Sena Customer Service

[Daboo]

...The reason for the contention that that their customer service is lacking is... because they do not sell batteries...

Regarding the batteries, I was just taking what you wrote as a reason you were upset. You mentioned several other things that I tried to address. I'm sorry it caused you grief.

I'm still not surprised that they wouldn't deal with you till you (a) made a claim (which puts your grievance in writing and gives them a record) and (b) they said they wouldn't cover it. Your reasoning was subjective. They have to be objective and stick to facts. Did their product fail during the warranty period, or not. If it failed under warranty, they would replace it. If it failed outside of the warranty period, they can't help you. You'd be a happy camper, but their shareholders wouldn't.

I hope you have a nice day, sir. As for me, I'm going to prison and will be out of touch for awhile.

Chris

 

[Andrew Shadow]

You mentioned several other things that I tried to address. I'm sorry it caused you grief.

No apologies needed as you caused me no grief whatsoever.

There are issues on this subject which we and are not in agreement on. We have both expressed our points of view about them.
I would like to think that that is never a scenario which leads to grief for any participant in any discussion. Hopefully it is one which allows the exchange of differing points of view that will lead to a better understanding of an issue for everyone.

You took the time to express your opinions. You also took the time to offer some suggestions and resources on how this unit might possibly get fixed or replaced at a reasonable price. I appreciate that you spent the time it took to offer information that you felt might be of help to me.

That can never be a bad thing, and hopefully is something that should never lead to a need for an apology.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I wonder if this guy can fix them? They fix a lot of other "non-repairable" stuff like Garmin GPSs etc.

I had already communicated with this company before we ordered the battery as I didn't think that replacing the battery would fix the problem. Based on their response it does not sound like Sena products are really in their wheel house. He said that they have worked on only a few of them. Some they were able to fix and some they were not. However, they have a very reasonable charge for testing and providing an estimate. If they report back that they cannot fix it the charge for the evaluation will be less than what the new battery cost. In retrospect it would have been a good idea to send it to them first instead of changing the battery I guess.
Sometime in the new year this unit will probably be sent to them to see what they say.


I haven't been here for a while so here is an update of what has transpired with this Sena 20S.

I had previously written that from the very beginning I suspected that this was not a battery issue because when it is plugged in to a charger it reacts exactly the same way. While not a guarantee, generally speaking plugging an item it in to a charger eliminates the battery as the cause of a problem. Unfortunately this suspicion turned out to be the case. Dubious as we were we ordered a replacement battery as this was the most offered suggested fix. The battery was replaced and then the unit was put on charge before we tried to power it on. It did go through its charging cycle as it normally does until it showed that it had achieved full charge. Presumably this is an indication that everything related to the new battery and its installation are OK.

When we powered it on it did exactly the same thing as it did previously with the old battery. We tried several times with the same result. We also tried it several times with it plugged in to a charger. We went through the reset procedure several times with no effect. It still does not work.

Just as a recap for reference in case this is of any use to anyone in the future who is experiencing a similar problem with a Sena 20S.

Normal operation:
When the Sena 20S is turned on the following happens;
The LED light flashes blue once.
If the unit is connected to the speakers there will be three tones heard followed by the voice saying Hello!.
Then the LED light flashes red three times.
Then the LED light returns to flashing blue to indicate that the unit has gone in to standby mode.


Defective operation:
When the Sena 20S is turned on the following happens;
The LED light flashes blue once.
If the unit is connected to the speakers there will be three tones heard followed by the voice saying Hello!.
Then the LED light flashes red three times.
Then the LED light flashes blue but it will only flash blue one time.
Then the unit immediately turns itself off.
There are no tones or voice saying goodbye when it turns off. It just instantly shuts down.

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

As a side note...
Just replaced another Sena SMH10 ( 10 yrs old or so ) battery for a friend.
Typical old battery as he was getting 3 hrs usage... he was going to throw it away.
Battery at Amazon required NO soldering, ( tho does say to check polarity ) direct plug in with same clip.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IFXP5W2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Took me about 5 mins and most of that time was finding the Torex 8 sized bit.
Also, the battery was free floating inside unit ( no doublestick tape ) , rated at 560mahr ( new one is 600mahr )
Did use tape when put back together.

