Battery Powered Emergency Lights not working

[steve66]

We have two Lithonia LHQM Exit/Emergency lights that don't work when the power goes out.

The batteries measure about 1 volt at the most. Does anyone have any good troubleshooting tips to quickly determine if the battery is bad, or if it's the charger circuit that has gone bad?

The exit lights work with power applied, but neither the exit or emergency lights work when power is lost. The test button doesn't seem to do anything either.

 

[mopowr steve]

Change the batteries.

 

[tom baker]

Often its easier to buy a new exit light instesd of replacing batteries.
new exits are anout $30. Batteries you have to order.
batteried good for three years if sealed lead acid. Test monthly.

 

[electricman2]

Just replace the fixture. Saves the hassle of finding a battery and replacing it. Probably cheaper too.

 

[texie]

As others have indicated, for garden variety cheap plastic units it is usually cheaper for both labor and materials to just replace them. The exception to this is when you have some expensive architectural spec grade fixtures.

 

[qcroanoke]

Just replace the fixture. Saves the hassle of finding a battery and replacing it. Probably cheaper too.

Especially if its a wall mount fixture, a little more time if ceiling mount.

 

[gadfly56]

As others have indicated, for garden variety cheap plastic units it is usually cheaper for both labor and materials to just replace them. The exception to this is when you have some expensive architectural spec grade fixtures.

I don't get that. They are usually inspected by the fire protection company that does the extinguishers and (maybe) fire alarm. The techs carry a dozen different types of batteries.

 

[SparkyTrev]

My guess is the battery packs. Those LHQM lights use a 9.6v ni-cad if I am correct? If the battery isn't hanging out anywhere between 9.6-11v, itd be my first suspect.

 

[steve66]

These are the combo units with both exit and emergency - so they are more expensive than the $30 units.

But I'll go along with the general consensus and just get new batteries.

The units have a 5 year warranty (prorated for the batteries), and it looks like the date codes are 2016. So the warranty should cover some of the cost.

But I suppose its probably cheaper to just buy batteries from Amazon than to submit a warranty claim and pay half the price for a new battery from the manufacturer.

 

[b1miller]

I installed several lighting units last year only to later discover that the battery lead wires were not connected to the control board. It was hard to see the leads when I installed them. Could be as simple as that.

 

[steve66]

I installed several lighting units last year only to later discover that the battery lead wires were not connected to the control board. It was hard to see the leads when I installed them. Could be as simple as that.

That was the first thing I checked. Since these are both newer, and they were both out, I figured that might be it.

I think all lights and exits with battery backup come with the battery unplugged. Otherwise, the battery will try to power the lights before the fixture is even installed, and the battery will be deeply discharged to nothing by the time the unit is installed.

 

[480sparky]

Replace. Especially if the old one is using lead-acid/ni-cad batteries and incandescent lamps. A new one with lithium battery and LEDs will be much better.