Battery issue?

[KiserBinNC]

Hey guys ... having an issue with the batteries in my D500, and hoping someone on here may have some answers ... I put what I think are fully-charged batteries into my D500, only to see the camera give me that "dead battery" icon ... doesn't matter if its a Nikon brand or third-party, new or older, in the camera itself or the vertical grip -- I get the same problem ... anybody run into this, and what did you do?

 

[n057]

Hey guys ... having an issue with the batteries in my D500, and hoping someone on here may have some answers ... I put what I think are fully-charged batteries into my D500, only to see the camera give me that "dead battery" icon ... doesn't matter if its a Nikon brand or third-party, new or older, in the camera itself or the vertical grip -- I get the same problem ... anybody run into this, and what did you do?

"dead battery icon" ???


JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

 

[KiserBinNC]

The battery icon on the top LCD panel will flash like its a dead battery, and nothing else shows up on the panel ...

 

[n057]

The battery icon on the top LCD panel will flash like its a dead battery, and nothing else shows up on the panel ...

Ah!

You say this happens with all batteries you tried? Do those batteries fail in all cameras? What type of charger do you use? Were that working previously?


JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

 

[KiserBinNC]

I use a Watson dual charger with the EN-EL 15 plates ...

 

[KiserBinNC]

It appears to be working properly ... but the way the power company here in the USVI is, the frequent power outages/surges could have done something to it (even though I have it hooked to a surge supressor) ...

 

[n057]

It appears to be working properly ... but the way the power company here in the USVI is, the frequent power outages/surges could have done something to it (even though I have it hooked to a surge supressor) ...

I am not familiar with the Watson chargers, I have no idea how to troubleshoot them, but there are a few here using them. Maybe you should start a new thread with Watson Charger in the subject, to attract more attention of those users.


JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

 

[Ricardo00]

It appears to be working properly ... but the way the power company here in the USVI is, the frequent power outages/surges could have done something to it (even though I have it hooked to a surge supressor) ...

You mean it was working properly before? Can you try an old Nikon charger? Have you tried the batteries in another camera?

 

[Leonard Shepherd]

Adding a possible partial explanation - I have an Energizer label battery that works fine in pre D500/850/Z7 bodies.

With the Energizer in these later bodies the battery icon on the top plate shows a battery outline only with nothing in the centre - and after a couple of seconds the battery outline starts to flash.

If this is what you are describing - the independent batteries are not compatible with your current camera :-(

Nikon batteries should work normally.

If they do not as has been suggested you ideally need to try some-one else's Nikon charger, Nikon battery and Nikon body to locate where the problem is.

 

[Ringwraith69]

Adding a possible partial explanation - I have an Energizer label battery that works fine in pre D500/850/Z7 bodies.

With the Energizer in these later bodies the battery icon on the top plate shows a battery outline only with nothing in the centre - and after a couple of seconds the battery outline starts to flash.

If this is what you are describing - the independent batteries are not compatible with your current camera :-(

Nikon batteries should work normally.

If they do not as has been suggested you ideally need to try some-one else's Nikon charger, Nikon battery and Nikon body to locate where the problem is.

I guess you're referring to this issue with older generation batteries:

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000004779&configured=1&lang=en_US

I had the same experience with some older generation third party batteries I'd bought for my D800. They were completely 'dead' in the D500. Luckily this third party manufacturer (Jupio) offered me a very generous deal on some updated versions of the batteries (something like a 75% discount on 4 new batteries), but this issue could explain the OP's problem.

 

[Brzda]

I came to the forums to ask about a battery issue in my D500 and this thread was on top... so let me add my issues and I hope it's not something preprogrammed in D500 to speed up it's end of life or some other conspiracy theory

I have two original Nikon EN-EL15 and original Nikon charger. I usually get about 500 photos. Not great but ok. But on this vacation, I keep switching batteries daily. So I checked my mileage today and I was flabbergasted to learn I only got 147 images on the last charge. What's happening?

I switched batteries and the fresh one gives 97% charge so it's not like the charger cannot fully charge. The batteries seem all fine and charged yet they give me so few images. I do use liveview quite a bit and shoot maybe half images with Godox XProN flash trigger on. Still I can't figure out why I get such a miserable battery performance.

Any ideas?

 

[Ricardo00]

I came to the forums to ask about a battery issue in my D500 and this thread was on top... so let me add my issues and I hope it's not something preprogrammed in D500 to speed up it's end of life or some other conspiracy theory

I have two original Nikon EN-EL15 and original Nikon charger. I usually get about 500 photos. Not great but ok. But on this vacation, I keep switching batteries daily. So I checked my mileage today and I was flabbergasted to learn I only got 147 images on the last charge. What's happening?

