I’ve lost count of the number of times I have raved about the various incarnations of the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra and Quadra ELB 400 flash units that I have owned and used for fifteen or more years. At the end of 2023 I named it as “my favourite piece of old equipment” and in 2013 I wrote that the development of the lithium ion battery for the Ranger Quadra was one of the best things that had ever happened to my kit.
Those things are still true. I still use the gear on an almost daily basis and even a quick outing with some very nice Profoto kit didn’t make me want to switch. I used capital letters for the word BUT in the title of this post because I am really disappointed with Elinchrom.
I have used their gear since I left college 1986 and I have always appreciated their service and the way that they supported old equipment. It hurts to have to call them out on this point but less than seven years after buying my last Quadra ELB 400 pack and battery they no longer sell, service or even support the Lithium Ion batteries that the whole system depends on.
They won’t supply schematics or specifications that would allow me to get some of my six batteries re-celled and if any third party tries to put new, easily available, cells into a pack there’s a strong chance that the printed circuit board that manages the batteries inside the battery pack will disable it and refuse to work. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that this is a safety feature but it would surely be an act of outstanding customer service to offer some sort of service or back up that would allow licensed agents to access the technology to overcome this and extend the life of what was not a cheap system.
A few weeks ago I found a third party battery company who refurbish and re-cell power tool and electric bicycle batteries. They were willing to take two of the three my old Lithium batteries that had failed and couldn’t be reset and swap the cells out. They have yet to succeed.
There are a few people on YouTube who have had varying degrees of success and it’s obvious that, with great care, some specialist knowledge and a large amount of skill it is possible to open up the battery, remove the existing cells and replace them with new (and better) cells and possibly a new battery management system. If you are very skilful and very lucky the battery management board doesn’t shut the unit down. If you have an ELB 400 pack, the battery can be reset as long as the battery management board hasn’t done its thing.
Here’s where the good news comes in. My Brother is a retired electronics engineer who has the necessary skills and equipment to re-cell a lithium battery. Having done a few power tool batteries of his own he agreed to have a go with my one remaining non-functioning battery. Two days later we had a unit that was showing 30% charge but wouldn’t power a Ranger Quadra. When we stuck it onto a ELB 400 pack and plugged in a charger it went straight into recovery mode and a few hours later it had 100% charge. Testing showed that it was giving almost 500 full power flashes compared to the under 400 claimed of the original pack so it looks like the replacement cells were of a higher capacity than the originals. A few days further on and I used the battery on a job and it went through an entire day and three editorial portrait shoots without missing a beat.
Having only done one battery we aren’t sure whether we were just lucky, whether it was his skills or whether there is a difference between batches of batteries and the MkI and MkII versions of it that made the difference with what happened with that battery. A very different result than has been reported by the company who are still trying with my others and many other frustrated photographers right around the world who have had varying degrees of success.
It would be great if a third party battery manufacturer could be granted whatever licenses are required to make new versions of the Elinchrom Lithium battery that I, and so many of my peers around the world, would love to buy. It would be good if Elinchrom would appoint licensed service agents to re-cell existing batteries. This is professional kit. In the past, the Swiss manufacturer had built a reputation for supporting their customers for the long haul of professional use. For me, they have damaged that reputation pretty badly.
The point here is that I was looking into buying some new Elinchrom kit but I’m not sure whether I want to do that if batteries for it are unobtainable and un-repairable after as little as seven years. If anyone out there reading this has any working batteries that they no longer need then I’d be happy to talk about acquiring them (albeit that many international shippers won’t transport lithium-ion equipment). Equally, if anyone knows of a third party company that has cracked this particular nut then I’d also be very happy to hear about it. Because I like working with this gear I’d take a couple of non-functioning ones too. Mostly I’d love to hear from Elinchrom saying that they will do something for us long-time, loyal customers who just want the kit they bought 15,13, 9 and 7 years ago to carry on working.
Neil Turner Photographer 
Interesting read, Neil, and I hope Elinchrom are listening. Not only is it disappointing given the high initial cost of this kit, but to have to send otherwise fully working kit to landfill for the sake of the replacement of cells is frankly disgraceful. I do wish photo equipment manufacturers would take their environmental responsibilities more seriously.
