The brand-new (or rather a factory-new) battery will not charge.

[Tomek]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

A few years ago, I bought an original battery for the Leica M10. It lay in the closet for several years, and finally, I decided to use it. However, my disappointment is considerable. The battery won't charge. After inserting it into the charger, the green diode flashes slowly first. Then this LED flashes faster. Again after a while, the green and orange LEDs flash quickly, and it has been going on for hours. Should I assume that a reasonably expensive battery has broken from disuse? Maybe someone knows some method to revive such a battery?

[Guest]

From going flat to fully charge can take 3 - 4 hours, possibly longer.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited November 1, 2022 by OThomas

[Tomek]

I know this part of the manual, but it does not describe the difference between slow and fast flashing of the LEDs. I understand it takes hours to recharge but I have zero effect after two days. The second battery that I have been using since buying the M10 is charging normally so it's not a charger problem

[Guest]

@Tomek you may be right then and it is a duff battery. Have you ever used it? I suppose it’s out of warranty now then.

Sorry about the teaching your granny how to suck eggs post, but with several of these types of questions the post author hadn’t looked at the manual. So now I put up the manual page first to stop a lot of wasted time. 

[Tomek]

@OThomas thank you very much for help. I very much appreciate it. This is very new battery, never charged and even first time opened from the box. Do you have bay chance access to the "deeper" charger manual to find out what means slow and fast flashing of the LEDs?

[a.noctilux]

Maybe user error,

not recharging the battery, twice a year for 15 minutes to avoid a full discharge.

as seen in M10 manual page 203 in English.

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Tomek]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

@a.noctilux - this is my error for sure. I did not charge battery for years. But my question was rather to focus on possibility to revitalize it - not to find the reason of current situation. I don't know how intelligent is the M10 battery but as it keeps settings it should has BMS (battery management system). Maybe someone knows how to charge a little bit the battery bypassing BMS and then opening doors for regular charging procedure?

[Guest]

Quote

Rapid flashing of the two LEDs (> 2 Hz) when charging commences indicates a charging error (e.g. maximum charging time exceeded, voltages or temperatures outside permitted ranges or a short circuit). Disconnect the charger from the mains and remove the battery. Ensure that the above temperature conditions are met and then restart the charging process. Please contact your dealer, the Leica representative in your region or Leica Camera AG if the problem persists.

@Tomek I’ve only got what’s in the manual - page 12. It says disconnect the charger, remove battery and then give it another go. I’m assuming you’ve tried that already.

Edited November 1, 2022 by OThomas

[Chimichurri]

6 hours ago, Tomek said:

Should I assume that a reasonably expensive battery has broken from disuse?

Yes. It’s a paper weight at this point. 

[Guest]

If you do get a new battery, then rotate the use with the other battery. That should avoid the problem happening again.

[jakontil]

14 hours ago, Tomek said:

I know this part of the manual, but it does not describe the difference between slow and fast flashing of the LEDs. I understand it takes hours to recharge but I have zero effect after two days. The second battery that I have been using since buying the M10 is charging normally so it's not a charger problem

There was such indication in the manual where the battery probably need to be replaced, i just read it today since i was trying to find out how much voltage the charger can take

meaning to plug the charger with the correct usb charger, since i used the usb dc adapter

[Siriusone59]

14 hours ago, Tomek said:

@a.noctilux - this is my error for sure. I did not charge battery for years. But my question was rather to focus on possibility to revitalize it - not to find the reason of current situation. I don't know how intelligent is the M10 battery but as it keeps settings it should has BMS (battery management system). Maybe someone knows how to charge a little bit the battery bypassing BMS and then opening doors for regular charging procedure?

I believe this could be done as I've performed the task on much less expensive cordless drill batteries by momentarily charging directly to the battery output terminals, bypassing the BMS as you say.  Might be worth trying rather than it becoming a paperweight. 

