Vamo 02 fault code and top cap overheating possible fix.

[robby]

This is a possible fix for the Vamo 02 fault, also the fault where the Vamo top cap warms up dramatically in use. It was a joint effort with Moggy this afternoon. After Wilf`s`s trouble`s with his Vamo where he eventually got a refund from Vaporbreak we thought we would have a go at seeing exactly what was going wrong with it. There have been many theories about what was causing it so we did a thorough investigation. Wilf took the top off his Vamo and found a lot of hotglue in there, first time I have heard or seen of that. When he touched the black wire it kind of swivelled around. Looking at the pictures you could be forgiven for thinking that the black wire was soldered onto the Vamo top cap. It turned out that there is actually a screw there which makes sense as you cant solder direct on to Stainless Steel, also it is a big lump of metal and to get anything to solder directly onto that would need the heat from a blowtorch. It turns out to be the same for the chrome version and probably the black chrome version as well. The screw on Wilf`s Vamo was loose. The reason this is important is that the negative of the battery connects to the board through that screw, via the battery spring and the tube joins, all the way up to the top cap, then through the top cap to the black wire and on to the board. As far as I can see, there is no other electrical path to the negative of the battery, so it is vital that the connection off the top cap to the control board is perfect.

In the same way that the dodgy battery springs caused a lot of heat around the base of the Vamo in some cases, the bad connection at the top of the Vamo would have the same effect at the top. The bad connection through the screw/top connection could easily be as much as a couple of ohms. So at that point it could be trying to get rid of just as many watts as are used in the atomiser, the result? a build up of heat. (the amount of heat dependant on the resistance reading at that point) It would also cause the 02 code when inserting batteries depending on how bad the connection was at the time. It would probably be variable.

The bad news is that the fix (tightening up the screw with the black wire on) requires the top cap to come off. Mine was very tight and wouldn`t be easy for someone who isnt mechanically minded.

Underneath that blob of solder is a screw

With the wire and screw removed

Another possible source of resistance is the way that the Vamo tubes are joined together. It isnt what I expected. I thought that there was no extra piece like below, but that one of the tubes had been machined that way. The joint piece below appears to be made of steel. Dissimilar metals in contact with each other will often oxidate or corrode which could easily lead to a few ohms resistance and have the same effect as the loose wire in the top cap. Here we have the steel join piece which joins up the tubing.

Ignore the colour of this one, it is one of my experimental bits and has had high heat applied which has discoloured it

The path from the negative of the battery to the Vamo Control Board is fairly tortuous, a slight loss of electrical continuity will possibly cause 02 problems and misfiring and control problems, also possible heat where the electrical continuity is not 100%.



So a few things to try there for 02 faults and when the top of the Vamo is getting hot. Good luck

[OneDay]

Great post Robby, a super investigation and nice clear explanation and superb pics again!

[Moggy]

We had a fun afternoon, and great pics fella

[Deleted]

The level that you guys go to is immense and thank you for sharing your findings. your knowledge is valuable to the ecig community I am for one is better educated by it, top work Robby and Mono.

[robby]

Apr 19, 2013 23:21:03 GMT stamina said:

The level that you guys go to is immense and thank you for sharing your findings. your knowledge is valuable to the ecig community I am for one is better educated by it, top work Robby and Mono.

Thanks mate, appreciate it

[markm]

Love it, nice pics, wish I had seen that a few weeks ago, would have saved me lots of time.

[robby]

Thanks Mark :-)

[markm]

I added a few answers to vapour breaks thread earlier, covering some of the other issues.
Without any pics so no where as near as easy to follow as your post.

[Jockyspants]

Nice one boys a very good diagnostics guide indeed....'Nobel Prize' I say!
I myself am getting some misfires which are becoming more evident and leads me to think I may need open circuit surgery for this Vamo but hoping its just a dirty connection with the fire button ???

[jonn]

Excellent work there Robby!

I do not own a Vamo myself, still I do appreciate your posting+brill pictures. Vaporbreak'd better reward you, cos you showing them the way it's done!

