Canon A640 overheating and catching fire

[Hot Shot]

My camera seems to have a serious fault it seems the battery compartment has an overheating problem which could lead to explosion or fire.

I work as a surveyor and take about 7,000 pictures a year so tend to replace my camera every year, the Powershot A640 was my new camera for this year.

When I attempted to use it for the first time I inserted some AA NI-MH Rechargable Batteries (From my previous A series Canon Camera) and put the A640 in its carry case attached to my belt. 15 or so minutes later as I was at the top of a ladder I noticed smoke and heat coming from the carry case. I removed the camera which was extremely hot, burning my hand in the process, I managed to open the battery compartment to see what was going on and found that half the camera had melted (was Soft to the Touch) and my batteries had overheated and are bonded to the battery compartment. I found out from subsequent searches that the A540 had some overheating problems of a similar nature however I did not realise how serious the problem was and that it can also affect other more expensive Canon cameras like the A640. In the space of 15mins my A640 had overheated to such an extent that not only had it melted my carrycase interior but the battery compartment had welded the carry strap to the hand grip and made all the metal buttons on the top pop out. Ironically even though it burnt me I am just grateful that I had the camera on me. I would dread to think what could have happend if it was in my filing cabinet in the office or in the boot of my car (places I normally store it) when this overheating occured as it could have caused a fire in less than half an hour. I contacted Canon UK and they were not bothered or fussed at all they just told me to return it to the dealer I purchased it from as it was less than a week old.

I wanted to find out if any other users had experienced a similar problem and also what I should do.

I do not want another Canon A640 user to go through what I did. I use my camera everyday as a work tool and the last thing I expect from a Canon Camera is for it to maim, kill me or burn my business down.

[ib2loud]

why do you replace it after 7000 shots in a year? I shoot around 8000-9000 shots a month and my cameras have lasted a long time

sucks to hear about the battery issue though, maybe they'll warranty it?

[cdifoto]

I contacted Canon UK and they were not bothered or fussed at all they just told me to return it to the dealer I purchased it from as it was less than a week old.

I wanted to find out if any other users had experienced a similar problem and also what I should do.

Well you were already told by Canon what you should do. Not sure if anyone else has had the same problem though.

[CRE@TE]

I would have expected some words of apoligy for their defective product.

[Woolburr]

I would have expected some words of apoligy for their defective product.

What is to say it wasn't the batteries that were defective?

[Robukincan]

You've probably got a case for a lawyer there....

[cdifoto]

You've probably got a case for a lawyer there....

Yeah let's perpetuate the sue-happy trend. :rolleyes:

[Woolburr]

You've probably got a case for a lawyer there....

Before you go all sue happy...I think it is probably important to find the cause of the problem...was it the camera, was it the batteries or lord forbid...was it some form of user error?

[Jon]

Before you go all sue happy...I think it is probably important to find the cause of the problem...was it the camera, was it the batteries or lord forbid...was it some form of user error?
Concur 150%

[saravrose]

Return the thing to where ever you bought it from as long as it wasn't ebay or off the back of a truck after a week you should be able to exchange it, buy new batteries and test it out in the store before you leave... as for the lawyer comment.. a P&S camera doesn't even seem worth the trouble... But, i'm curious.. do you sue over defective toasters or scratched c.d.'s as well?...:rolleyes:

[JustShootin']

Any product from any company can be a lemon. If I had only had it for a week, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. I would have simply taken it back to the dealer for a replacement or refund and moved on. As for suing, that's just starting trouble where there need not be any!

[lostdoggy]

I don't see the validity of this OP. A640 uses 2 AA battery. Let say each battery has 3000mAH capacity. Total voltage of 2.6V. I don't believe that there is enough to amperage to generate enough heat to cause the damage that the OP is saying.

OP only have 2 post and did not post any pictures. I'm curious!!!

[Jon]

A640 uses 4xAA. And the rate of discharge is what causes a heat problem, not the total capacity. I have a lock de-icer that runs on 2xAAA cells. And it gets hot.

[Robukincan]

If you think manufacturers (be they battery, camera, or otherwise) don't owe a duty of care to their customers to not burn or otherwise cause injury (assuming no neglience from the customer), then that's cool .... we all have our own opinions, be they popular or un :)

I'd generally class a lemon as something that was a dud, just didn't work or failed to work properly right out the box ... not something that had the potential to burn/cause injury or damage etc.

I'd be extremely unhappy if no apology was provided, call back and start by talking to a manager (at Canon)! [and i think if I was the manager and found no apology had been issued I'd be falling over myself trying to make that customer happy...] I don't think this chap's issue should be trivialized in any way.

Hope this all works out for you!!

[Permagrin]

I don't see the validity of this OP. A640 uses 2 AA battery. Let say each battery has 3000mAH capacity. Total voltage of 2.6V. I don't believe that there is enough to amperage to generate enough heat to cause the damage that the OP is saying.

OP only have 2 post and did not post any pictures. I'm curious!!!

I agree...that the OP should return the camera for a different model...unless he suffered damage that was irreparable, he shouldn't sue...however, it would be hard to take/show a photo if 15 min. after the batteries were put in, the camera melted.

[JustShootin']

I don't see the validity of this OP. A640 uses 2 AA battery. Let say each battery has 3000mAH capacity. Total voltage of 2.6V. I don't believe that there is enough to amperage to generate enough heat to cause the damage that the OP is saying.

