Red Brick auto shutdown

[Alex Mullen]

Hi.

As the saying goes, "long time reader, first time poster." I wish I had introduced myself under favorable auspices, but I find myself in need of your help.

Last week, I updated the firmware of our Red Epic (Mysterium-X) to 5.3.35 and since then, every time I turn on the camera with a Red Brick, the LCD shows "Low power: camera will shutdown in 25 seconds" and automatically shuts down after that time, even though the battery shows up as full ("100%") on screen. I'm using the Backpack Quickplate and nothing of the sort has ever happened before. I also tried updating to the Beta firmware but it didn't change anything.

Strangely, third party batteries still work relatively well. (I've had a couple of hiccups, but it's hard to tell if it's camera related or just battery problems.) I already contacted Red Support, but with today being a holiday, I figured I might get a quicker reply here. Our third party batteries were rental, so as of today, we find ourselves unable to use our Red.

Thanks in advance,

Alex Mullen

 

[ericyoung]

If your Red Brick is well used, it's possible it's reached end of life. Ie it appears to charge to 100% (which is voltage sensed), but can't actually hold a full charge or maintain the voltage under load, which drops as soon as it's running your camera. What does the side LEDs show after shutdown? What does the percentage show if you try to repower off that same battery after auto shutdown? If either are low, then it would indicate an end of life battery.

The only solution is a recall of the Red Brick or a new battery.

 

[Alex Mullen]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the reply; it is much appreciated.

First of all, I don't understand how 3 batteries which were working perfectly before the firmware update would suddenly reach their end of life without prior warning, especially when one is newer than the others. As for your questions, the side LED still shows a full charge after the shutdown. As far as the percentage is concerned, now that I've tried the Beta Firmware, all I see is "UNKNOWN".

 

[ericyoung]

You didn't mention it was happening with three Red Bricks.

Downgrade to a release firmware (powered off AC) would be my next course of action.

 

[Alex Mullen]

Sorry for not making the situation clearer.

I actually tried going back to an earlier firmware, but since I installed the Beta version, it's been stuck on that version.

I'm really surprised by this situation. Hasn't anyone ever lived through something similar? I hope I don't come off as angry or bitter; I'm just genuinely confused that with all the Red Epics on the market and Red's experience on the matter, something could happen that would stump everyone.

Thanks again for your help.

EDIT: Quick update, I managed to go back to 5.1.67 but the problem remains. Except that I got the camera to work ONCE. The "Lower power: Camera will shutdown" thing popped for a second, then it disappeared and I was able to record, playback, etc. That had actually happened to me another time (the night the problem started) and I was never able to replicate it.

 

[Alex Mullen]

Sorry for bothering everyone with endless edits and replies, but this is a big deal to us and I have nothing better to do than play amateur detective, so...

I managed to get the camera to stay on twice in the last hour. (It's actually working as we speak.) I've noticed that every time I get the "Low power" message, the camera shows the brick data in percentage. But both times I've managed to keep the camera on today, its power was listed in voltage. (eg: "DC: 14.9V")

Could it be that something's wrong with the way the Brain interprets Red-specific data? The power input often changes from voltage to percentage on our Epic; I've read somewhere around here that it was some sort of faulty signal between the backplate and the brain and never made a case of it. But maybe that's the key to keeping the camera on. And it would somehow explain why the 3rd party batteries don't have the same problem; they don't communicate (or try to) the same way that Red Brick does with the brain.

Does that ring any bell to anyone? Is there any way to keep the Brain from trying to recognize power sources as bricks? Or any other way to force it to read only the voltage?

 

[ericyoung]

It's a reasonable theory. Does the display change from voltage to percentage if you press down on the battery?

Sounds like there could be an issue with the battery or battery plate contacts. Check they are all in good clean condition i.e. no melting or deformation (indicates a poor contact - the high resistance contact heats up) or plastic shavings obstructing the holes. On the original Red One plates, the pins have springy curved sides which would slowly deform into the body of the pin so they no longer made good contact with the sides. You can use a needle or jewellers screwdriver to gently prise the sides out again. Don't overdo it as they might break.

There is a menu setting for showing voltage rather than percentage in the GUI, but don't know if this disables data sensing shutdown.

Failing that, contact your Bomb Squad Rep, and/or file a support ticket at your local Red HQ, or Red.com