Dead Ys 01?

[n9643750]

I recently purchased a pair of used ys 01 strobes for my Indonesia trip. I'm now in Lembeh and have had a week of great diving with them. Half way through a dive today one of them shut down. Back at the lodge I looked a little closer. The battery compartment is completely dry, but freshly charged batteries will not power the strobe. The red light never comes on and I can't hear the telltale charging noise. If I put the strobe to my ear when I switch it on, I can hear strange/ garbled electronic noises from inside. Any advice? Is this a known issue? Is this strobe dead?

 

[Jax]

Are you absolutely sure the lock lid is completely locked down? Big hard-to-turn click?

 

[n9643750]

Are you absolutely sure the lock lid is completely locked down? Big hard-to-turn click?

Yeah, it's on there. It actually worked for 15.5 dives and then just powered down. I thought the batteries were dead, but alas....

 

[fmerkel]

I had one die, just out of warranty, but my local shop Optical Ocean Sales stepped up, sent it in, and I had a functioning strobe about 2 months later. He got a sale out of it since I didn't want to wait that long for a replacement. He was clear it would take awhile. Now I have dual strobes, which is nice actually, except for the carrying it around and pushing it through the water.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I had one die, just out of warranty, but my local shop Optical Ocean Sales stepped up, sent it in, and I had a functioning strobe about 2 months later. He got a sale out of it since I didn't want to wait that long for a replacement. He was clear it would take awhile. Now I have dual strobes, which is nice actually, except for the carrying it around and pushing it through the water.

I cannot recommend Optical Ocean Sales enough. The owner and staff do an amazing job supporting the products they sell and taking care of their customers. And now back to the program in progress...

 

[Larry C]

Try taking the batteries out, bending out the tabs on the cap, wiping the bottom contacts with a q-tip and a little alcohol and putting the batteries back in. That usually works for me when my Sea & Sea strobes don't fire up. Also, make sure you try different batteries. I had a bad one once that said it was fully charged on the charger but wouldn't light the strobe. I got a battery load tester and that gives a definitive answer.

 

[YankBoffin]

I revived my first YS-01 with vinegar and cotton swabs. It was dead, no light-up, no charging, and it was out of warranty. While the contacts didn't look very corroded, I did notice a slight residue in the bottom of the battery compartment. I swabbed the contacts with vinegar, which ate aware the oxidation, let dry, put in batteries and it's been functioning well ever since.

I say "first" because I found it to be dead right before a trip and bought a second one at a dive shop at my destination.

Also, I do not recall the strobe ever flooding; it never stopped functioning in the middle of a dive or even a whole dive trip. Somehow, though, enough moisture got in there to cause problems.