Tale of En-el 18c batteries charging. Help

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vet4scuba

vet4scuba

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Hi
I bought a new En-el-18c battery tried to charge it with a Nikon charger that I got with my D6. All that happened was the lights flashed rapidly, tried to calibrate it and the same situation , just flashing light s left it on the charger for 24 hours. I know the charger is good it chargers the En-el 18c that came with the camera, Returned the battery to B&H . They sent me a replacement . Same situation with the new batterie, just flashing lights ... Whats the chance of getting two bad batteries. Any ideas ????
Thanks. Joe Marco Island Fl. Am going to lket the battery rest for 24 hours and try again tomorrow am...
 
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I've heard of issues with 18c batteries made in Aug and Sept 2018. One issue is that they loose their initial charge over time and that's the end of them. I read recently that Nikon admitted to having a problem with those batts made on those dates. I have 2 of them, the first was fine but the second one did the same thing. I put it on the other side of the charger and it took the charge and has been fine since. So to answer the question, very much possible to have multiple batteries bad. There was a guy in Canada just before the D6 came out that bought a new D5 from a dealer, same problem. Dealer replaced the battery several times (until he was out of stock) and same thing. Eventually the guy sent the d5 back and not long after got a new D6.
 
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interesting the battery that came with the camera is 2019.05.AT ( which works great ) and this bad one is 2018.06 AT ...... looks like I will wind up sending this one back .
Joe Marco Island Fl.
 
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vet4scuba said:
interesting the battery that came with the camera is 2019.05.AT ( which works great ) and this bad one is 2018.06 AT ...... looks like I will wind up sending this one back .
Joe Marco Island Fl.
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Yeah, while not part of the reported batch per se, I think Nikon may end up having to expand their timeframes. OTOH, it's over 2 years old and they only put a minimal charge in them when they make them. I believe that charge dissipates over time and when L-ion batteries go flat there's no getting them back. What surprizes me is B&H, I'd think they have better turnover than that unless they "got a deal" on a stock of older batts. If it were me, I would send it back.
 
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I haven't heard about things like that happening with original Nikon batteries up to now, but because I recently got my D4S I did a bit of research on replacement batteries and I found reports talking about battery packs that needed to run through a calibration loop in the Nikon charger once, before they could be used in the camera. May be you give that a try.
 
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Robin said:
So maybe the recipients could fully charge batteries before resale and avoid all these problems to customers ?
Or is that asking too much do you think?
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I think it could create problems for the dealers. If the batteries can't be shipped over 30% charged, you'd have to carefully monitor the charging process. The dealer would also have to invest in a charger. For a small B&M store that could be a real pain. I would think the situation will improve in time, especially if customers keep sending defective product back. though that depends on how Nikon treats their dealers. If they leave them hanging I suspect it'll get harder to find OEM batteries.
 
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I have gotten three of these EN-EL 18c batteries from B & H. All DOA - won't register in the D6 or charge in the D6 charger. The battery which came with the camera works great (2019 serial #). I have left them in the charger (with alternate blinking lights) for six hours, without any sign of revival. Is it safe for the charger to just let it keep blinking for 24 hours to give a final try? The calibrate button does nothing when the dud batteries are in place.
B & H customer service closed until 10/12, but if keeping it in the charger for 24 hrs worked and is safe to do, I'll give it a try! I just hate to ruin anything with the charger and only one good battery!
So - ya all think it's safe to try? No hot batteries, fires, sparks??? Thanks in advance for advice!
 
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I would not leave a dud battery in the charger. The code for the blinking lights indicates either a defective battery or charger. Nikon says to remove the battery immediately. In my case, I took the battery out of the charger and let it sit for an hour. I then tried the other charging port and it did take a charge. I'd be on the phone with Nikon insisting they replace them including a prepaid shipping label.
 
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Thanks so much - that is safer! I tried both ports. The blinking lights indicated a defective battery. Will try Nikon. Many thanks for such a prompt reply, Warren. I was actually YOUR last note that tempted me to try again!
 
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Michael said:
Thanks so much - that is safer! I tried both ports. The blinking lights indicated a defective battery. Will try Nikon. Many thanks for such a prompt reply, Warren. I was actually YOUR last note that tempted me to try again!
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I did not get mine from B&H, but it is part of the date code of concern. I monitored the initial charging very carefully, as I always do. Once I'm satisfied a new battery is functioning properly I have no reservations leaving one charging unattended. Maybe I'm overly cautious but I really don't want to burn my own house down....
In my case, the second insertion resulted in normal charging indications so I let it go the distance. Had it failed the second attempt, I would have sent it back. I did contact my dealer anyway, I had the option to return it but as it seemed to function normally after that, I decided to keep it.
 
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Hi.
I believe that Nikon changed something in the D6 to make only NIKON batterys compatable with the D6 , there by killing off the generic battery makers. My en-el 18c that came with my D6 worked perfectly. But the extra nikon en-el 18c Date code 2018,6 Was DOA, sent it back, got a new one same date code ,left on charger for 24 hours, off charger for 24 hours , then after 2 false starts started to charge , and charged to 100% , and has held its charge. Do not give up.. it will charge.
 
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Having sold dozens of kits of EN EL 18/grip/charger for the D850 I have found that some batteries initially will only charge on the right hand side of the charger. This was implied early in the post.
 
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I had the same problem with the 18-c used in the charger that came with my D4-s .... B&H replaced and same problem. Contacted Nikon and they paid the freight to send the battery to them ... they "repaired" it and sent it back all under warranty and it works great now. Nikon did not say but it appears they are aware of a problem with a batch of the batteries.
 
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vet4scuba said:
Hi
I bought a new En-el-18c battery tried to charge it with a Nikon charger that I got with my D6. All that happened was the lights flashed rapidly, tried to calibrate it and the same situation , just flashing light s left it on the charger for 24 hours. I know the charger is good it chargers the En-el 18c that came with the camera, Returned the battery to B&H . They sent me a replacement . Same situation with the new batterie, just flashing lights ... Whats the chance of getting two bad batteries. Any ideas ????
Thanks. Joe Marco Island Fl. Am going to lket the battery rest for 24 hours and try again tomorrow am...
Click to expand...
After two 18-c batteries would not work in the charger that came with my D4s ... Nikon said it was not the charger and then paid the shipping both ways and did something to "repair" the battery they did not say what but it now works great in my old charger.
 
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Ken Miracle said:
I had the same problem with the 18-c used in the charger that came with my D4-s .... B&H replaced and same problem. Contacted Nikon and they paid the freight to send the battery to them ... they "repaired" it and sent it back all under warranty and it works great now. Nikon did not say but it appears they are aware of a problem with a batch of the batteries.
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From what I have read, they are aware.
 
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