[denis9t9]

Apr 19, 2013 21:06:56 GMT robby said:

This is a possible fix for the Vamo 02 fault, also the fault where the Vamo top cap warms up dramatically in use. It was a joint effort with Moggy this afternoon. After Wilf`s`s trouble`s with his Vamo where he eventually got a refund from Vaporbreak we thought we would have a go at seeing exactly what was going wrong with it. There have been many theories about what was causing it so we did a thorough investigation. Wilf took the top off his Vamo and found a lot of hotglue in there, first time I have heard or seen of that. When he touched the black wire it kind of swivelled around. Looking at the pictures you could be forgiven for thinking that the black wire was soldered onto the Vamo top cap. It turned out that there is actually a screw there which makes sense as you cant solder direct on to Stainless Steel, also it is a big lump of metal and to get anything to solder directly onto that would need the heat from a blowtorch. It turns out to be the same for the chrome version and probably the black chrome version as well. The screw on Wilf`s Vamo was loose. The reason this is important is that the negative of the battery connects to the board through that screw, via the battery spring and the tube joins, all the way up to the top cap, then through the top cap to the black wire and on to the board. As far as I can see, there is no other electrical path to the negative of the battery, so it is vital that the connection off the top cap to the control board is perfect.

In the same way that the dodgy battery springs caused a lot of heat around the base of the Vamo in some cases, the bad connection at the top of the Vamo would have the same effect at the top. The bad connection through the screw/top connection could easily be as much as a couple of ohms. So at that point it could be trying to get rid of just as many watts as are used in the atomiser, the result? a build up of heat. (the amount of heat dependant on the resistance reading at that point) It would also cause the 02 code when inserting batteries depending on how bad the connection was at the time. It would probably be variable.

The bad news is that the fix (tightening up the screw with the black wire on) requires the top cap to come off. Mine was very tight and wouldn`t be easy for someone who isnt mechanically minded.

Underneath that blob of solder is a screw

With the wire and screw removed

Another possible source of resistance is the way that the Vamo tubes are joined together. It isnt what I expected. I thought that there was no extra piece like below, but that one of the tubes had been machined that way. The joint piece below appears to be made of steel. Dissimilar metals in contact with each other will often oxidate or corrode which could easily lead to a few ohms resistance and have the same effect as the loose wire in the top cap. Here we have the steel join piece which joins up the tubing.

Ignore the colour of this one, it is one of my experimental bits and has had high heat applied which has discoloured it

The path from the negative of the battery to the Vamo Control Board is fairly tortuous, a slight loss of electrical continuity will possibly cause 02 problems and misfiring and control problems, also possible heat where the electrical continuity is not 100%.



So a few things to try there for 02 faults and when the top of the Vamo is getting hot. Good luck

Thanks robby,
Something to look out for when they arrive.

[robby]

Hi denis9t9, I passed this on to Min at vaporbreak and he says he is going to pass this on to the factory, I think he already has. I suggested a nut and bolt with grip washers to fix the wire to the top cap. It would be better to fix it to the display bit of the tubing but difficult to do there and hide the fixing. They could solder it there but a lot of heat required, but I think they will take notice

[denis9t9]

Apr 22, 2013 8:08:11 GMT robby said:

Hi denis9t9, I passed this on to Min at vaporbreak and he says he is going to pass this on to the factory, I think he already has. I suggested a nut and bolt with grip washers to fix the wire to the top cap. It would be better to fix it to the display bit of the tubing but difficult to do there and hide the fixing. They could solder it there but a lot of heat required, but I think they will take notice

Good to see your engineering skills have not gone to waste, cannot understand why they would solder the wire on top of the screw & not use a spade end soldered to the wire with a grip washer like you say.

[robby]

I thought it may be just the SS version they had done it on because they wouldn`t be able to solder SS, but it goes all the way back to the early ones as well, took my first one to bits lol. denis9t9

[Moggy]

Apr 22, 2013 8:31:54 GMT denis9t9 said:

Apr 22, 2013 8:08:11 GMT robby said:

Hi denis9t9, I passed this on to Min at vaporbreak and he says he is going to pass this on to the factory, I think he already has. I suggested a nut and bolt with grip washers to fix the wire to the top cap. It would be better to fix it to the display bit of the tubing but difficult to do there and hide the fixing. They could solder it there but a lot of heat required, but I think they will take notice

Good to see your engineering skills have not gone to waste, cannot understand why they would solder the wire on top of the screw & not use a spade end soldered to the wire with a grip washer like you say.

Cost

I sent robby this video while we 'playing' the other day, it shows how to do a simple test for continuity through the unit. All you need is the test lead from your multimeter with a probe on each end. We are basically short circuiting all the joints of the Vamo to prove where the problem is.

3 flashes = Vamo control-board getting good voltage.