 

[AV8R]

I hope you have a nice day, sir. As for me, I'm going to prison and will be out of touch for awhile.

Chris

What?!

 

[AV8R]

For what its worth...

im pleased with the Sena 20s (helmet BT comms) and 10s (2-way radio BT transciever) combo. Took alot of effort to filter out bike noise to the power to the 10s, but I got it eventually. Otherwise just run it in its internal battery

My 2cents:
the acheles heel to Senas are their internal batteries. Sit too long, they die. Charge too long, they cook and die. Use too little, ie not letting them drain fully, and the capacity declines. This is due to the type of battery and the low cost ones they use to lower the price.

Sena customer support is responsive, but limited to what they can do for us. They cant give away new units for every situation and their R&D engineers and marketing wont fix things even when its obviously a product defect or needed item (like a BT remote PTT button for their comms devices. Always on sucks.). Their competitors have it.

Sena, love or hate them (or both), they have good devices at a reasonable price.

 

[ST Gui]

The 20S along with other Senas use Li-Po batteries. Yeah if left uncharged for too long they die. And the Senas probably lack overcharge protection as the manual warns against overcharging IIRC. Both Li-Po and NiMH batteries don't benefit from being drained like NiCads did/do.

Here are couple of videos showing how to replace the battery in a 20S. They're not great - the first one being 3X longer than need be and the second shot in portrait mode. They're not great at providing specs on the battery but enough that we can muddle through.

This last video barely mentions the downside of squeezing a Li-Po battery into a confined space. Ask Samsung how that might go wrong. So you just have to keep an idea on the possible deformation of the Sena case.

Bottom line - the battery can be replaced but sourcing one of the same size and capacity will be tough so you have to find something close.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

What?!

As a volunteer, if I remember correctly, not as an invitee.

 

[Daboo]

Yeah, I don't have a bed there, although I'm sure they could arrange that on a yearly basis for me.

I've been going out to the local prison for 18 years now. I have no idea when I'll quit. I'm a coordinator for a seminary program in two of the five prisons within the walls of the Monroe Correctional Complex and teach on Monday nights. I also am involved in three other programs. I used to go to the Snohomish County Jail to share the Bible with me there. I did that for seven years until they stopped volunteers from coming in while they did security upgrades. When we were able to come back in, they wanted us to fill out a 34 page application form instead of simply providing our drivers license number. The form asked questions like

• How much money do you make?
• How much debt do you have?
• What kind of debt do you have?
• How many guns do you own?
• What kind of guns are they?
• Have you been guilty of the following crimes, but not convicted? On the list were murder and perjury.

I decided I could spend my time elsewhere.

I've also started sharing the Bible with men at a church sponsored alcohol and drug recovery house.

It gives me an excuse to ride.

Chris

 

[AV8R]

Good on you, Daboo.
Doing the Lord’s work is rewarding sometimes here, but definitely when we get the hardware and software upgrades.

Seems like the penal system is worried about volunteering as a means of corruption, hence the same battery questions I endured in my LAPD academy and DOD top secret clearance days.

Nothing happens in a follower of Christ’s life without first passing through the hands of both the Father and Son, regardless how it looks from a human perspective. (Romans 8:28). So feel free to be led by the Spirit (and not human emotions or bad pizza). In all things, the Word will guide and provide. His Word will always be profitable and never be in vain.

How freeing it is to know that He guides the footsteps of the righteous and that the branch never have to strain to bear fruit. Rather it just stays graffed into the vine and it bears fruit (super) naturally. The correct ministry is one that the Lord is magnified and we are humbled, content in that we are sanctified vessels in the hands of the Master. What is better than that?

 

[TPadden]

Seems like the penal system is worried about volunteering as a means of corruption, hence the same battery questions I endured in my LAPD academy and DOD top secret clearance days.

Seems to me it has NOTHING to do with volunteering as a means of corruption, and everything to do with a reasonable background check for someone obtaining a position of public trust or being in a position to regularly have contact with criminals.

Tom

 

[T_C]

And the Senas probably lack overcharge protection as the manual warns against overcharging IIRC.

