1D Battery recharging problem

[clayk]

Justr got my 1D today and have run into a snag. I put the battery into the charger. The charge light blinks slowly. I left it on for a few hours and played witht he camera on the AC adapter. Was ready to go shoot and put the battery in, but the camera display shows it is dead. I looked at the manual again and it says that when you plug in the battery, the carge light will glow. When the battery is charged, the light will blink rapidly. Does anyone know what it means when the charge light blink slowly. I have now tried both A and B sides of the charger witht he same results. ANy help is appreciated.

[robertwgross]

Is this the CA-PS400 Charger? If so, that is the same as what I have with my D60 body.

There are two slots for BP-511 batteries, and there is a socket where you can plug in the DC coupler cable. Then that cable plugs into the camera body.

If I understand correctly, you left one battery on the charger, then you plugged in the DC coupler cable and ran the camera on that for a while. Then later, your battery was not charged up, even though it had been on the charger for a long time. Is that it?

When you plug in the DC coupler cable, it prevents charging to the batteries at the same time. "Recharging disabled when the DC Coupler is installed."

---Bob Gross---

[justme_dc]

The 1D charger is nothing like the D60 Charger.

First try connecting the battery and running a "Refresh" cycle. This will take a while. If after that is done it doesn't hold a charge, Test the battery with a Volt meter. It should have +12volts (actually with a full charge it's about 14volts) if not it sounds like you may have a dud. Take it to a deal and try it in another camera or send it back to canon. The Canon tech line might have a few more Ideas for you as well.

[clayk]

Thanks. The refresh did the trick

[robertwgross]

What is the Canon part number of the charger?

---Bob Gross---

[clayk]

It is the NC-E2

[huzzar]

I've often wondered the difference between the "ReFresh" and the normal charging... any clue?
thanks

[justme_dc]

huzzar wrote:
I've often wondered the difference between the "ReFresh" and the normal charging... any clue?
thanks
Yup!
Just plugging the battery into the charger starts recharging the battery. If you press the refresh button it first fully discharges the battery under a load and then fully recharges it. This is done to condition the Nimh batteries which over time can hold less of a charge. Nimh batteries can develop a memory but it is by no means as bad as the old NiCad batteries. The refresh cycle effectively erases that memory.

Oh yeah! You should only use the refresh function about once a month or every 5-10 regular recharges as it will shorten the life of the battery if used too much. The 1D batteries are rated for 500 Charge/discharge cycles.

I hope all this is helpful to you!