for a long time after a battery replacement. Then one day after using it on BT with battery power, I forgot to turn the power off. Some weeks later when I tried to use it, the battery was dead. When I plugged it back in, the LED started flashing, supposedly indicating charging, but there was no sound in any mode. The LED eventually went off, supposedly indicating fully charged, but still no sound. All I hear is a fraction of a second of program sound as it is turned on, accompanied by an equally short flash of the LED. Does anyone have an idea of what is going on, or how to fix it? Any responses greatly appreciated.

Don

 

[Donstaff]

Well, stranger than fiction, my PAL is working perfectly again. I had set it on my problem shelf after receiving no forum suggestions. Today, I was at that shelf and just for kicks reached up and switched the PAL on. To my shock, it sprang to life! Glory be.

 

[Sandman1221]

Well, stranger than fiction, my PAL is working perfectly again. I had set it on my problem shelf after receiving no forum suggestions. Today, I was at that shelf and just for kicks reached up and switched the PAL on. To my shock, it sprang to life! Glory be.

Sounds like battery was drained back in November, that can damage a battery, maybe a plate cracked? And sitting on the shelf the crack was slowly repaired by chemical reactions in the battery. If that is the case, then next time battery is under load the crack could reopen. Are replacement batteries available?

And if no one responds to your post, and few read it, it can quickly move off the first page and out of sight. If that happens, sometimes you need to bump your own post with a "bump" post! And a picture in the original post can help if it is not a common brand name.

 

[Donstaff]

Thanks Sandman 1221. Following up, the Pal BT worked again for a good while on battery power until I decided it should be recharged. I plugged in the power supply with the power switch turned off and the LED started flashing on and off, indicating charging was in progress. After a few hours, I noticed that the LED was off, so I assumed that full charge had been reached and that the LED had turned off as the instructions manual said it would. Here's the bad part: When I turned the power switch on, I got the same failure as originally described in my original post. The LED eventually went off, supposedly indicating fully charged, but no sound. All I hear is a fraction of a second of program sound as it is turned on, accompanied by an equally short flash of the LED. I took the battery out and it reads 8 volts, about what I would expect under no load. Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Don

 

[Donstaff]

Following up, with more detail on the battery's recharge. Does the fact that, out of the radio, the battery reads 8 volts under no load mean that it is good, or is it possible that the battery could read 8 volts but at the same time not be able to supply adequate amperage to power up the circuit? I ask this because even after the LED stops flashing, with the radio still plugged in to the charger, it still does not power on. Should the radio operate with the properly with the power supply plugged in to the 120 volt AC supply and outputting 12 volts and plugged in to the 12 volt DC receptacle on the back of the radio?

 

[BillyTheKid]

Should the radio operate with the properly with the power supply plugged in to the 120 volt AC supply and outputting 12 volts and plugged in to the 12 volt DC receptacle on the back of the radio?

Yes.
I haven't used my Pal for years. But when I do I just run in on AC. The battery crapped out decades ago, I replaced it once but it didn't last long. If they made a Lithium battery for it I might try that.
Did you remove the battery completely and try running it on AC ? I've had laptops that won't boot anymore with the old battery installed, but work fine after the battery is removed. Maybe something like that ?

 

[Blue Shadow]

Can I borrow that shelf? I’ve got some gear that needs to sit on that shelf to get fixed.

 

[Donstaff]

Thanks Blue Shadow , and BTK. Since that shelf is the top of my frig, I think it's too heavy to ship. But it must still be working it's magic. After the old problem reoccurred, I put the PAL back for a couple of days and then took the thing out of the case and fiddled with the switch and the ground and switch wires and the radio woke up again. Though I couldn't figure out anything conclusively, I was able to get it working and back into the case. More stranger than fiction though, when I turned it off and back on, it was asleep again, but this time, the green light was on. After managing to fiddle more with the switch, it finally woke up again. This time, I left it on for a couple of hours after the green light started flashing again. I plugged the power supply back in and let it charge overnight. Next morning, the green light was off and when I turned the switch back on, it woke up and is still working, through several off-on tries with the switch.

Maybe the battery did some healing; maybe the switch got well; maybe something else, but it is not sitting on the frig right now.

Your thoughts?

 

[BillyTheKid]

Bad switch ?
Did you try running it with no battery attached ?

 

[Donstaff]

Yes, in earlier test evolutions, I tried it plugged in with no battery attached and it did not work that way either. There is an intermittent connection somewhere. The remaining question is does the battery's charge condition play a part in the failure? For right now, until it fails again, I am just going to keep using it in battery mode. When/if it fails again, I will plug the power supply back in. If it then works, what will that mean? If it does not work, what will that mean?