Battery recalibration

[chris_tribble]

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My earliest battery appears to be failing. It seems not to be holding charge consistently - sometimes it's good for days, other times it fails unexpectedly in camera - without warning.

 

Does any one have experience of re-conditioning a leica lithium-ion battery? There seem to be recipes for doing this for laptops, but I don't know if it's worth it on the M. At the moment I'm leaving it on charge over night and will then try running it to zero and then repeating the cycle for a couple of sessions. The only problem here is that I have memories of someone saying that this can actually damage Li batteries.

 

Advice from the more knowledgeable appreciated! (and yes, I'm getting a new replacement anyway!)

[AlanJW]

Chris, the only way I know is what you are doing. Running it down and recharging. If that doesn't work, it is time for a new one.

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[jaapv]

Don't worry, unless you empty it totally using a light bulb you will not be able to run it down completely. However, older Li-Ion batteries do wear out and fail, so I think you are due for a new one.

[bocaburger]

Ik Li-Ion batteries deteriorate over time, and after around 500 recharges. I can't fathom how either of those criteria could be met in the time the M240 has been out though. I can't help thinking there might be a defect in the battery that has shortened its life.

[chris_tribble]

Thanks for comments. I'll go through the cycling and see. If the battery proves to be more reliable I'll report back.

BTW - any one done anything systematic to review how well the Leica L-i batteries hold charge if stored for a long time. If I relegate the problem battery to back-up I'm not sure if it's worth it if I can't trust it..

 

PS - like others, I find it hard to believe that the battery's gone over 500 recharge cycles - pretty certain it hasn't.

[wattsy]

Chris, I suspect Leica will replace it for you if you take it to the customer services café place in Mayfair and explain how it is failing.

[farnz]

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Chris,

 

I presume you've already cleaned the battery terminals for good measure? (Accumulated detritus that lurks patiently in the bottoms of camera bags can spring while you sleep and substantially affect the performance of a battery.)

 

Pete.

[chris_tribble]

The Q-tips have been deployed. Fairly sure it's the battery as I have the other 3 marked and it's only seems to be this one that causes the problem. Leica Mayfair confirm that they can test and replace if there's a fault.