Some time ago, in BP-511 discussions, I said I would report back to the Forum...*what* was inside a 'dead' BP-511. [Maybe this is Common Knowledge now... forgive me if it is]
Last week I finally had a BP-511 die. A "MHBP-511" to be exact...$30 as I recall. I mean Zero Volts ! A few minutes ago I pried it apart. Interesting. As expected, there were two 'cells' bonded together at one end of the pair. What WAS interesting was that across the other end was a small printed circuit board. On that board
are twelve (12) surface mount caps or something, as well as two (2) integrated circuits [eight terminals]. The leads that the camera touch go to the board, not the battery. The two smaller leads also go to the board, and are marked 'ID'... which confirms my thought that the True Canon Multiple charger checks for 'ethic purity' before letting it work!
Each cell 'makes' voltage, so it looks like whenever a BP-511 'fails', it is likely the electronics in the brown/grey case rather than the battery itself.
Useless information, but interesting... at least, to me...


taking a big care
