The original AA Energizer Industrial batteries that came with my EOTech 512 have leaked and now the EOTech does not power on. Any ideas? Will this be covered under warranty?
Makes me wanna check the batteries on my 553. How long have you had the 512? Try cleaning the bat compartment. It will dissolve in water. You can use some slightly acidic water to neutralize the base. Add a little vinegar or lemon juice or what ever to your cleaning solution, don’t rub that gray stuff in your eyes, wash your hands thoroughly when you’re done. Some folks have used straight lemon juice.
Maybe about a year. I usually store my rifle with the buttstock on the floor, I think the stuff leaked in to the main housing.
Cleaned it up a little and now it is back on. Thanks. It did leak into the main housing because it came out the back and melted som of the housing close to the rail. Should I send it back to EOTech?
Send I would send it back with the batteries. Energizer may have a warranty for this as well.
PS stop using Alkaline and start using the AA Lithium.
This happens quite frequently when personnel do not check their batteries and leave them in for long periods of time. I had many units that were damaged like this. Additionally the battery contacts in the battery pack were sticking to the batteries. EOTech eventually sent us repair kits to fix everything.
I also doubt that the battery manufacturer will do anything unless you have the batteries and you can show that they were defective. This is why I tell all of our guys to regularly check their batteries and units.
Your welcome. I don’t think EOTech is responsible for leaking batteries. It’s like sending your flashlight back because you forgot to rotate and replace batteries you’ve left in there for years. They may even charge you for cleaning it when you can do it yourself. Inspect everything, bat contacts, glue that’s melted or cracked, corrosion, that may have been affected. If you find anything you can’t fix yourself, I’d send it back, but they’ll probably charge you for the repair.
+1 on Lithium AAs
its the only battery type you should use in an EO. they really should ship with them.
Get some lithium AA and save a lot of head ache…
+3 on Lithium
I’ve had some the industrial batteries in mine for 2+ years with no problem. What’s the lot number on the batteries? Is this a commonly occurring problem?
If this had happened a few years after the purchase I would understand them not taking care of it. It is less than a year and these are the batteries that ship with the sight. The rubber pad with the spring inside the battery cover has also come unglued. These batteries leaked so bad it ran out of the back of the sight and ate away at the hood where it meets the rail. I have lith in there now. I am worried that the leak went into the main part of the sight. I will call them tomorrow. If I have to I will eat the cost of the new battery cover but its the inside that I cant fix. It works now but I dont know for how long. It must not happen that often since they still ship the batteries. There is no warning anywhere in the manual or on the website. Well see how it goes. Thanks for all the input.
Lawdog,
Unfortunately what you describe happens frequently (at least here in Iraq with 552’s) when you don’t check your batteries. EOTech will not cover the battery damage as they did not manufacture them, they only included them. They may very well help you out though. The replacement battery pack is about 12.00 and they hav a kit that will allow you to replace the rubber membrane attached to the sight housing as well as the spring and contacts. The process is very simple and takes all of about 5 minutes.
Please keep us informed as to what happens. I know it took me about 4 months to get everything I needed to fix all of our units.
From Energizer’s site:
Is there a guarantee on Energizer® batteries?
The Energizer®/Eveready® guarantee typically states: “We will repair or replace, at our option, any device damaged by these Energizer® batteries. Guarantee void if batteries are charged by user or device.” Contact 1-800-383-7323. This guarantee may vary globally, so please check with your local Energizer office for details.
Not sure about the variance statement, but worth checking with them nonetheless. Here is the link to the site itself:
http://www.energizer.com/products/alkaline-batteries/faq/Pages/faq.aspx
Hope this helps…
My Eotech’s stupid little rubber spacers wore out and started falling out with the batteries. It was a PITA to swap batteries!
If those rubber things were longer and no short disks, they would have been easier to stuff back in but they kept twisting and getting fudged on their way in.
Here is where I’m at. I called EOtech on Monday and left a mesage for the woman whose name is listed on their website. She is the manager of the repair/return section. Still have not heard back from her. Called on Tuesday spoke with the operator who sent me to another person in the same departmenmt. Left a message with him. He did call me back several hours later while I was away from my house. He said they would look into when I sent the sight back, said turn around time was 7-10 business days. I gave him my e-mail address so he could e-mail the information. Never received anything from him. Called on Wed left another message for him. No return call or e-mail. Thursday called left a message for both of them, emailed the manager lady whose e-mail address is listed on the website. Friday(today) I found an fill in the blank form to request an RA #, filled that out.
