What if the sonde consumes more battery?
26-03-2022 11:03
If you think the sonde has become fast to drain batteries then this article is for you. There are three main causes for the fast discharge of batteries:
- Sonde malfunction is the main cause of an unexpected increase in current consumption.
- Unreliable or dead batteries — confidently take the second place.
- Poor-quality drill head — less often, but it happens, especially if homemade.
Cause No.1: Faulty sonde
A faulty sonde is the most common cause of quick battery drain, in case earlier everything went normaly. There is either the malfunction of electronics, or the poor contact in the battery compartment. Poor contact can occur either due to dirt in the compartment (follow the blog on how to clean the battery compartment),or due to weak compression of the batteries by springs, especially during drilling in heavy soils. But before you replace the sonde or send it for repair, check whether this really is the case with the sonde. Just measure its power consumption and if it exceeds the norm by 50%, then the sonde is faulty.
To measure the current consumption of the sonde, you will need a multimeter, the sonde itself and the new batteries which you are going to work with. Measurements are carried out outside the drill head.
How to test the sonde and measure the current consumption?
- Turn on the multimeter and switch to the DC measurement mode of 10 A or 20 A (depending on the multimeter).
- Put NEW batteries.
- One contact of the multimeter touches the battery compartment, the second — presses the batteries, then slightly shake the sonde.
- After 5-7 seconds, the sonde enters the operating mode. Remember the average value of the current consumption.