Vexilar FL-18

[nluchau]

Has anyone had any problems with the Battery on the vexilar they purchased this year. When I connect the positive it shows I have 100% of battery. I put it on the charger overnight like I should and in the morning the red light on the charged isn\\\'t on yet. I e-mailed Vexilar and this is what they said.

\\\"This year we have had some batteries that are slightly resistive. They are not allowing enough voltage to allow the light on the charger to come back on. If you find, after 48 hours of charging, that the charger light does not come back on, the battery is most likely resistive. We will be more than happy to replace the battery. You can send it in now for replacement or wait until the ice is out and send it in. Thanks\\\"

Can anyone chime in on this. I just picked up my vexilar FL-18 last night

[Bauer and Standke]

I have a fl8 from 2 years ago and I put the battery gage on it and the 100% light never has lit but yet I have had no problem with the battery lasting all day.

[kslipsinker]

Do you have the new 9 amp battery? I have heard there may be an issue with the battery and/or charger. I purchased a 9 amp battery for my 4 year old FL18 this season, and it is great. It does take longer to charge fully.

[sparkyaber]

Take it back!!!!! Get a different one, or better yet, get a lx-3 or even a lx-5 (this coming from an fl-18 owner).

good luck

[Captain B.R.K]

I'd recommend calling Vexilar again and letting them know you are dissatisfied with the battery and they should be able to help you out. Sounds like you have already done that so I'd take care of the problem right now.

I have an FL-18, but bought it the year they came out and have been real happy with it. No problems with the graph or battery.

Vexilar is known for it's good customer service so I wouldn't hesitate to call them back and get that battery exchanged. I think you'll see the turnaround time to be fairly fast for ya.

[Tyler Holm]

I bought my FL-18 exactly 1 year ago and all last season I had the exact same problem. I think I even posted a similiar post and called Vexilar. That silly light on the charger would never turn back on to indicate the battery was charged.

I was very concerned with that issue, but it didn't stop me from using the heck out of it. I took it on a weekend sleeper shak trip and used it for about 20 hours total which surprised the heck out of me. I continued using and charging as recommend and my slowy my worries went away. It just surprises the heck out of me that you can use those things for 5-6 hours and its still reading 100% charged. I guess I just became more and more impressed with that alone that I forgot about the charger indicator.

Maybe my good spirits paid off because this year my indicator has been working perfectly. It actually come on now. I didn't do anything except use it and recharge it as directed. I did put the charger of a few times this summer, but still no indicator. I can't tell you why mine works now, but it has been working the past 5-6 charges.

I know with an expensive piece of equipment like that you expect everything to work perfectly and you have right to.

I had a buddy that bought one at the exact same time as me and he had the exact same issue. He took his back and got a different one and even the new one had that exact same issue so we just said heck with it. It honestly doesn't seem to affect anything at all. Good Luck

PS.. I love my Vex to death, but if I could do it all over again (this year) I would buy the LX-5.

[nluchau]

When I got home last night I checked the unit and the battery status indicator said it was fully charged so I looked at the charger plugged into the wall and the light was very dim but it was on. Once I unplugged the charger from the battery the light was bright. I left it plugged in overnight last night also but this morning the light was the same dimness.

Hmmmmmm

[nluchau]

I e-mailed Vexilar again and he said

\\\"Yes, I\\\'m guessing that is a resistive battery problem.\\\"

Looks like I will be replacing the battery or whole unit

[Snug33]

Why the LX5? I'm planning on purchasing one in the next couple days and am curious what the difference is from the Vexilar?

[ChuckN]

Welcome to FishingMinnesota Snug33!

There has been a lot of talk about the Vexilars and Marcums. You can do a search of the forums by using the "search" tab on the top of the forum screen. If you want to read more about the LX5 or anything else, type in keywords and you'll find a lot of reading.

Here's just one thread about the LX-5 .

[sparkyaber]

Quote:

---

Why the LX5? I'm planning on purchasing one in the next couple days and am curious what the difference is from the Vexilar?

---

What chuck said I like my vexilar, and when I bought it only the lx-3 (from marcum) was available. The only reason I bought the vex is the colors distinctions were easier for me to see, now on the lx-5 it seems to me they improved the colors.

[Dry_Fly]

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=601435&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

everything you would want to know

[nluchau]

Im a believer in vexilar. My brother has a vex, My friend has a vex. Their friends have a vex. Nuff said.

"The battery issue I am experiencing right now will not affect the performance of the vexilar. I will just replace the battery. "

Vexilar has been around for years and years. Al Lindner fishes with vexilar.

I'm not trying to put down the Marcum lineup. Any Flasher will catch you more fish.

[Roberto]

it is possible to overcharge a bat. Then it could die. If it has, say, a half charge and you leave it on overnight or longer you could burn it out.

Nice thing about marcum is the digital charge that shuts off the charging when the bat. is full. You can buy these seperate.