What do the LED lights on the LabQuest Charging Station signify?

The LabQuest Charging Station contains an LED light by each of the 4 charging ports. An LED light glows if current flowing to the port is equal to or greater than approximately 10 mA.

Note: There are different models of the LabQuest Charging Station. One model available through October 2011 charges only the original LabQuest. One model available after October 2011 can charge both the original LabQuest and the LabQuest 2 (inserts may be needed). For specific details and to see photographs of the different models to note differences, see:

TIL 2634: Will my LabQuest Charging Station also work with the LabQuest 2?

Regardless of the model, the internal electronics work the same way. The LabQuest (or LabQuest 2) controls the charging process when on the LabQuest Charging Station. The LED light by a port glows when current flows to the device.

Specific charging examples

By turning off the LabQuest and placing the LabQuest in the LabQuest Charging Station, the following occurs:

• If the battery requires full charging, the LabQuest draws current equal to or greater than 10 mA and lights the LED.
• If the battery requires partial charging (to keep the battery full), the LabQuest draws current less than 10 mA and does not light the LED.

By turning on the LabQuest and placing the LabQuest in the LabQuest Charging Station, the following occurs:

• The battery charges, but the LED light remains on.
  Note: The LabQuest Charging Station supports the simultaneous charging of 4 devices; however, best practice is to turn off each LabQuest or LabQuest 2 prior to charging to prevent a power overload condition on the charging station.

Even after the battery is done charging it will continue to draw a tiny bit of power to keep the battery full. Also on the LabQuest 2, a tiny bit of power will be drawn for a fraction of second while the unit is suspended (if you press the power button on the top of the unit for a second, it suspends, it doesn't shut fully off). Most of the time those two tiny bits of power will add up to less than 10mA, but some charging station ports are more sensitive than others. Some batteries draw more current to keep full than others and some combinations of LabQuest 2 draw more current, so that the LED will flash approximately once a second. There is nothing wrong in that situation (if you see that it means the battery is full), however, we are looking for a software fix for it just because we want the LabQuest to use less power in standby.

Troubleshooting Tips

If an LED light fails to turn on after you place LabQuest on the LabQuest Charging Station, it may indicate one of the following:

• the LabQuest battery is already fully charged
• the LabQuest is not fully seated in the port and requires a slight adjustment
• the LabQuest battery needs to be replaced
• the LabQuest requires service
• the LabQuest Charging Station requires service (periodically, one port only may fail)

Battery Tips: Batteries fail slowly over time. You may note, for example, that a battery retains a charge for a shorter period of time after each charge until it fails to hold a charge at all. This is normal and should occur over a number of years. Periodically, however, batteries fail suddenly and completely and must be replaced.

Warranty: Vernier, Inc., provides a five (5) year warranty for both the LabQuest and the LabQuest Charging Station. Vernier, Inc., provides a one (1) year warranty for the LabQuest battery.