When is an "AA" cell not an "AA" cell? Or is it a problem with a Cateye HL-EL530

[IanW]

Answer: when they won't fit into my Cateye HL-EL530 correctly!

I made an interesting discovery this evening.

The 4 x 2000mAh "AA" Ni-MH cells went flat on my regular commute.

But this was not a problem because I had 4 shiny new, fully-charged 2850mAh "AA" cells with me.

So I swapped them over and switched the light back on ... Nothing happened, no reinvigorated light output, nothing, dead :-(

When I got home I investigated the problem.
(Thank goodless for a dynamo light.)

The new "AA" cells were just that bit fatter such that when pushed into the far end of the battery compartment (by the action of re-inserting the LED + lens assembly) they got wedged down and would *not* get pushed back into contact with the LED-end contacts by the spring contacts in the end/base of the battery compartment.

The existing "AA" cells were 14.20mm in diameter.
The new higher capacity cells were 14.36mm in diameter.
(And they were all 50.50mm in length.)

Reading up on the mechanical specification of the "AA" cell I have concluded that "AA" cells are allowed to be up to 14.50mm in diameter and 50.50mm in length.

Same problem in my spouse's HL-EL530 that was bought 18-months previously.

So I guess that it is actually the Cateye HL-EL530 that is at fault and this is either a design fault or a consistent manufacturing fault.

I am now somewhat less impressed with this light.

:-(
Ian W.

[Danneaux]

Aww, Ian! 

And I thought this only happened to me on my MagLite! It is hard work getting the out again once wedged firmly in place. I finally resorted to super-gluing a coiled paperclip onto the negative pole of the battery, waiting for it to cure, then extracted it that way with some additional effort and Vise-Grips/Mole-Grips.

Yes, the diameter of AA-cells varies, and more in practice than AAA-cells do. Sometimes, the shrink-wrapped label is enough to do it.

<nods> Yep, the onus is on the device-maker to follow battery size standards, and it appears CatEye didn't in this case, though molding flash on the light can cause the same effect, especially midway in the bore. I used a small-diameter expanding reamer/hone t solve the problem on several of my devices; it doesn't take much, but is a lot of bother and one only realizes there's a problem after the fact. 

Best,

Dan. (...who reminds himself: While it is nice to have a hobby, there's better ones than battery extraction)

[Andre Jute]

In the TL LD-1100 Cateye supplies a piece of flexible plastic that wraps around each of the batteries, I though to aid insertion and extraction, but perhaps it is a spacer for thin versions of the AA, after the designer allowed space for the thickest AA. Don't know, just speculating.

Andre Jute

[Andybg]

I have also had some issues with AA batteries that have a shorter length posotive terminal not making contact in some devices where the lip of the positive end is held against the plastic moulding of the battery case. Definetly makes it woth testing them before taking spare batteries with you.

Andy