Took Stormin’s advice…called Energizer on the number he provided. Spoke with a woman who answered on the 3rd ring, she said sorry so much I told her to stop. Gave her information about the batteries and my personal info. She is sending out some paperwork with a return label. I have to send back the batteries and the sight. She said their techs will try to fix it if they can’t they will send me a check to repalce it. Then she asked if I had any questions. You bet I did. I told her I was concerned that their techs would void the warranty on the sight. SHe said their techs are trained by the manufactures themselves, if not they will send it back to the manufacturer. Or replace it. I asked if the “replacement cost” had a limit. She said they will go on line and do check out several websites for the model of the sight and figure out the amount needed to replace it. If I get a check and I am not happy I need to call back in. Last question…how long 7-10 weeks, longer if they have to send it back to EOtech. I am guessing if they have to send it back to EOtech I may never see it again. SHe could tell I was hesitant about the turn around time. She said she would e mail the techs and see if they could look out for it.
Either Energizer stands by it’s products or this gal should be in sales and not service. I told her I wasn’t gonna hold my breath with EOtech. She said if I ever have another products damaged by their batteries call them first and give them a chance to make it right.
I did work till 4am last nigh and was up at 10am so maybe this was all a dream. A company that answers the phone, you talk to a real person, and they stand by their products and will fix or replace your itme if it is damaged by their product failing??? They may be on to something.
I have always bought Duracell or Energizer batteries in the past but I am sure if things turn out the way I think they are going I will only by one brand of battery from here on out. Thanks for the advice, I will keep provide updates.
LawDog,
Let me share some insight. It took me several months to get our EOTech situation resolved. It wasn’t until I was put in contact with the V.P for Military sales and Marketing or some such title. The woman you are referring to is Doreen. In my last correspondence with EOTech I was told that she was going to be out for a while due to medical problems.
Just so you know the EOTech unit is nitrogen filled (according to their people) and opening it will void the warrant and possibly damage the unit. It is very easy to see if the unit was seriously damaged and it requires peeling the rubber membrane away from the sight housing. You can then see the area where the springs and contacts make contact within the unit. If there is no signs of corrosion you should be good to go. I would contact EOtech again and tell them that you need a “rebuild” kit for the 552/512 and a new battery pack. It is very easy to repair and takes maybe 5 minutes. YMMV
P.S- We have had leakage issues here in Iraq as well and it has happened with Duracell, Energizer, Hajji POS and Kodak/Panasonics.
LawDog,
Any updates?
As a matter of fact, I have been busy for a while but here goes. I sent the optic back to EOtech. Ten days later I got it back. They replaced the battery compartment and cleaned off the terminals. It looks like they took some sand paper and smoothed out the rear part of the hood. I still wasn’t pleased I kind of thought they would replace the hood, I even offered to pay to have to hood replaced. I went to mount it back on the rifle and noticed there was still white corosion(sp?) in the hole and on the sides of the hood. Needless to say it did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. As luck would have it SWAT round up was the following week and I knew the reps from EOtech and L3 would be there. I ran into the L3 booth first and they sent me to the EOtech booth. I showed him the optic and my concerns. He asked if I brought the paperwork that was sent back to me. I handed it too him. He looked me in the eye and said this is not how we do business. He asked if he could take my optic and the paperwork to take back with him to address the QC problems. Of course I said yes. He must have known what I was thinking. He said I don’t have any 512"s here, then he picked up one of the demo 556"s and asked if that would meet my needs. I don’t have a need for night vision but since I was thinking about putting a 3x on it the buttons on the side would come in handy. We shook hands and I left. It workedout in the long run for me but I don’t know what I would have done if round up wasn’t there. Maybe sneak into shot show or something. So now if it takes batteries it’s lithium and Energizer, I also check the optic everytime I put in the car before shift.
Stay safe.
If you own a AA EOTech, just run Lithiums. They last longer, work when it’s colder and are far less prone to leak.
What about the battery manufacturer? I know both Dura-cell (Pro-cell) and energizer stand behing their product. I returned a 100.00 Pelican flaslight to them and they sent me a new one on more than one occasion. It’s worth a look-see…:rolleyes: