E-Rig Troubleshooting Guide: How to Fix Common Errors

The theme of the day is life, liberty, and the continued enjoyment of mind melting dabs from your favorite E-Rig, because at Got Vape we believe that ripping the headiest of concentrate clouds isn't just a luxury, but a right you all deserve.  

That's why we've cracked open the Got Vape vault, poured over everything we've learned through 25 years of working with vaporizers, and spilled the beans on how you can fix the most common e-rig errors with ease. 

While e-rigs are extraordinary machines relied by millions every day, the fact of the matter is sometimes things go wrong and the general wear of use manages to catch up gradually or all at once.  

This is where our e-rig troubleshooting guide comes in to provide you with the top ten most common fixes and help you get back to 100% dabbing functionality as quick as possible. 

At Got Vape we follow a strict rule of less down time, more dab time - so follow along with the crew as we walk you through how to get even the most busted of e-rigs back in working order. 

Table of Contents:

E-Rig Troubleshooting Quick Guide
1. Check All Connections For Wax Leakage
2. Clean Your Chamber
3. Clean Your Glass Attachments
4. Load The Proper Amount Of Concentrate
5. Master Your Draw Technique
6. Wait For Things To Heat Enough
7. Try Different Types Of Concentrates
8. Check For App Firmware Updates
9. Examine Your Charging Cable For Issues
10. Use Your Warranty
Trouble Free E-Rig Vaping

E-Rig Troubleshooting Quick Guide

In a rush to get back to your session? Here is a fast breakdown covering the essential steps to diagnosing and fixing your E-Rig:

1. Check All Connections For Wax Leakage

Believe it or not, when you dab your concentrates with an e-rig the materials don't just all magically va-poo-rize away, some end up getting stuck in between your mouthpiece and the inner workings of your battery. 

Trust us there's no where the little concentrate that could can't end up, with these sticky materials proving to be as wily as a coyote and as stubborn as a roadrunner when it comes to infiltrating your e-rig. 

As a result your leftover half vaporized wax can easy get around your e-rig in not just 80 days, but as quickly as one overzealous session. 

That's why if your e-rig is fully charged, yet still flashing lights, then you should check to see if the root cause is connection issues fueled by concentrates that have broken free and escaped your chamber. 

Got Vape Crew Fix: 

• Power off your e-rig
• Remove your chamber
• Inspect the chamber for concentrate
• Inspect your e-rig chamber connection for concentrate
• Clean both
• Let everything dry
• Enjoy ripping your e-rig! 

Power off your e-rig, remove your chamber, and then give it a 360˚ ocular pat down examination. Look for any visible concentrates and also feel for stickiness, as both of these need to be removed to solve the connection conundrum. 

After inspecting your chamber, look at the actual connection point between it and the actual e-rig. Inspect this for concentrates as well, since stickiness here can cause the same issues and end up getting your chamber dirty all over again. 

Afterwards make sure to clean both connections on your e-rig with an isopropyl dampened swab. Make sure to not over damped the swab and to give it a couple passes to remove all the concentrate. 

Once done, you MUST leave everything to air day completely before begging use of your e-rig again. This prevents moisture from causing any electrical issues and ruining all the hard work you just put in cleaning. 

Now you can re-attach your chamber to your e-rig, make sure to go slow and guarantee the connection fits correctly. From here you can fire up your e-rig as normal, if it works - congratulations! You've just troubleshooted your first e-rig! If not, take a look below. 

2. Clean Your Chamber

As a follow up on our previous point, we wanted to make it overly clear just how important keeping the entirety of your chamber as clean as possible when using your e-rig. 

A clean chamber is the #1 method of preserving the overall quality of your vapor, allowing to consistently enjoy dabs with pure flavor and strong potency throughout the entire lifespan of your e-rig. 

If you are noticing burnt flavors or thick chazz building up on the interior of your chamber, this is a sign that things have gotten dirty and you're going to have to break out the big dogs to take care of things. 

Luckily keeping your e-rig chamber clean isn't so much as hard, as it is a matter of taking the time to actually do so. With a combination of consistent post dab swabbing and deeper cleaning, you can easily keep your e-rig chamber at 100% for years. 

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Daily Swab: Swab every time after you take a dab. Remove the dark left over concentrates with a q-tip and roll it around until your chamber is 100% clean. Doing this after every dab preserves the integrity of your chamber and allows your e-rig to hit like new, every single time.
• Deep Clean Swab: Every couple of weeks it's a good idea to give your chamber a deep clean. This means removing it from your e-rig and it's protective sleeve in order to safely soak it in isopropyl alcohol. Deep cleaning is great to refresh your e-rig and get rid of tougher stains. 

