I've had a pair of Cool Lights 256 LED fixtures for a while and finally decided to get some batteries for use out and about.
They state they are compatible with Sony NP9xx batteries so I bought a pair of Pearstone NP975 replacements and for some reason they don't work! The batteries are fully charged and I've tried them in both fixtures. Nada!

I called Cool Lights and they said some clones don't work.
How is this possible? It's a battery! And it works in my friends Sony camcorder! Is there a workaround or am I going to be listing the batteries in the classified section soon?

Help!

I never even heard of a NP-F975. The only ones I know that work well are the NP-F970 and that's the one we support. I have no idea what the differences are in the NP-F975 to make it not work but obviously there must be something.

I purchase the cheap 970 batteries from Amazon and they work fine in my Cool Lights and Comer.

Pearstone NP-F975 L-Series Lithium-Ion Battery BPS-F975 B&H

As BH states it's the replacement for the Sonys listed on the Cool Lights site and imprinted on the adapter on the light itself. Just baffled at this point.

FYI...just got a call from Cool Lights and they gave me the name of a tech in my area that hopefully can solve the mystery! Great customer service!!

I just bought a Sony clone from Taky at L.A. Color Online and it works great in my 256 for $38

mb

Thanks Mark!
Might have to go that route! After talking to the tech, we went through everything short of digging into the light and battery circuitry. It seems that something in the light and something in the battery are fighting eachother. Doesn't seem like a flaw in either just when put together they don't work.
I don't think I want to actually rip apart the light or the battery to come up with a mod as that may lock me in to using the Pearstones which as a few have pointed out are not that cheap.
I'll keep posting til a solution is reached.

I wonder if there could be some kind of current limiting within that battery that isn't in the older ones or some kind of limit to the sustained current draw in any case. Those camcorders are fairly low wattage draw compared to a light like say the LED 256, so the sustained current draw requirements of a camcorder may not be as stringent as the 25w required by the LED 256. My guess is it is something like that but it certainly is intriguing.