charging is not supported with this accessory

[jlipcon]

My iBike Dash doesn't pull power from the booster battery. When I plug in the phone, I get the message "charging is not supported with this accessory". The phone's indicator doesn't show the little lightning bolt icon that appears when it is being charged. The booster battery doesn't discharge either (i.e. when I plug it in to it's charger later, it shows as fully charged then, even after hours of being plugged into the operating Dash unit). This used to work with the same phone, Dash, and battery combination. That is, I didn't get the error message on the phone, the phone showed as charging when connected to the battery, and the battery would discharge during use. I have two different booster batteries and the symptoms are the same for both. I've tried wiggling the phone and battery around in their respective sockets, but that doesn't seem to help either. The phone itself takes charge from my Apple-supplied charging cable without fail. The Dash and phone generally work together without fail. This problem has spanned multiple iBike Dash iPhone app revisions as well as multiple iBike Dash firmware revisions. My guess would be that something is broken in the circuitry that is managing the initial handshake between the phone and the Dash. What do you think?

[TriBike]

I have found that the contacts inside of the iDash unit themselves can become mis-aligned, thus preventing the battery from making contact. Also, I have seen a few cases where the battery is not setting properly in the charger, and the light will remain green, lending the user to believe that the battery is actually charged, when in fact it isn't. Just a few things to check.

[DennyS]

I am having similar issue, but without the message "charging is not supported ...". I have 3 batteries, and they all seem to give boost for a very short time, for example 100% of iPhone charge lasts to 96-97%, and then charging symbol disappears. If I take the battery out of the iDash, and plug it back in, the carging symbol comes back, and gives boost for minute or two, then disappears
I checked all batteries, and their voltage (after finishing boost) is still high (3.8 to 3.9V). I used to be able to see the charging symbol staying much longer than 5-10 min, and don't think the issue is with the batteries or their chargers. It looks more like iPhone issue or connector as TriBike suggested. Maybe it is something to do after upgrading my 3GS to iOS5. Maybe it is the age of my iPhone (2.5 years) and its battery has lost capacity, but would expect the boost charge symbol to stay longer, and boost batteries to end up with less than 3.7V after use.

[Foothills Rider]

jlipcon...had the exact same thing happen several times. You might want to try unscrewing, removing, and then reseating your tray inside the unit, making sure you have screwed the tray in securely. That takes care of it for me. You'll know immediately, because you'll see the recharging icon. If that does it, you might want to see if your iPhone or iPod is motionless once inside the Dash. I noticed mine would rattle from side to side just a bit, likely nloosening the interior tray over time. I just added one layer of scotch tape to the both sides of the iPod, and no more rattling....

[Jfala]

I have been experiencing the same short-charge phenomenon without the "unsupported" message. I noticed that when I open the PhoneBooth door and push down on the battery the lightening bolt icon appears on my iPhone battery signal. When I release, the lightening bolt disappears. Trying to find something to put on the door of the PhoneBooth to keep pressure on the battery.

[RGA]

I had the problem of not charging the phone but solved it. One of the two springs in the unit was not making contact with the battery pad. Take out the iPhone and remove the tray, insert battery and check to see if the springs are making proper contact. See image of the problem I had. Carefully adjust springs so that proper contact is made with the pads on the battery. Problem solved.

[Velocomp]

That's a great photo!

The battery springs can be bent somewhat if needed, so that they make good contact with the gold connectors of the battery.