No commercial comany (wanting to stay in business) will implement a lithium battery without over-charge protection. Sena probably cautions against it as they dont; want the charging circuit to sit with power constantly on it, maybe a cooling thing. Lithium batteries will not provide feedback via resistance, taper off or vent when overcharged. Selling a component with unprotected batteries is just opening up the door for the lawyers.

 

[ST Gui]

Lithium batteries will not provide feedback via resistance, taper off or vent when overcharged

They must provide feedback of some sort as the light would never change from red to blue if they didn't. If I unplug the Sena from the charger for a minute and replug the LED is red for a few seconds and then turns blue.The Sena may poll the battery's voltage. That sounds like a more involved method of preventing overcharging.

Semantics and Sena's guide aside there should be no activity in the charging circuit once the battery is fully charged. If there's a chance of overheating then they're lacking protection.

'Overcharging' may be a misnomer but if the manual says don't overcharge then something is lacking and the manufacturer has cheaped-out to avoid an exothermic reaction but doesn't care if you let your Sena die. 'Hey we warned you in the manual'.

It's only one data point but I've never detected any notable heat from either the Sena or any charger I've plugged it into. If I think about it the next time I charge I'll put an IR thermometer on it before and after.

 

[AV8R]

Seems to me it has NOTHING to do with volunteering as a means of corruption, and everything to do with a reasonable background check for someone obtaining a position of public trust or being in a position to regularly have contact with criminals.

Tom

sounds like we are in violent agreement, just some difference in wordsmithy

Was pretty fun to watch the reaction I got when my psych test asked if I ever hear voices, and I replied with “yes I do”. After explaining that from a scriptural perspective, they pretty much had me nailed as the next prodigy. Guess they enjoyed “the stick to my guns”, or so I was told. Again, Romans 8:28

 

[Daboo]

Seems to me it has NOTHING to do with volunteering as a means of corruption, and everything to do with a reasonable background check for someone obtaining a position of public trust or being in a position to regularly have contact with criminals.

Tom

Tom, it might've been appropriate if I was asking to be a Corrections Officer and work there. But I was asking to go in and share the Bible only. I'd already been doing it for 7 years. In those seven years, all that was asked of us, was to provide our Washington State Drivers License number. That's all that is required to do "a reasonable background check". I've been going to the local prison for 18 years and they've never asked for any of that, and those prisons have up to maximum security. The neighboring county, King County, doesn't ask for more than the drivers license number either. So why ask all those questions, unless you plan to use the info?

But let's get back to Sena's Customer service...

Chris

 

[TPadden]

But I was asking to go in and share the Bible only.

Chris

Chris, ... and no one has EVER smuggled contraband in a Bible.

Anyone regularly entering and leaving any incarceration facility, applying for a job in law enforcement, or handling classified material, should rightfully be subjected to intense background scrutiny.

You are the one who started the thread drift, which I find more entertaining than discussing Sena's Customer Service.

Tom

 

[TPadden]

Was pretty fun to watch the reaction I got when my psych test asked if I ever hear voices, and I replied with “yes I do”. After explaining that from a scriptural perspective, they pretty much had me nailed as the next prodigy. Guess they enjoyed “the stick to my guns”, or so I was told. Again, Romans 8:28

... and I had it explained to me that even for an inebriated 42 year old: hanging a moon among friends... was still considered exposing oneself in public (but defend-able), PC 314.

Tom

 

[AV8R]

Gee Tom...

you really do eschew Sena customer support.

 

[Larry Fine]

They must provide feedback of some sort as the light would never change from red to blue if they didn't. If I unplug the Sena from the charger for a minute and replug the LED is red for a few seconds and then turns blue.The Sena may poll the battery's voltage. That sounds like a more involved method of preventing overcharging.

Most simply, with a resistor in line with one wire between a power source and a battery, you can either monitor current through the resistor (by measuring the voltage across it) or monitor the voltage of the battery itself.

It's normal for the LED to show charging for a moment when replugging after a full charge. Even if there's no actual charging for those few, the circuitry has to stabilize when first energized.

 

[ST Gui]

It's normal for the LED to show charging for a moment when replugging after a full charge. Even if there's no actual charging for those few, the circuitry has to stabilize when first energized.

Uh yeah but not relevant. Well relevant only if I unplugged after a full charge and plugged it back it anytime shortly after a full charge when there'd be little to no drain for self-discharge.