Coleman Rechargeable Fluorescent Twin Tube Troubleshooting

Light bulb does not illuminate when lantern switch is turned to on

Check the light bulbs and make sure they are properly seated and making contact on both sides of the bulb itself. If the light bulb is still not working, check each light bulb for burn or scorch marks that may indicate a bad bulb. The bulbs must be replaced in order to fix this issue by removing the old bulbs and inserting the replacement bulbs.

If the battery is dead, power will not be transmitted to the light bulb. Make sure the lantern has been plugged into charge for at least 8 hours and the charging light is on while it is plugged in. If the lightbulbs still don’t turn on after charging, open the panel on the bottom of the lantern and check the battery for corrosion. Corrosion could be an indicator of a dirty battery connection. In rare cases, the battery must be removed and a new one should be installed.

If the lantern is not turning on, it may be due to a broken switch issue and not the bulb itself. To check if the switch is broken, make sure the lantern charges fully and that charging light indicates it is charging. Also, check to make sure the current lightbulbs are not broken and defective. If the battery and lightbulbs are functioning properly but the lantern does not power on, the switch may need to be replaced.

When the lantern is plugged in and fully charged, it won’t last the normal amount of operating time before dying

If the battery is failing to hold a charge after being plugged in for 12 hours (full charge time), it could be due to a leak coming from the battery. It might be necessary to clean the contact and threads on the inside of the lantern in order for the battery to hold a charge again. If you have a voltage reader, check to see if the lantern is putting out volts from the charger. If it is not reading voltage, it could indicate an issue with the cord. Check the connectors for the battery on the inside of the lantern to make sure they are not corroded and if so, clean them using q-tips and vinegar.

After you plug the charging cable into an outlet and the lantern, the light will not illuminate and the lantern will not charge

Possible underlying causes:

The light on the main motherboard may be dead. Leave the charger connected to the lantern for a period of time, the charging functionality may still be intact.

The charging cable itself may no longer be functional. If there is another charging cable on hand, check to see if the problem lies in the charger itself.

If the charger has been connected, it can be assumed that the battery should have some level of a charge. If this occurs problem occurs, the battery may not be connected properly. Ensure that the batteries inside the lantern have been inserted with the correct polarity.

Without the battery inserted, the lantern should be running off power supplied by the charging cable. From here, please refer to the other troubleshooting guides involving faulty main board, faulty switch, and faulty light bulbs.

When attempting to use the switch on the lantern, it does not turn on, and there is no indication of any other issues

When the switch is turned on or off, it makes contact with the motherboard which signals whether or not the lantern should be activated or not. However, in order for this process to happen the motherboard’s wires must be connected to the battery. During everyday use, the wires can become detached to either the motherboard or battery. If there is no connection made between the wires and battery, the motherboard does not have the power to activate the switch. Check by opening the bottom of the lantern to see if the wires are connected to both the battery and motherboard.

If all the wires are connected and the battery has a charge, the motherboard may be faulty. The motherboard supplies the power and when there is no power to the motherboard the switch will not turn the lantern on. This could be due to water damage, faulty electronics, blown capacitors or fuses. Double check the motherboard connecting the switch and the battery to see if they are fully attached. A voltage meter may also be used.

When the switch is unable to move, the motherboard will be unable to send a signal for the light to turn on. The switch sends a signal to the motherboard which acts as the central operating system. This can be checked by taking apart the lantern, and seeing if something is getting caught or if the area around the switch needs to be cleaned and/or removed.

Condensation or water has gotten into the housing of the lantern and caused damage to the battery and/or electronics

If the lantern will not charge or turn on check the inside of the the the device and look to see if moisture has gotten into the inside of the device. Check the circuit board for discoloration or burn marks where it may have shorted. If the motherboard has been shorted, the device and its components may have also been damaged. Replace the the motherboard by removing the bottom panel and disconnecting the wires and connections to the board. After the motherboard has been removed, reconnect the wires and connections to the replacement motherboard and reassemble the lantern.

Check the bottom of the lantern to make sure that the 3 screws and screwed tight to make sure that no more water/condensation can make its way into the device. Check the sides of the lantern to make sure the bottom was screwed on correctly. Avoid any contact with rain/condensation if unable to make sure bottom of lantern is attached properly.