I got this wand in early January 2023. The BMS PalmPower Extreme. Good range from rumbly lows to buzzy highs without being too buzzy. One of the perks is also incremental speed control. Being able to precisely tune the speed is great.

Reportedly the power rivals the Magic Wand Rechargeable. I would be able to test that first hand instead of second hand except that logistics get in the way.

While my masturbation habits are not really the subject here, the relevant part is that they are embarrassingly infrequent. I like to share resources when feasible, and this is no different.

A partner reported that it died for them during use and they plugged it in. They quickly added that it was not comparable to my experiences of wand power death because they were on round 4 and were content. That reminded me that I'd been meaning to expand my wand collection for exactly that reason. The expansion won't get to me until sometime next week though.

Some time later, I check up on it to put it away. I have a habit of doing a quick motor check and using the travel lock to ensure it doesn't accidentally go off when not in use. No lights, nothing. Plugged in wrong? The charging light turned off super quickly, but it wouldn't charge. It would vibrate a couple of times to indicate dead battery and then stay off.

It's done this before, and it's because it needs to charge via a low amp outlet. So I do that. It charges!  It powers on, in that the led turns on. The lights blink when incrementing speeds or changing modes, but the motor is still as a river on a quiet winter morning.   

If any of y'all have suggestions, I'm definitely willing to try them. It seems like it's a motor problem, but I can't really say what because it vibrated just fine when doing the pitiful "low power, please charge 🥺" sputtering.

#KatToys #KatPics #Wand #vibrator

@h3mmy that sure sounds like a dead battery. how old is it and how many charge cycles has it had?

It looks to me like replacing the battery should be a pretty doable DIY job to someone who has done something like changing the battery in a smart phone before.

Edit: The alternative is that there's a loose connection somewhere, which could be easy to diagnose (such as, motor cable that's barely holding on to its solder point) or very hard (hairline fracture on a pcb)

@runningoff @h3mmy

Yep, probably a battery problem - you may even be lucky and find it’s just some standard 18650 cells inside given the shape of the device.

@runningoff @not_a_label
It's just over 3 years old. I couldn't tell you how many charges it has had. It's a community resource so I'm not the exclusive user. My terms are just to make sure it's cleaned and charged.

It has charged since I switched to the lower amp adapter. The LEDs indicate it's charged, and so I don't think it's a dead battery issue. Right now, the buttons make the light work as if it thinks it's going, but the motor isn't motoring (attached video to demo)

It didn't have any hard impacts in between the vibrating low power signal and the not turning on. There's no discernable rattling if I shake it. I can try prying it open to take a looksie, but I don't necessarily know what I'm looking for. Just loose solder joints and PCB fractures?

@h3mmy @not_a_label a bad battery will still charge and show a full charge indicator but the motor not turning on at all is kind of strange - I'm honestly a bit lost with that.

And yeah loose solder joints is what you'd be looking for mainly - PCB fractures are pretty unlikely assuming the toy hasn't been bashed around (which would probably leave evidence on the outside i.e. scratch / scuff marks)

@runningoff @h3mmy It's possible connectors have worked themselves loose, I mean it is a device that vibrates after all.