Voche Screwdriver Problem

[Dr. MC BlackParticipant @dr-mcblack73214]

Ladies & Gentlemen

I have purchased a "VOCHE® 3.6V CORDLESS SCREWDRIVER".

The Instruction Manual provided is singularly useless!

When I plug in the Charger a Red LED glows and remains glowing even after the internal battery is fully charged.

There are two other LEDs next to the charging indicator but they have NOT lit at all.

If I use the screwdriver only for a short time, it seems sensible that there should be some way of knowing when it is fully recharged.

The firm from which I purchased it are unable to provide any useful if and refuse to either pass my queries to the manufacturer or provide the contact details of the manufacturer.

Can anybody kindly provide contact details for the manufacturer, please?

Very many thanks

MC

[Dr. MC BlackParticipant @dr-mcblack73214]

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

IF the tool is compliant with UK regulations there will be contact details in the manual or on the packaging. I suspect it's not compliant. A manual or instructions that are fit for purpose are another requirement.
Your contract is with the seller not the maker. I'd just request a full refund from the seller and by a known brand. If seller won't pay ball contact trading standards.
If you bought it this year it should have a UKCA mark. if it doesn't that is something else the seller has done wrong.

Robert.

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

A Google search for similar drivers threw up several of similar type and a manual for one of them mentioned a small button next to the indicator lights. Having looked for a picture of your specific tool, there appears to be a button next to the indicator lights on top of the handle. It seems that these leds only indicate the state of charge of the battery when disconnected from the charger – not when charging. At least that's my reading of the information available to me.

John

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Sometimes you have to use the screwdriver and recharge it several times before it will take a full charge and operate the charge lights.

Usually the three charge light LEDs are one is red, one yellow, one green, indicating, flat, half charged and fully charged respectively. It can take overnight to get a full charge.

So try running the screwdriver and driving screws into a scrap of wood and out again to give the battery a good workout, then leave it on the charger overnight. You might have to do it several times.

Good luck tracking down Voche Pty Ltd. I am sure it is a faceless Chinese middleman company that markets products made by others and has no clue what it is marketing. The name sounds like it is a knock off of Bosch, one of the big names in electric screwdrivers. If it is like most other Chinese goods, the core element will be a standard unit, dressed differently by different companies. So if you search online for something like 3.6 volt screwdriver manual you might find one from another brand that applies to yours too.

I have had a similar go-around recently with a motorcycle voltage regulator from eBay. Made in China. Arrived with no instructions as to which coloured wire connects to which generator terminal and which is the voltage out to the battery and switch etc. Seller completely unable to comprehend the question let alone supply an answer. No idea at all. When I suggested they contact their supplier or technical advisors for intormation, their response was to offer to refund half the cost of purchase and let me keep the regulator. Which I did to avoud the nuisance of going to the post office to send it back. And I found instructions from another supplier online within a few key strokes!

Edited By Hopper on 28/01/2023 12:14:16

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

A quick look on the web suggests Voche® may be an unofficial trademark, not actually registered. The name is associated with a variety of domestic products. Voche® isn't a manufacturer or a retail sales outlet; I think they're a wholesaler of rebranded generic products.

I suggest trying to identify the manufacturer in hope of getting sense out of them is a forlorn hope. The makers could be anywhere in the world, likely but not necessarily China. There are many firms able to produce generic products in any colour / brand / electrical standard / price range a wholesaler or retailer wants.

Makers in the plural because generic products are rarely made entirely in house. The power supply case is probably also generic, made by someone else, and fitted with electronics made by yet another third party. The goal is low cost rather than comprehensive customer support – what you get is in the manual, and there's no easy way of getting back to the original designer, who could be in the West and determined to stay anonymous. The same item can be made by several different makers.

I suspect the red LED comes on only to indicate the device is plugged in and the other LEDs aren't connected. They exist because the same case is used by other products, perhaps a posher version of the same drill. Cheaper to make one case with 3 LEDS and not bother to connect two of them. Might be wrong and the supply is faulty, but I think the only way to find out is open it up and have a look.

In the past brand and trade names were strongly associated with the actual maker, who was local. Not so today: domestic stuff is often made of generic parts manufactured wherever in the world is cheapest – production and distribution are both thoroughly international. Not easy for individual customers to trace origins, and not cheap for retailers to find out from their wholesaler, who might not know either.

Big cost savings are also achieved by altering what happens when a faulty product is bought. Instead of supporting the customer with technical support, full documentation and spares, faulty items are simply replaced or money back. When this is done the customer has little chance of finding anything useful out. To get technical support it's necessary to buy products that are expensive enough to be worth repairing.

Not a good thing in my view, but that's how it works. I don't think keeping prices down by making products disposable is sustainable, but it's how much manufacturing is done these days.

Dave

 

 

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 28/01/2023 12:29:56

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 28/01/2023 12:28:57:

A quick look on the web suggests Voche® may be an unofficial trademark, not actually registered. The name is associated with a variety of domestic products. Voche® isn't a manufacturer or a retail sales outlet; I think they're a wholesaler of rebranded generic products.

…………………..

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 28/01/2023 12:29:56

Have a look HERE for a bit of further info;
https://www.trademarkia.com/uk/trademark-UK00003428388.htm

See also on the UK Gov site
https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00003428388

I'm not use if any of the registered trademark classes are applicable to electric screwdrivers

Bill

 

Edited By peak4 on 28/01/2023 15:40:55

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