Non-working M8 Charger

[WPalank]

I plugged in my M8 battery charger the other day with battery to find none of the lights working. To take my diagnosis one step further, I used the car cigarette lighter adapter and found that everything worked perfectly. I just left it in the car (garaged) overnight and found a freshly charged battery the next day.

Anyway, I called Leica service NJ and they are sending me a US plughead hoping that is the problem. The polite gentleman that was helping me checked the system and there were no chargers in inventory and he had no idea when they might be getting more.
Has anyone had a similar problem (I did a quick search on the forum to no avail)? What are the chances it is just the plug head?

Problem is I am doing a shoot in India and flying out Nov.27 from the US. I guess I can have my car shipped ahead of me. Thank you in advance.

[marknorton]

I would say the chances of it being the plug-head are close to zero. The charger has a soldered in fuse and I expect that has failed - shown circled here...

Battery Charger Fuse.JPG

An alternative is to use your lap-top brick connected to the charger - that input can run from about 10v to 24v, so you just need to figure out a way of connecting it.

[mikeadams]

As some of you may remember, I had a charger failure in Shanghai a few weeks ago. I went to all the Leica dealers there, all said they could order, none had extras in stock, and none of the repair people could figure out how to open it up. In my case, it is likely the fuse, but how do you get it open? No screws that I could see.

I will take mine to Camera West this week and send it in if I have to, but it would also be ideal to have a way to interface with the battery for other charger options.

Mike
http://www.trft.org/chinaphotoclass/

[marknorton]

You take out the 4 plastic plugs at each corner - lever them up with a small blade, they are just pressed in - and there are then 4 anti-tamper screws.

If you don't have a tamper-proof screw-driver set, you can file a notch in the flat blade of an old screwdriver.

Keep in mind that capacitor is charged to 1.414 times the power supply line voltage and is not isolated by a transformer from the supply line. The screws are anti-tamper for a reason.

[fjmcsu]

I had exactly the same problem & fix(travel charger worked).The local Leica rep did find another one for me but it took awhile.since the were(are) in short supply.I suspect, as was mentioned it was an internal problem(solder, etc) which caused it to stop working)

[Shootist]

Originally Posted by marknorton

I would say the chances of it being the plug-head are close to zero. The charger has a soldered in fuse and I expect that has failed - shown circled here...

Attachment 58852

An alternative is to use your lap-top brick connected to the charger - that input can run from about 10v to 24v, so you just need to figure out a way of connecting it.

Mark are you saying I can take one of my older Dell Notebook power supplies and connect that to the receptacle on the charger for the car adapter?

I have a extra notebook socket and 2 car plugs for the M8 chargers, as I have 2 M8's.
Or I could get a car cigarette lighter socket and connect the extra notebook socket to it. Then just use the standard M8 car power cord.

[WPalank]

Originally Posted by mikeadams

As some of you may remember, I had a charger failure in Shanghai a few weeks ago.http://www.trft.org/chinaphotoclass/

Mike,
Do you think the problem was in the charger BEFORE leaving for China or once plugging in there?

Come to think of it, I think my problem occured after I arrived from China a couple of weeks ago. I think I only charged my batteries there once or twice (I had another camera system as well).
Maybe we're on to something!?

[marknorton]

The charger can connect to a car battery or other power supply in the range 10 - 24 v (I use a Sony 19v supply) and a laptop "brick" easily has enough power to run it. All you need to do is make the right connection, observing polarity.

Sony and Toshiba bricks are fine, Apple are not because their's will only switch on when connected to an Apple laptop. To check get a voltmeter (from Home Depot for example) and check the voltage between the centre and outside pins. The centre pin is "positive".

For travelling, I take a single brick with the required power cable according to where I'm going. I have a set of cables which allow that same brick to power my laptop, Leica charger, Sony-Ericsson phone and iPod.

[wparsonsgisnet]

Originally Posted by marknorton

You take out the 4 plastic plugs at each corner - lever them up with a small blade, they are just pressed in - and there are then 4 anti-tamper screws.

If you don't have a tamper-proof screw-driver set, you can file a notch in the flat blade of an old screwdriver.

Keep in mind that capacitor is charged to 1.414 times the power supply line voltage and is not isolated by a transformer from the supply line. The screws are anti-tamper for a reason.

Mark, for clarification, getting a shock from this capacitor would be nasty but not lethal? If not lethal, should the experimenter expect a burn?

[marknorton]

Bill, I cannot emphasize enough that anyone should avoid getting an electric shock, however mild. Current flowing across the chest to ground can disrupt the electrical signals of the heart and cause cardiac arrest.

Therefore, for anyone opening the charger, you should short out the black capacitor with an insulated screwdriver, just to be sure, and you should not operate the charger with the cover removed while it is connected to the supply.

I deal with electronics every day and to me, there's no such thing as a safe electric shock.

There's no risk at all running the charger from a 12v supply.

[Albert4321]

didn't someone posted that there is a new dual charger one can get (perhaps easier than the orignal part)?

Having read this thread, I should get a spare charger, or a 2nd M8. ;-)

[mikeadams]

William, I had the M8 charger plugged in to the wall for about 2 hours, but it was falling out due to its weight, so I unplugged it to reseat it and it worked no more.

All my chargers, 6 others, all are like the M8, universal, 100-250 volts more or less. My Digilux 2 and D-Lux 2, D-200, Panasonic, etc., work fine in China.

Mike
http://www.trft.org/chinaphotoclass/

[WPalank]

Mr. Norton,
As usual you were correct. The new US plughead arrived from LNJ today (thank you for sending it 2nd day post) and didn't help things so it must be the fuse. Interesting how that a charged battery does power the little green Power light ever so slightly, so I did jhave a glimmer of hope. Also, after unplugging it from the socket I touched the metal portion of the plughead and got a bit of a shock.

[marknorton]

Yes, it's a weak design, the fact that there's a current drain from the battery back into the charger circuitry when the charger is not powered.

I'm surprised you got a shock from the pins - another poor aspect of the design. The fuse is connected directly to one of those pins which suggests the fuse is OK and that the problem is in the power supply. Any smell of burning or signs of overheating?

All in all, it's a pretty dismal offering.

[Quorrell]

I just plugged in my charger, popped in a battery and BANG! well more of a phut! really. A small flash and a wisp of smoke. Needless to say it doesn't work. Let's see how quickly they get it sorted out.

[Quorrell]

Do You think this what Leica intended as a portable battery charging unit? At least it works until Leica get off their backsides and have the decency to reply to my email.

Phill

[Quorrell]

I take it back, they have replied, they need the old charger back before they will do anything. Ah! well it's back to my EOS1 as back up, it's getting to be a regular occurance.

Phill

[WPalank]

Phil,
Sorry for your problem. I simply called service, explained the dilemma (that the charger is working with my cigarette lighter adapter) and a new one is on it's way. They told me to send in the broken one once I receive the new one.

[marknorton]

Originally Posted by Quorrell

I just plugged in my charger, popped in a battery and BANG! well more of a phut! really. A small flash and a wisp of smoke. Needless to say it doesn't work. Let's see how quickly they get it sorted out.

Ah yes, the acrid smell of electronics blowing up. A few of my projects have started off like that. 400 volts the wrong way across an electrolytic capacitor definitely gets your day started with a bang.

Pity there isn't more trust there. The charger's a clunker, we know that, they know that and need to do better.

[wparsonsgisnet]

I am in line to purchase the new, double charger. Leica is taking a v-e-r-y long time to cut the deal with the manufacturer so we can buy these things..............

As a charter member of the Always Have Two Club, I need my fix (so to speak).