"Iffy" screwdriver...

[smokeless]

Can anyone give me an idea why I have to push my screwdriver button three or four times before I finally get a hit off the atomizer? I even have to hold the SD up to my ear to hear the "sizzle" of the atomizer before I bother taking a puff. This happened when I first received my SD and it improved after time, but now it's starting again. To be clear, this happens with a number of atomizers, including ones connected to a 901 to 510 adapter. I mean, how can an SD "go bad?" What might be going on?

[Lunawolf]

I had the very same thing happen. Like it wasn't 'firing' (SP?)  I would look to see if it was glowing and it was. It was like that for about a week or so, worked perfect one minute, and nothing the next. It stopped doing it, and works perfectly now. Phantom SD Malfunction. Really weird. Have you tried holding the end up while vaping? Like...WAY up. Sometimes if there's too much juice in the atty it wont vape well if you are holding it in a downward position. I also noticed, unscrewing the atty and wiping it clean and removing any juice on both the atty threads and the inner rim of the top of the SD works too. Good luck.

[Fruits]

Is it a MK2? I only have the first ones. Sometimes its as simple as not pressing the button properly  If you make sure you press it straight in just to try and see if it works to make sure its not down to technique.
If its the MK2 I can only think to take the button out and give it all a wipe over and clean all the threads and any connection points, then make sure its properly tightened up and battery is the correct one and sits right way up etc.
Probably not much help but thats all I can think of. Take it apart and put it back together. It sounds daft but make sure you are pressing the button properly because sometimes you can press just the corner without noticing and it wont fire.
Good luck

[Weevie]

I had a similar thing.  The important thing is to keep the head of the screw that holds the button really clean.That head is the thing that makes contact with the 'negative' terminal of the battery.  Any crap on it might lead to an interruption in the circuit

I also found that I'd evver so slightly nicked the slot with a screwdriver, so I got some very fine wet and dry and also some autosol and polished the head.

After that it's been fine.

[trog100]

it is a cleaning thing.. low voltage relatively high current draw devices need good electrical connections to work properly..

in some way an SD is like an old tobacco pipe.. it needs cleaning and attention to keep it working well..

e liquid is greasy stuff its the enemy of good electrical connections.. its not just the neat liquid its also the vapor residue.. it just gets everywhere..

the switch head might seem the obvious thing to keep clean... but its just part of it.. the rest of the switch has to be clean... the big body threads have to be clean.. e liquid gunge builds up and over time will need cleaning off.. there dosnt seem to be an easy answer to this.. but an SD going wimpish is 99% down to poor (dirty) electrical connections..

in theory just like an old pipe an SD should keep going for ever.. there isnt much to wear out..

the electrical circuit.. battery end to switch head.. switch sides and the spring into the main body.. the big main body threads.. into atomizer connection.. thru heater coil and back to the spring in contact  with the other end of the battery.. nothing much to go wrong except dirty connections..

trog

[capt12b]

I do a total tear down of my SDs  once a week cleaning atty conn, body conn, and switch conn. After a good cleaning, I notice a dramatic improvement in performance

[smokeless]

Thanks, gang. I had in fact performed a cleaning prior to my post, but I did neglect to clean the switch head itself (which didn't appear to have anything on it, so why bother, right?). Anyway, I went even one step further and switched out the switch with one I had sitting around from a previous order and all is well again.

[capt12b]

Great to hear all is well again, I also clean the hole the switch goes  throw because I think that is how pwr is transferred to the body

[Lunawolf]

Glad to hear it's working again.

[prof beard]

"Cleanliness is next to ...."   Just about any e-cig will play up if its parts are not kept clean - I have a year-old 901 passthrough that lives in my briefcase for emergencies (basically those  - "oh bugger I forgot my spare battery" moments) and a couple of times I've thought it was bust to find a quick wipe of its threads was all that was needed...

[cyclist13]

I clean my SD nightly. This may be overkill but i dont mind. Once you do it a few times it only takes a min or two so its no big deal. Whatever it takes to keep my SD running well.

[brookes]

yes I have had mine for 6 months and its just not performing so well, cleaned everything, thoroughly like you said, but it has got really weak, might have to get a new one.

[capt12b]

Brooks, you should not need to replaced the device. Cleaning all the connections with alcohol should really help. If you have the new style switch I recommend taking that apart too. Have you tried new batts ?

[StevieD]

Capt beat me to it.... if you have taken it down and cleaned everything and your batts are okay, is your atty a bit old? Have you tried it with a new atty? There really is very little that can go wrong with the Screwdrivers. Hope you get it sorted.
Happy vaping.