If your vape pen isn’t working after a charge, you’re likely to feel pretty confused and frustrated about the situation – especially if your device was working fine before you charged it. In this guide, we’re going to bring some clarity to the issue. In most cases, you have no need to worry because it’s extremely unlikely that the act of charging your vape pen caused it to stop working. It’s much more likely that the problem has a very simple explanation and solution.
To figure out why your vape pen stopped working after a charge, it’s helpful to think about why you charged your device in the first place. Did you charge your vape pen because the battery was dead, or did you charge it because you were trying to troubleshoot some other issue? If you were trying to troubleshoot a problem, it’s possible that charging the battery didn’t resolve it. In this guide, we’ll discuss situations that can apply in both of those scenarios.
So, why is your vape pen not working after a charge? Let’s explore some of the most likely possibilities.
Your Vape Pen Is Turned Off
The simplest reason why a vape pen might not work after a charge is because the device is simply turned off. If your device has a manual fire button, you can test this easily; just press the button five times. If your vape pen blinks in response, you’ve just turned it on. Try using the device, and you may find that the problem is solved.
Note that if you’re using a simple 510-thread battery or a pod vape without a manual fire button, your device doesn’t have a manual on-off function. Instead, the device simply turns itself on when you connect a pod or cartridge. If nothing happens when you puff on your device, try removing the pod or cartridge and reconnecting it. If your vape pen still isn’t working, read on for some possible solutions.
Your Vape Pen Isn’t Detecting the Pod or Cartridge
If you have a 510-thread vape pen or pod system without a fire button that isn’t working after a charge – and the device still isn’t working after you’ve removed and reinserted the cartridge – the next thing that you should do is remove the cartridge again and look under it. Has the cartridge leaked? If so, you should clean and dry your cartridge and device thoroughly and try vaping again. If your vape pen still isn’t working, try replacing the cartridge. If you’re using a vape tank with a replaceable coil, try replacing the coil.
Your Vape Pen Isn’t Actually Charged
If you tried to charge your vape pen because the battery died – and the device still isn’t working after the charge – it’s useful to investigate the situation more closely and confirm that your device is actually charging when you connect it to a power source.
If your vape pen has a screen, the screen will display a message like “Low Battery” if the battery is dead. If the device doesn’t have a screen, it’ll have an indicator light that will blink when you try to vape. Consult the instruction manual to confirm that the blink code corresponds to a dead battery. If the battery is dead, you need to troubleshoot the fact that your vape pen isn’t charging. Visit this article for some additional information about fixing this issue. Before you do that, though, try these simple tricks and see if they fix the problem.
- Test your vape pen’s charging port by wiggling the USB cable. If the connector on the end of the cable moves, it’s possible that your vape pen’s charging port has a weak or broken solder point. You might be able to maneuver the cable into a position that allows the device to begin charging. If your vape pen’s charging port is broken, though, you will need to replace the device soon.
- See if you’re able to get your device to charge with a different cable. USB cables often begin to stretch or fray internally with repeated use, and a cable will stop delivering power reliably if it’s damaged. Replacing the cable resolves most charging issues with vaping devices.
- Try connecting your vape pen to a different power source such as a USB wall adapter. Don’t use the wall charger for your smartphone or tablet, though; use a wall adapter with a power delivery of 5 volts and 1 amp.
- Confirm that your vape pen’s charging port is clean. If lint or other debris is stuck in the port, your device may fail to charge. A toothpick can help you dislodge any items that are stuck in your vape pen’s charging port.
Your Cartridge Is Clogged
If you’re using a 510-thread battery and a cartridge filled with thick vape oil, keep in mind that the oil in your cartridge may thicken if the cartridge is stored in a cool environment for a long time. In that case, you may charge your vape pen and come back to it only to find that it’s not working because the cartridge is clogged or the airflow holes are plugged. If that happens, try these things to unclog it.
- Use a sewing needle or paperclip to dislodge a solid clog in the cartridge’s airflow openings or center chimney.
- If the cartridge is still clogged, try puffing more firmly to force more air through the cartridge and break the clog.
- If your vape pen still isn’t working, remove the cartridge and either hold it between your hands or put it in front of a heater vent for a few minutes to warm the oil and encourage the clog to melt.
Your Vape Pen’s Battery Is Finished
Even the best vapes die eventually. A lithium-ion battery usually holds a strong charge for around 300-500 charge-discharge cycles on average, which means that you can expect a vape pen to last a year or a little longer if you charge it daily. When the battery reaches the end of its life, it’ll no longer hold enough of a charge to be useful – and if your vape pen has a permanent built-in battery, you’ll need to replace the device at that point. If you’ve noticed recently that your vape pen’s run time seems to have decreased – and the vape pen now isn’t working after a charge – the battery may be finished.
Here are some tell-tale signs that the battery in your vape pen has probably reached the end of its life.
- When you connect the vape pen to the charger, you can leave it connected for an extremely long time without the device’s light ever changing to signify that the charging process is complete. This means that the battery’s capacity has decreased to the point where it can no longer reach its target voltage, so the charging process can’t finish.
- When you connect the vape pen to the charger, the light changes in just a few minutes to show that the charging process is complete. When you use your vape pen, though, the battery dies again almost immediately. This indicates that the battery has almost no usable capacity remaining.
If you’ve encountered either of the above two situations, it’s time to recycle your vape pen and replace it.
Your Vape Pen Overheated While Charging
If your vape pen isn’t working after a charge but worked normally before you charged it – and you’re certain that none of the other scenarios described in this article apply to your situation – there is a chance that the charging process overheated the battery and killed your device. This situation is extremely rare, but it does happen occasionally – especially when a vape pen is connected to an incompatible charger such as a wall charger for a smartphone or tablet. These types of devices have batteries that support quick charging, and their chargers deliver higher currents than a vaping device can usually support.
When a vape pen overheats while charging, you may notice a strange smell emanating from the device. You may also notice that the device feels unusually hot to the touch. It’s normal for a vape pen to become slightly warm during charging. If it smells strange or feels extremely hot, though, you should disconnect it from the charging cable and move it to a fire-safe location immediately.
If your vape pen isn’t working after a charge because the battery has overheated, the most likely symptom is that the device will be completely unresponsive. The light won’t blink when you try to use the device, and it won’t blink if you click the fire button five times to turn the vape pen on or off. The light also won’t illuminate when you connect the device to the charger. If you encounter this situation, you will most likely need to replace your vape pen.
