Battery Not Charging on My New Vac – Help!

Hey everyone, just got a cordless car vacuum from Amazon, worked great for the first week. Now the battery won't charge at all – the light on the charger stays green even when it's plugged in. Tried different outlets, still nothing. Any ideas? It's still under warranty, but I'd rather not deal with returns if it's something simple.

Sounds like a classic case of a dead battery or a bad connection. Have you checked the contacts on the battery and the vacuum? Sometimes they get dirty or corroded, especially if you've been using it in the car (lots of dust and moisture). Clean them with a dry cloth or some contact cleaner, then try again. If that doesn't work, it might be a defective battery. Since it's under warranty, I'd just contact the seller – but first, see if the charger is actually putting out voltage. Do you have a multimeter?

Carl's right. Also, those cheap chargers sometimes have a thermal fuse that trips if the battery gets too hot. Let it cool down for a few hours, then try again. If it still won't charge, I'd suspect the battery. But before you return it, check if there's a reset button on the battery (some have one). And make sure the vacuum is turned off when charging – some models won't charge if the switch is in the 'on' position. Had that happen with a customer's tool once.

I've seen this happen with my cordless drill. Turned out the battery was dead as a doornail – would charge for a bit then stop. Since it's under warranty, I'd just get a replacement. But don't bother with the manufacturer, they take forever. Contact Amazon or wherever you bought it – they'll cross-ship a new one. Also, if you have a multimeter, check the charger's output voltage. If it's 0, the charger is dead. But like they said, check the contacts first.

Just to add – if you do use a multimeter, make sure the battery is fully discharged before testing the charger. Sometimes, the charger has a protection circuit that won't charge if the battery is too low, shows green but no current flows. You might need to 'jump start' it by connecting a good battery in parallel for a few seconds. But that's risky if you don't know what you're doing. Safer to just return it. Also, check if the charger is for the right voltage – my buddy used a 12V charger on a 20V battery and wondered why it wouldn't charge. Anyway, keep us posted!