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Well…that is a no brainer…say goodbye to Elinchrom. They will be bankrupt very soon, I hear. They are closing service facilities around Europe, bracing for impact…they had it coming, with these bad business practices. Recently a colleague called Broncolor to inquire about some older units and the Broncolor representative was so rude almost hanging up on the guy because he was asking about the gear a little older that that rep’s tenure at the company.
They want us to spend all our money on gear, at their set prices, no matter what. And that is why their arrogance will be the end of them.
I can’t wait.
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I’ve had exactly the same problem, Neil. I have three units and four batteries two have failed, the other two are questionable. I bought a Godox unit and one of the batteries has also failed to!
The sad thing is the Elinchrom units are fine, but they are reduced to doorstops without working batteries.
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Thanks for the excellent blog write up, Neil. Shameful of Elinchrom to design the battery BCM board like this and offer no support and walk away. I have 2 ELB 400 systems, multiple heads, triggers, extension cables and modifiers easily >$6K CAD in their ecosystem. I have taken the pack off one to investigate the viability and will attempt to replace with Samsung cells. If I am unsuccessful it’s such waste and landfill. Absolutely disgusting.
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I’m also Canadian and I feel your pain. I got 2x ELB400 with 2 spare batteries and they are all still working, but I feel like the batteries are not doing so great and they lose their energy pretty quickly. I also have an ELB500 with a spare battery and they are doing better, but I feel like they are going to be discontinued pretty soon like the ELB1200 was.
I will never understand why Elinchrom made the move to abandon us Quadra owners and go with new less powerful strobes that left all the advantages Elinchrom had (hole for deflector, interchangeable batteries, etc.)
I got TONS of Elinchrom stuff, but still decided to start to make the switch to Godox. Just seeing Godox coming out with version II of their pro line all using the same flash bulbs and batteries as the first version makes me confident I won’t be left in the dust as time goes on.
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I have just bought a kit “2 packs, 2 batteries, 4 heads and the ring flash. The batteries are dead and were not initially included in the sale but the seller agreed to send them with the kit. I intend to fully overhaul the batteries with 3.3Ah cells giving me a 6.6Ah, 95Wh pack.
I have also purchased 4 replacement BMS which if the battery locks out, I can use to replace.
If there is no inteligent communication between the pack and the battery, I can just replace the BMS, if there is some sort of communication then I will have to try intigrating the new BMS with the existing PCB.
I have done many Profoto packs without problem so hopfully ill manage these.
will provide an update either way.
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My Brother has replaced the cells in 3 lithium batteries and so far hasn’t had to replace a battery management system. One Mk1 and two Mk2 so let’s hope you have the same result. He has also done one lead-acid one. Having an ELB400 pack to condition the lithiums appears to be very useful. Good luck.
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I’ve got the same set up – But with just 2 batteries (One of which has failed, and the other is not holding a charge for as long as I hoped)
A huge shame if it fails, because the size and power of the heads is perfect for a lot of what I do.
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I now have six working lithiums (and one not working) along with three lead-acid ones. Should see me OK for a few years.
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I contacted Elinchrom a while ago about this and was told that A. The lithium had all been bought by the car companies and B. They would give me a small discount on an ELB500 kit. A. they are still making batteries for their other products so no Lithium shortage there and B I don’t want to have to junk my kit and spend 2k on a £250 problem. Bad for the environment bad for my pocket just bad. Great bit of kit but frustrating, I do feel they are slightly going down hill.
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Yet you can but the cells for about £40 per battery pack and if you have the skills (like my brother does) you can swap them out relatively easily. There are commercial companies who will do the work but only if they have the license from the original manufacturer to do so. Elinchrom are being a little disingenuous I think.
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I agree they have chosen to kill off the system in the hope you’ll buy the new one. Looking at the sceptic of the ELB 500 battery it’s the same volts and watts just higher amp hour so I wonder if an adapter plate could be 3d printed ?
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If I had one I would have a go. We tried the ELB1200 battery and it wasn’t possible
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This maybe something you have already found but just in case.
https://media.elinchrom.se/Devices%20Documentation_Battery%20Packs_ELB%20400_Technical%20Documents_Service%20manual%20ELB%20400.pdf
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