Nikon D90 Battery

[RodeoMom]

Help! I have a Nikon D90 about 1year old. All of a sudden, after I charge the battery, it dies totally. What can be wrong. The salesperson at the camera store told me today, the battery shoud last two years...it won't last two hours...what coud be the problem? Help! I need to use the camera tomorrow.

 

[SCraig]

Could be the charger. How long does it take to charge? A completely discharged battery should take around an hour to charge. The light on the charger will blink while charging and go solid when it is complete. If it takes much less something is wrong with the battery or charger.

Edit ... You can also see the battery status in the camera. Under the "Shooting Menu" (little wrench icon) select "Battery Info" and it will show a battery meter, the number of shots since the battery was charged, and the battery age.

 

[RodeoMom]

Thanks for your quick response. I'm charging now, I'll let you know. As soon as I get a "solid" light, I'll put it in the camera to see what the battery meter shows. This has happened so sudden, I'm not sure what is going on. Until recently, I have been able to go weeks without recharging. The last time I used it, I was only able to make it about three hours on the battery...very frustrating! The last time I(3 days ago) charged the battery, I put it in the camera, fully charged, its dead again and i havent even turned the camera on.

 

[SCraig]

If everything looks right you might take your battery by the camera store, tell them what's going on, and ask if they would charge it on one of their chargers. If it still fails that would rule out the charger, and if that fixes the problem it would point to the charger.

While the battery is out look in the battery chamber and make sure the contacts look clean. If they are discolored clean them. Gentle pressure with a pencil eraser works well.

Those batteries are pretty reliable. I have two in an MB-D80 grip and they are two years (and 25,000 shutter activations) old this month and still showing in the "New" category on the battery status.

 

[RodeoMom]

Well, the battery has been charging for an hour and 50 minutes. I an tired need to turn in, so I unplugged and put the battery in the camera. It was showing a 66% Battery Meter and is still showing "new"... I will look at it again in the morning and let you know.

 

[RodeoMom]

Checked the camera/battery first thing this morning...100% dead!

 

[SCraig]

It's hard to say but my instinct tells me that you've got a bad battery. It could be something in the camera draining it but my gut feel is that it's the battery. Normally when a rechargeable battery goes bad it won't hold a charge for very long, and regardless of what the battery status indicator in your camera says that's what is happening.

It isn't going to help you out today but the next thing I'd try would be to charge the battery fully, check it in the camera to verify that it's full, and then take it out of the camera. If it discharges overnight just sitting on a table there is no question in my mind that the battery is bad since they should not do that.

Sorry, that's about all I can think of.

 

[RodeoMom]

I just noticed as we were driving, the green sensor light is blinking..even with the camera off. I changed the SD card, formatted, and the green light is still flashing. What could that mean? I have OCD....I won't stop until I figure out what's going on.

 

[SCraig]

That indicates that the camera is trying to read the SD card. The indicator may also be used as a troubleshooting indicator but the manual doesn't mention it. The SD card may be damaged. If you have another one try it and see if the problem persists. I suspect that's what is running your battery down though.

 

[RodeoMom]

Taking it in to the shop Monday. They said 4-6 weeks on repair. Hate to be without my camera through the holidays. Guess I'll use my daughters point & shoot. Thanks, Scott.

 

[SCraig]

I'm sorry to hear that but after hearing that the read light was on continually I was afraid that was going to be the eventual solution. If you're in the Nashville area you can use my D60 for Christmas You might also be able to rent something for a few days wherever you are.

Hope it works out. Wish we could have fixed a simple problem.

 

[RodeoMom]

Just to let anyone know...I read on another google search that I should try to turn the power switch all the way over to where the display light is a few times. I tried that and the green light stopped flashing and my battery is now holding a charge. Do I still think there is an underlying issue? Yes! But, maybe it will get me through the holidays, then I will take it in to the shop. It needs cleaning anyway.