OP only have 2 post and did not post any pictures. I'm curious!!!

Yeah, I'd kinda like to see a picture of that charcoal camera myself! :lol:

[lostdoggy]

A640 uses 4xAA. And the rate of discharge is what causes a heat problem, not the total capacity. I have a lock de-icer that runs on 2xAAA cells. And it gets hot.

Yes I agree that there are devices that will use just one AA battery to generate enough heat to lite a cig, but that is by design. In order for that to happen a thin metal wire is used, but the problem is that i the power is apply to it longer then a few second will melt the thin wire. The deicer is no different in this application, but again it is by design.

[towershot]

If you think manufacturers (be they battery, camera, or otherwise) don't owe a duty of care to their customers to not burn or otherwise cause injury (assuming no neglience from the customer), then that's cool .... we all have our own opinions, be they popular or un :)

I'd generally class a lemon as something that was a dud, just didn't work or failed to work properly right out the box ... not something that had the potential to burn/cause injury or damage etc.

I'd be extremely unhappy if no apology was provided, call back and start by talking to a manager (at Canon)! [and i think if I was the manager and found no apology had been issued I'd be falling over myself trying to make that customer happy...] I don't think this chap's issue should be trivialized in any way.

Hope this all works out for you!!

Some-one with sense, agree entirely...Rick

[Hot Shot]

The batteries are 4 months old and never caused me any problem with my previous A-Series Canon all I did was transfer the batteries from my old camera to my new one also they were not cheapo ebay batteries but a leading brand batteries.

[Hot Shot]

Pictures added I needed to get a camera to take them!!!

[cdifoto]

I'm no crime scene investigator but that looks like faulty batteries to me.

[Woolburr]

That has all the look of a battery problem...I'm sure that all parties involved will want to have a very close look at that and I suspect you will be compensated for your troubles.

[JustShootin']

I think I would call Judge Judy on this one!

[eccles]

Batteries will only overheat if they discharge excessively, and the device they're in has to draw the excessive current. I blame the camera.

[jrobert]

If there was a battery fault independent of the camera,

it would likely have affected only one of the batteries. The photos suggest (but don't confirm) otherwise.
no camera would have been needed. The battery or batteries should have started overheating in the charger and have been too hot to install into the camera.
the batteries would likely have had problems already - they had already been in service (presumably without trouble) in another camera. I, too, suspect the camera.

-jeff-

[Bob_A]

What brand and type of batteries were used? It would be interesting to do an internet search to see if they have a problem with overheating.

[JustShootin']

There's one thing for sure. Until this is solved, I will not sleep a wink!:lol:

[Permagrin]

Batteries will only overheat if they discharge excessively, and the device they're in has to draw the excessive current. I blame the camera.

If there was a battery fault independent of the camera,

it would likely have affected only one of the batteries. The photos suggest (but don't confirm) otherwise.
no camera would have been needed. The battery or batteries should have started overheating in the charger and have been too hot to install into the camera.
the batteries would likely have had problems already - they had already been in service (presumably without trouble) in another camera. I, too, suspect the camera.

-jeff-

I'm with you both (not that you needed a fan club ;) ). But I do agree that the draw has to be the issue...

[SuperBet]

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&fcategoryid=218&modelid=13390&keycode=2111&id=28799

[rpolitsr]

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&fcategoryid=218&modelid=13390&keycode=2111&id=28799

Although the linked page title is

Safety Notice: PowerShot A530 / A540 Overheats

it is obvious that the spring causing the problem is in the same wrong position in the picture of the A640 posted by Hot Shot:

http://sites.google.com/site/rpolitsr/r_polit_3/pictures/miscelanea/canon_A540_spring.gif

Perhaps it is more than just a coincidence.

[Lacene]

I believe that the problem stems from possible contact between the metal wire of the hinge spring and the battery contacts. The overheating, and subsequent melting, charring, and burning would originate in this location. However, from the OP's picture, it appears that the overheating took place with the batteries on the outside of the enclosure, or away from the hinge. The batteries closest to the hinge look fine, and undamaged......

[vivona]

A fully charged NiMH AA battery can supply enough amperage to cause the kind of overheating seen in the picture. The spring on the A640 door is different than the A530-540 and looks to be correctly bent into the hole provided.

What appears to have happened is a direct short of one or more batteries, either by the battery case or by a defect in the camera electronics. In looking at the picture, it appears that the battery to the left has a bare spot at the outer edge. If that is indeed true, and if the negative shell of the battery extends up that far, then the battery contact would have shorted that cell.

In any event, Canon should have insisted that you return the defective camera directly to the factory for inspection by their engineers to determine the exact cause of the overheating. To simply ask you to return the camera to your dealer for a replacement adds the dealer into the mix. If the dealer doesn't send the camera back, or messes with it, then Canon loses the opportunity to inspect the evidence. There could have been a manufacturing defect with the battery contacts and early detection could save them a lot of grief. You should contact Canon again and ask to speak to a manager and give them one more opportunity to get the camera back for inspection. However, unless they authorize an immediate replacement from your dealer, you may get stuck without a camera until they send you a new one.

[Peiling]

oh no....sounds bad and looks bad....i just bought my A640....it better behave and be good...

[tjm53]

We have sold thousands of the Canon Powershot models and I have never heard of anything like this happening. I would definitely work through your dealer to make sure this is brought to Canon's attention and have the camera replaced.