If issues persist and you're unable to clean your chamber even with more intensive methods, it may be time for you to seek out a replacement chamber for your particular e-rig. 

While unfortunate, the reality is that e-rig chambers are expendable accessories and will sometimes need a complete replacement for you to continue. Top brands will typically have 1:1 replacement parts available to support your right to repair.  

3. Clean Your Glass Attachments

Not only do you need to ensure your chamber is clean, but you'll have to look into the actual glass chambers / water basins that so many e-rigs use to filter your vapor, providing that signature electronic smoothness. 

When you pull from your mouthpiece, concentrates can end up splattering against the insides of your e-rig glass. Overtime these can compound upon each other causing unsightly wax stains at best and eventually clogging your airflow at worst. 

Thankfully cleaning your glass attachment is even easier than your chamber, with the only caveat being a more gently touch in order to ensure you don't accidentally crack or damage your e-rig top in the process. 

This is especially true if you've indulged in the massive support for aftermarket glass tops, with extravagant designs being particularly vulnerable to the odd bump messing up your day.

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Remove the top from your e-rig
• Carefully place it in a sealable bag
• Pour in isopropyl alcohol until the top is completely submerged 
• Let sit for 1 hour 
• Very carefully remove your e-rig top (it will be slippery)
• Dump out the left over isopropyl alcohol wash (it will be smelly)
• Now wash off your e-rig top with warm water
• Let air dry completely 
• Return to dabbing 

As you can see the process for cleaning your e-rig glass is relatively straight forward, so long as you take your time and ensure that you are careful with your glass. Otherwise break out the isopropyl alcohol and you'll be good to go. 

4. Load The Proper Amount Of Concentrate

By far the easiest issue to fix with your e-rig is that of loading too much concentrate into your chamber. As you are the one loading the materials and not a dab hungry ghost, this one is 100% on you and subsequently can be fixed immediately. 

No, this isn't Got Vape trying to throw a speed bump on your sessions, it's actually to help you enjoy even more. This is because when you load too much concentrates your e-rig can struggle to reach the proper temperatures, leading to a host of issues. 

Too much concentrate in an e-rig chamber can cause clogs, splash back, and end up wasting the precious materials you've put into them. 

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Load a grain of rice sized concentrate ball 
• Enjoy! (seriously... that's it)

Instead of loading one huge glob, we recommend splitting it up into several rice sized pieces and then hitting them one by one. This allows you to more effectively dab each one, all without over loading your e-rig in the process. 

Trust us when we say not only will you elevate your sessions, but you'll end up saving concentrate at you realize how much you can achieve with so little actually packed into the chamber. 

5. Master Your Draw Technique

Another "you" issues with e-rigs revolves are the basic act of drawing / inhaling from your mouthpiece.

Yes, despite your e-rig doing everything else under the sun for you, it actually cannot vape for you. Thus, if you want to avoid errors you'll have to figure out how to properly draw form your e-rig. 

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Draw slowly from your mouthpiece
• Employ a sipping style, instead of chugging
• Slow and steady wins the race
• Gentle pulls make massive clouds 

The trick here is not to over think things and merely be mindful of how hard your actually pulling from your e-rig. Even with a little bit of a slower draw you'll notice the effects and slowly get the hang of how to rip the biggest of clouds. 

So don't get held up trying to have the "perfect draw", instead just go with the flow and let the natural pull of your e-rig take your to cloudy relaxation... and also just draw slowly! Trust us it just works. 

6. Wait For Things To Heat Enough

In order for your e-rig to perform properly, you've got "let it cook" both literally and metaphorically, by giving it enough time to actually heat your concentrates to the point of vaporization. 

Sometimes the issue isn't really an issue, but actually the result of being a little bit over eager or your e-rig sensor prematurely telling you that it's time to get ripping, even though your concentrates actually need a little more time in the oven. 

Got Vape Crew Fix: 

• Always wait until your e-rig indicates it's time to vape
• If you don't see any vapor pouring out, wait a moment
• Test draw your vaporizer 
• Proceed if working as normal 

Now this can be tough, as by all indication your e-rig is giving you the green light to get started dabbing, despite the reality being a little bit different. Depending on your type of concentrate and e-rig type, the actual heat times can vary greatly. 

This is where having a firm grasp on your own e-rig and its particular quirks is really important. However this takes time, so make sure to experiment and see what settings actually produce the best vapor for your own preferences. 