I switched batteries and the fresh one gives 97% charge so it's not like the charger cannot fully charge. The batteries seem all fine and charged yet they give me so few images. I do use liveview quite a bit and shoot maybe half images with Godox XProN flash trigger on. Still I can't figure out why I get such a miserable battery performance.

Any ideas?

I don't have any idea but I have to say, I have had the same problem with both my D500s since I bought them (I bought the first one when it came out and the second one more than a year later). I am sure you can find lots more posts on this (one of which I started several years ago) and many people saying how there is no battery problem with the D500 as long as you use the Li-ion 20 batteries (which from your pic you are using). Some people say one should send it to Nikon but I have never done this. However others did not find this helped. What seems to be particularly problematic is using live view. Other than that, nothing seems to help. I even bought the new EN-EL15b battery and had the same problem with that brand new battery. Occasionally when I pick up my camera (and I know I left it with several bars of charge), the battery has drained to nothing. This happened about a week ago, not sure how many times this has happened by now, but enough times that I always check the battery as soon as I pick it up and always carry spare batteries (one in my pocket and another in my back pack). This problem in my experience has only been with my D500 (never had a similar problem with my D200, D7000, D7100, or D7200). And has happened with two different D500s. So I assume there is something not ideal with the power management in the D500. If you do figure it out, please let us know!

 

[Brzda]

Exactly, when I upgraded from D7200 to D500 I was really disappointed with the battery life of D500. D7200 could stay powered on, never drained the battery and would deliver easily over 1000 images. With D500, you have to keep it in airplane mode ON, you have to keep swtiching it off between shots and still I would never ever get close to 1000 images. However, my current situation when I don't shoot much but I change batteries daily and I only get about 150 images, that is beyond me...

 

[Brzda]

BTW. I've been using my D500 for about 2 years now but this is a completely new situation.

 

[n057]

I came to the forums to ask about a battery issue in my D500 and this thread was on top... so let me add my issues and I hope it's not something preprogrammed in D500 to speed up it's end of life or some other conspiracy theory

I have two original Nikon EN-EL15 and original Nikon charger. I usually get about 500 photos. Not great but ok. But on this vacation, I keep switching batteries daily. So I checked my mileage today and I was flabbergasted to learn I only got 147 images on the last charge. What's happening?

I switched batteries and the fresh one gives 97% charge so it's not like the charger cannot fully charge. The batteries seem all fine and charged yet they give me so few images. I do use liveview quite a bit and shoot maybe half images with Godox XProN flash trigger on. Still I can't figure out why I get such a miserable battery performance.

Any ideas?

Not sure, but you mention live-view ,,, The display is a battery hog. If you keep using it, it will drain the battery faster than usual. I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf. People seem to be getting many more shots per charge when they blast away than when they use sparingly over days.

You might want to heed the note in the User Manual, page 393:



Happy shooting!

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

 

[Ricardo00]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

 

[DAVID MANZE]

I have had quite bit to do with lithium ion batteries recently building battery packs for my electric bike ...... their state of charge is directly related to their voltage ......

3.7 v is the nominal voltage for a single cell and fully charged that rises to 4.1-4.2 volts depending on the cut off point of the regulated charger......

..... as there are two in series a fully charged battery should measure between 8.2-8.4 volts .......

So you could try measuring their voltages that would give an accurate indication of whether they are charged up to their maximum .... if not you could have a faulty charger .... if the voltage is 8 volts or more the camera could be the source of the problem;

 

[n057]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

Last condition listed in the quote from the user manual in my previous post

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www.dpreview.com

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

 

[Ricardo00]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

Last condition listed in the quote from the user manual in my previous post

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64212094

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hmmm, guess you added the part about "pretty fast"? Yes all batteries lose some of their charge sitting around, but the loss I have seen with my Nikon batteries left sitting is what I would call very slow, not "pretty fast". Meaning a few months, not overnight like I have seen in the D500.

 

[n057]

I understand you replace with afreshly charged battery but just in case, these batteries self-discharge pretty fast with the camera sitting on the shelf.

Not sure why you say this, haven't seen the batteries self-discharging when not in the D500 or when in my D7200. I have only had this problem when the batteries were in my D500s. Can you cite a reference for this observation?

Last condition listed in the quote from the user manual in my previous post

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64212094

JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers

Hmmm, guess you added the part about "pretty fast"? Yes all batteries lose some of their charge sitting around, but the loss I have seen with my Nikon batteries left sitting is what I would call very slow, not "pretty fast". Meaning a few months, not overnight like I have seen in the D500.

We are in violent agreement. Battery in camera, camera sitting on a shelf. We are talking D500 here


JC
Some cameras, some lenses, some computers