In this case however, I believe a call to Leica support might be the best option.  They've probably dealt with this a few times and could either explain how to revive it or maybe even do it for you.

[Gobert]

I think that I’ve seen a discussion similar like this on this forum a couple of years ago. May be you can find it in the search function.

[Chimichurri]

Basically, batteries like these should be stored at 50% or more capacity and should be charged every 6 months if they’re going to be left in storage without being used. So every 6 months to 50% or more. 

If you let it die and leave it this way the cells will reach a voltage so low (below 2v) that even if you were able to charge it, it won’t retain the charge for long. 

In other words, you need to get a new one. But by the sounds of it it doesn’t seem like you need 2 batteries. 

I have 2 and usually I use only 1. From time to time I charge them both fully and mix them around in my hand so I don’t know which is which. That way both get used regularly. 

These batteries are so expensive I would never think of leaving it in the package. These lithium batteries will discharge themselves over time. 

You probably were thinking of regular AA non rechargeable batteries you buy at the store that you can leave in a package for a decade. That’s not the same as rechargeable batteries. 

Edited November 3, 2022 by Chimichurri

[jdlaing]

Today I found an iPhone 4 in a box in the garage from 2010. I plugged it in to see if it would take a charge and it was 85% charged. Surprise.

[Tomek]

@Chimichurri 

Thank you for reply

1. I fully agree with you wrote but that was not the idea of my post. I know why the battery does not work, but I am very surprised that the factory new battery does not work. I believe there are stores around the world where the M10 battery has been packed in storage for more than a year. My question was not "why" but "how". How to revive such a battery?
2. I use more than one battery and need more than one battery. This is my fourth battery that I have forgotten - it has been lying in the closet since its purchase (about 3-4 years ago). Agree again - my fault.
3. In fact, each LEICA product is very expensive ☹️
4. I wasn't thinking about classic, non-rechargeable batteries. And it's not entirely true that they can lie for years without using them. Sometimes they just "pour out" if the manufacturer does not take care of the details of the housing.
5. Cases of complete discharge of the battery are known not in the category of years, but months. Often, for example, an electric scooter left for the winter without charging ends with a discharged battery, which cannot be charged in the classic way and you have to bypass the BMS to provide voltage to the control. Generally, this is successful and then the battery works as expected. This is the solution I am looking for hoping someone has some experience with the LEICA battery.

[Tomek]

@jdlaing I am not very surprised. The batteries in the iPhone are not removable, so they do not have a BMS of their own. Probably the battery data is kept in flash memory just like other parameters. But the result you got is surprisingly good 😀

[Chimichurri]

43 minutes ago, Tomek said:

My question was not "why" but "how". How to revive such a battery?

you should be able to just put it in the charger and charge it.

I don’t think there’s a way to magically revive it. 

[lawman]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:16 AM, Tomek said:

A few years ago, I bought an original battery for the Leica M10. It lay in the closet for several years, and finally, I decided to use it. However, my disappointment is considerable. The battery won't charge. After inserting it into the charger, the green diode flashes slowly first. Then this LED flashes faster. Again after a while, the green and orange LEDs flash quickly, and it has been going on for hours. Should I assume that a reasonably expensive battery has broken from disuse? Maybe someone knows some method to revive such a battery?

Try putting the battery in the freezer for a few hours. Remove and let it get to room temperature and then try to charge again in the Leica charger. This may restore the chemical balance in the battery - it's worked several times for me - good luck 🙂

 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Henners]

Further to lawman's comment you could also try warming the battery up on the radiator (wrap so there's two layers from a tea towel underneath) and see if that helps the battery chemistry get moving again. Direct charging it can also work but is a little more specialist. Sometimes just putting batteries in a charger and leaving them for a day seems to trickle charge sometimes and then the BMS kicks in and charges it as normal. It'll never be as good as a looked after battery but might be useful, like 60-80% capacity I would guess.

I don't really have much knowledge on any of this, that's just my vague findings from messing around myself over the years.