7. Try Different Types Of Concentrates

A great troubleshooting technique for e-rigs lies with the simple trick of swapping in a new type of concentrate to test the overall system. 

Some e-rigs just aren't the best for certain types of concentrates, they can end up delivering muted results with something like shatter, then absolutely sing when loading with wax. 

That's why we recommend always at least trying a new type of concentrate before you really throw in the towel. It only costs you the price of one dab and it helps rule out a simple, yet annoying issue with your e-rig. 

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Clean your chamber to provide a clean slate
• Try a different type of concentrate material 
• Compare results
• Proceed accordingly

Certain types of concentrates produce less sticky clogs, while others are especially prone to it. Depending on what you load, this can drastically change how your e-rig actually performs from hit to hit. 

If you end up swapping in a fresh type of concentrate and still experience the same issues, you can look further into things to see what is actually causing the problems with your e-rig. 

8. Check For App Firmware Updates

Diving into the world of 1's and 0's, we have the fascinating reality that in today's world e-rigs are able to actually update themselves via bluetooth. This let's the manufactures tweak settings, add new updates, and most importantly fix errors on your e-rig. 

That's why if you're having issues with your e-rig and it has bluetooth compatibility, we recommend heading online to see if there any new updates and if you're all up to date with your app. 

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Open your bluetooth app and check for updates
• Download the update
• Restart your e-rig
• Continue your dabbing 

Once e-rigs launch, manufactures will often provide software updates that iron out issues several months after. This means when you pick yours up, it won't have received the same fix right out of the box. 

As a result it's always worth it to see if there's a new software update and check your app for any news. It only takes a few seconds and can sometimes be the only fix you need. 

Plus firmware updates often add more control and unique settings, meaning when you do fix the issue you'll have a whole host of new settings to toy around with during your e-rig dabbing. 

9. Examine Your Charging Cable For Issues

Having trouble with your e-rig charging? Sometimes the issue isn't as substantial as a broken battery, but instead is actually the result of your charging cable being damaged. 

Charging cables see a lot of wear and tear during day to day use, which means that sometimes after being stepped on they receive internal or external damage that prevents them from working right. 

That's why we recommend always trying out a secondary charger before throwing in the towel with your trusty e-rig. We can't tell you how many times we've averted crisis, all with the help of a spare USB-C cable letting us know what the real issue was. 

Got Vape Crew Fix: 

• Find another compatible charging cable
• Plug it into your e-rig 
• Observe any changes
• If your e-rig charges, problem solved
• If not, refer to other steps (it'll be okay!)

While this may be the turn it off and on again of e-rig troubleshooting, the fact of the matter is that this is often the issue. So always rule this out, even if it seems obvious, and you'll be able to avoid all the embarrassment of your friend plugging the e-rig in and saying "what, it works fine!". 

10. Use Your Warranty

Lastly we have our final category, the break glass in case of emergencies of e-rig care, which is to invoke your manufacturer warranty. 

If you've exhausted all other options and you're still not getting the e-rig to work correctly, then it's time to call in the big guns and see if your warranty can bail you out of the situation. 

Now this isn't always straight forward, as you need to ensure that you've activated your warranty in the first place and then that you're still within the overall window. Typically this can range anywhere from 3 months to over a year, depending on manufacturer. 

E-Rig warranties will only cover specific defects and won't help with issues such as accidentally dropping it on the ground or falling into the pool. Instead these are here for manufacturer defects that were of no fault of your own. 

Got Vape Crew Fix:

• Register your warranty
• Report your e-rig within the respective warranty window
• Clearly communicate issues to support 
• Receive a fix or replacement
• Return to your dabs

Remember that the warranty is factored into the price of your e-rig, so always make sure to use it to your fullest in order to receive every last bit of value that you've already paid for. 

So never be afraid to pull out your email and reach out to customer service in order to use your warranty and get your e-rig fixed up. Remember that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so always be nice - even with a broken e-rig - if you want the best results. 

Trouble Free E-Rig Vaping

Now that you've got the run down on how to keep your e-rig out of trouble and ripping clouds without stop, it's time for you to continue your sessions operating like a veritable dabbing pro. 

Remember that every issue has a cause and if you take your time, you'll be able to crack the case of the malfunctioning e-rig with ease. 

Have any more questions? Make sure to check out the Got Vape Resource Center for a wealth of helpful tips and tricks written to help you get the most from your dry herbs, concentrates, and 510 cartridges.

Until next time, stay cloudy out there!