Last spring during the Marcum inventory reduction sale, I bought an LX5. Yesterday I put it on the charger for the day at it only went from 70% charge to 80%. Is that normal? I charged the battery on my Fl8 to 100% in just half that time. Thanks for any help.
Todd 
Your battery may(possibly) be shot. I typically charge mine throughout the summer months to keep the battery in good shape. If possible try another battery and see what happens.
Bad battery
Check the battey with a volt meter. Compare it to the fully
charged batt. from your vex.
Your DCS might be faulty although I’ve never heard of
one failing.
Almost certainly a faulty battery. When storing a Marcum for the winter months always remove the DCS charger and try and charge a few times during the summer. Or as I like to do it.. finally get to one for the 1st time of the year and 10 minutes later have to drive 25 miles to get a battery 
Do as I say not as I do 
Funny, after first reading your post a short while ago I went to check on my LX-5 currently charging and the transformer was humming loudly. Quickly unplugged it but it wasnt hot so I plugged it back in and it appears to be working. Also not sure mine is going to make 100% either. Oh well. Batts are not very expensive for them. The good news is I used it for the first time today and it went well although I was suprised how closely it compared to my old Zercom Colorpoint. In basic operation it appeared almost identical.
Batteries are a pain in the butt, one of my Marcum 820s had a bad battery this fall also, three years I guess I can’t complain. Went to 80% stalled out then died sitting over night. Of course when you think about it we take these little batteries, beat them around with the rest of our gear, run them dead in zub zero temps then beat on them somemore before bringing them into 70 degree plus temps while slamming a charge back into them. I am actaully suprised we get as good of life out of them as we do.
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Funny, after first reading your post a short while ago I went to check on my LX-5 currently charging and the transformer was humming loudly. Quickly unplugged it but it wasnt hot so I plugged it back in and it appears to be working. Also not sure mine is going to make 100% either. Oh well. Batts are not very expensive for them. The good news is I used it for the first time today and it went well although I was suprised how closely it compared to my old Zercom Colorpoint. In basic operation it appeared almost identical.
There’s a reason why the Zercom’s so closely resemble the Marcum line, they were designed by the very same engineers!
Joel
My new LX-5 from last spring has never been used. I charged it when I got it and checked it a few times after and it said 90. I have always unplugged the + terminal and now after reading this morning, I put it on charge and it seems to be stuck at 70% and flashing. It would suck to have to buy a new battery for a unit that has never been used, do I have any alternatives?
Thanks
This time of the year, first ice and everyone is in a hurry to get there….batteries are the common topic. Are group even heard it out on the ice yesterday from a guy out for his first trip with a dead battery.
No matter what your DCS reads….plug them batteries in every two months guys 
Whether it is a new battery or not, over the summer they need your attention every now and then to keep them in peek condition.
A week battery will require you to turn your gain up for finding jigs and they will not last a day on the ice let alone a weekend, and this does not matter what flasher you are using. A fully charge battery in good working condition makes for a sweet running flasher.
Thanks, that is good information and I wonder why it does not say so in the manual. This is my first portable flasher so I am still getting used to it.
My unit finally did get to 100% I guess I got a little impatient and worried after reading the earlier posts.
I posted a similar issue on another thread on the LX-5 as well and will ask a question here. If I bought the LX-5 “new” is there any warranty on the battery or do I need to replace if it is shot? And how can you be sure it is the battery?
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I posted a similar issue on another thread on the LX-5 as well and will ask a question here. If I bought the LX-5 “new” is there any warranty on the battery or do I need to replace if it is shot? And how can you be sure it is the battery?
Here’s the link to the LX5 User Manual.
http://www.marcumtech.com/cs/manuals/new/LX-5%20Owners%20Manual.pdf
The warranty on the flasher itself is two years. I couldn’t find any info on the battery itself but I would be surprised if the warranty extended any longer than 3 months or so as battery failures after a couple months are almost always due to improper storage or in allowing the battery charge to be drawn down without promptly recharging.
If you want to know the scoop on what warranty might be available on your unit, shoot them an email at [email protected]
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And how can you be sure it is the battery?
There would be a couple ways… test the existing battery at a store that has the equipment needed to test a 12 V. – 7 AMP gel cell battery or try a new battery that is known to be in good condition.
While on the topic, where is a good source for replacement batteries and how much do they usually run?
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While on the topic, where is a good source for replacement batteries and how much do they usually run?
Gander, Fleetfarm, Cabelas, Thorne Bros, Joes… they’ll all have 7 and 9 AMP -12 V. gel cell batteries for sale at $19 – $45 depending on if you hit a sale or not. The 7 AMP batteries are considerably less money and they are all I run… I’ve never had an issue making it a full weekend on a single battery. If you want a 9 AMP, be ready to drop $40 or so unless you hit a sale.
Give Thorne Bros a call to see if they have any 7 AMP Zeus brand gel cells left in stock. They were blowing them out at $10/pop at the sport shows. These Zeus brand batteries are the same batteries used as OEM power by some of the flasher manufacturers and will do the job nicely.
Contact Thorne Bros >>> http://www.thornebros.com/
I just bought a new one last weekend at Gander Mountain…$29 i believe
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