Standard Horizon HX870 radio won't charge

Anyone else have this problem? My HX870 won't charge when I drop it into the charging cradle. I've tried cleaning the contacts on the radio and the charger as well as removing the battery and re-installing it. Nothing.

Time for a new battery? New charger? New radio?

We use these radio's at work.  My radio wasn't working and I did everything you did.  I switched my battery out with another persons and it worked fine.  Don't know why.  We were able to go to West Marine and get a new battery.  Hope it helps.

Mark

Hmm, did the light on the charger come on at all?

What did the contacts on the radio and charger look like prior to cleaning?

What products/process did you use in cleaning the contacts?

I have had problems with mine not charging as well. I sanded the contacts on the radio and then applied CorosionX and it has charged fine since.

Dielectric grease works well, too. Re-cost as necessary.

 
  Have you checked the battery voltage at the contacts?  Or the chargers voltage on its contacts? 

I have had problems with mine not charging as well. I sanded the contacts on the radio and then applied CorosionX and it has charged fine since.

+1 but coated with dielectric grease that I had laying around. Been about 18mo no problems since.

  Have you checked the battery voltage at the contacts?  Or the chargers voltage on its contacts?

No, because I don't have a voltage meter (is that the right term?). I'll try sanding and using dielectric gel.
-Andrew

I haven't had any issues, but hit it with a touch of dialectric gel on day one. So far it seems like a good radio.

Depending on how old the battery is, it might be time for a new one. I've had my hx855's for around 3 years, I'd guess, and they wouldn't charge (much, they'd last for about 10 minutes). New battery solved that.

If the charger cradle light's not changing color from green to red (assuming yours is like mine), then likely a contact issue solvable by cleaning like suggested above.

Also, don't sand the contacts. I learned this the hard way on guitar and amplifier jacks. The contacts are likely plated with the metal you want on the outside, the inside metal is likely more prone to corrosion than the plating. If you want to clean the contacts, 97% isopropyl alcohol on a Qtip works well, pencil erasers can work in a pinch.

I have to disagree about not sanding the contacts on the radio. Maybe if I had applied dielectric grease or similar when it was brand new sanding could have been avoided, but in my case despite looking fairly clean, there was a solid layer of salt/corrosion that was very stubborn to remove. I cleaned several times w/o sanding, and to the eye it appeared clean however could not establish a good connection until after a bit of sanding.
  I usually reapply dielectric grease whenever I do my ff connections, every 3rd or 4th time I go out.

I’ve had the same issue with my SH backup/buddy radio (lower model). There were some discoloration on the contact points and this radio is fairly new and doesn’t get used often. I light sanded them, but didn’t apply any grease and it works now.

Could it be that Standard Horizon used less quality parts? My main radio is Icom-M72 and has never had this issue. I bought it because it was endorsed by the Mooch back in the day. I’ve been using it for ~9-10 years now and even dunked it in the salt. Battery hasn’t failed on me yet, but I carry a backup radio anyways since it’s a much older unit.

Have you tried moving it around while it's in the cradle? I have to do that until the red light turns on.

I noticed that I didn't hear any radio traffic the last time I was out and mine might be toast even though it turns on. I have another SH one that charges but won't turn on. And if it gets wet at all, the sound is garbled when it was working.

I have had problems with mine not charging as well. I sanded the contacts on the radio and then applied CorosionX and it has charged fine since.

Thanks for this.  I have been having intermittent charging issues with my 870 as well, and sanding the contacts down looks like it did the trick. I had some dielectric grease laying around, so put a coat of that on as well for good measure.

Thanks for all the tips.
I've tried sanding it, wiggling it in the cradle, etc, but nothing seems to work. Sometimes the charge light will come on but just as quick it will turn off.

I think all I need is some sort of external battery charger, or a way to run it off AAA or AA batteries. Like the one below. Would AAA batts run it as long?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TFYXDAG/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1