Faulty Canon battery charger (EOS 5D Mark II)

[Xenedis]

I discovered the other day that the battery charger supplied with my Canon EOS 5D Mark II has stopped working, seemingly.

When I plug it in and seat the battery, the LED does not illuminate.

I've tried different power points, and jiggled the cable.

Is there a problem with it?

Is there anything I can do?

Is there any other way to charge the battery? It's at 92% capacity now, but once it runs out, I'm stuck.

[pmack]

Do you only have one battery? If so i would suspect it is more likely that the battery has failed?
I purchased two Phottix batteries off ebay for about $30 a few days ago, and they seem pretty legit. maybe try that first before forking out ~$100 for a charger that you don't need?
I've had a canon battery die on me before so do not have loyalty to sticking to canon batteries... btw when my battery went, it would just apear to charge after like 5 minutes (but it didn't really charge), so in your case it seems a bit different.

[Xenedis]

Do you only have one battery?

Yes.


If so i would suspect it is more likely that the battery has failed?

The battery works in the camera. That's also how I know it has 92% of its charge.


I purchased two Phottix batteries off ebay for about $30 a few days ago, and they seem pretty legit. maybe try that first before forking out ~$100 for a charger that you don't need?

The battery is working; the charger is what seems faulty. I shouldn't expect to have to buy a new charger if the camera is under warranty, although I'm not sure if the charger would be covered by the warranty. I should hope so!

If the battery really is faulty, then the fault appears to be with the charging; the camera is otherwise fully functional with the battery inserted.

[JM Tran]

have ya tried cleaning the metal contacts of the charger guv'nor? :)

surprised u only have 1 battery for it, I have 6!

[Xenedis]

have ya tried cleaning the metal contacts of the charger guv'nor? :)

I haven't, but given the age of it (less than six months) and the fact that I store it in a container, I doubt the contacts are dirty.


surprised u only have 1 battery for it, I have 6!

I've not found myself needing more than one battery.

[ZedEx]

My money is on the charger. I love canon and all, but their chargers (in my experience) have a nasty habit of dying suddenly

[Fantasyphoto]

Xen the charger will be included in the warranty, perhaps you could contact another 5D II owner at our club and ask them to bring their charger to the meeting on Thursday so you can try the battery in it?

[Xenedis]

Thanks for the responses.

I cannot say I've observed Canon chargers to be fault-prone -- the chargers supplied with my previous cameras have been fine.

It so happens that a 5D II-owning colleague had his charger with him today, so I have borrowed that and will isolate the faulty component (ie, cable, charger or battery).

Fantasy, I won't be at the meeting due to work commitments again, but I will contact Canon after I have determined which component is faulty. If it can be replaced under warranty, all good.

[Bercy]

I have 2 chargers! Never had a problem in 4 years. Sounds unusual to have a device failure - especiallu with no moving parts. Woulk think a replacement under warranty. It may take a few days for Canon to have a committee meeting about the status of the charger, then diligent investigation, a review meeting and then they might replace it. In the meantime I'd find a friend with a charger and by a few batteries to keep you happy.

[Xenedis]

Update:

In a nutshell, my charger is faulty.

More details from the tests I conducted with my battery, two chargers and two AC cables:


My charger + my cable = fail.
My charger + borrowed cable = fail.
Borrowed charger + borrowed cable = success.
Borrowed charger + my cable = success.

I'll contact Canon to obtain a replacement.

[ZedEx]

Me neither. i'd only had one blow on me, personally. However, working in photo retail, i get to see a good cross section of various faults by manufacturers, and Canon ain't the best with chargers it seems. Most noteably, BP-511A chargers for some reason. I'd replaced quite a few of those in particular.
There are no moving parts but as with anything electronic circuit board components can pop whenever


Thanks for the responses.

I cannot say I've observed Canon chargers to be fault-prone -- the chargers supplied with my previous cameras have been fine.

It so happens that a 5D II-owning colleague had his charger with him today, so I have borrowed that and will isolate the faulty component (ie, cable, charger or battery).

Fantasy, I won't be at the meeting due to work commitments again, but I will contact Canon after I have determined which component is faulty. If it can be replaced under warranty, all good.

[Xenedis]

Me neither. i'd only had one blow on me, personally. However, working in photo retail, i get to see a good cross section of various faults by manufacturers, and Canon ain't the best with chargers it seems. Most noteably, BP-511A chargers for some reason. I'd replaced quite a few of those in particular.

Interesting. I've had two chargers for the BP-511A and both were fine.

Hopefully Canon will simply replace it outright very quickly.


There are no moving parts but as with anything electronic circuit board components can pop whenever

Indeed.

[pmack]

The battery works in the camera. That's also how I know it has 92% of its charge.


ahh yeah didn't think of that.

i too am surprised you only have one battery though!
i've checked out your site before and you clearly do a lot of photography. get a spare battery anyway :P

[Xenedis]

i too am surprised you only have one battery though!

Apparently that does come as a surprise to some people around here. :-)



i've checked out your site before and you clearly do a lot of photography. get a spare battery anyway :P

Yes, I've shot a few images.

With the subject matter I shoot, and the time I spend in the field, it would be quite difficult for me to drain the battery in one session.

Based on that, a spare would only be useful for a backup in case the main battery failed.

[pmack]

you should go travel, with no idea what you may need your camera for, and with the possibility of no power supply.... :)

[Xenedis]

you should go travel, with no idea what you may need your camera for, and with the possibility of no power supply.... :)

All well and good, but that scenario doesn't really apply to me.

[JM Tran]

All well and good, but that scenario doesn't really apply to me.

thats a concerning approach and attitude to me. By having just 1 battery and relying on that. Why do ppl carry a spare tyre in the car when 4 is fine! Right?

what if you are charging your single battery at the time, and have to wait until its recharged to shoot again, might miss something there......too many variables......

whats the motto of the Scouts again?

[Xenedis]

I am not interested in debating any further the benefits of having more than one battery.

That is not the purpose of this thread, and what I need is a new charger, not a philosophical lecture.

[Clubmanmc]

i have 4 older 511 canon chargers and they have all worked amazingly since i bought them... one is almost 5 years old, and yeah i did have 8 511A's for 32 bodies at one stage so the chargers got abused for a few hours at a time

M

[Xenedis]

An update:

I dropped into Canon HQ yesterday.

It's a warranty replacement, and should take several days to get a new charger.

Unfortunately I didn't have my proof of purchase with me, so I'll drop in again on Monday, and I should expect to have a new charger before the end of the week.

[Scotty72]

An update:

I dropped into Canon HQ yesterday.

It's a warranty replacement, and should take several days to get a new charger.

Unfortunately I didn't have my proof of purchase with me, so I'll drop in again on Monday, and I should expect to have a new charger before the end of the week.

Hang on!

You go to Canon HQ. You demonstrate it isn't working and even if you had the receipt, they still make you wait. (i can understand them wanting the receipt even though they could tell its age from their records). They can't just swap it on the spot for 1 of the 1000 they have in the store room?

Canon = good product but, one must question their care factor about customers.

Scotty

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xenedis]

Warranties take effect from the date of purchase. The charger could have been manufactured two years before I bought the camera, or two months before I bought it. The age of the charger isn't proof in itself that I am eligible for warranty service, and Canon may not even track chargers by serial number.

The only way Canon would know that I am eligible for warranty service is by me producing my receipt which shows the date.

That's fair enough, really.

Whether or not I could have my charger replaced on the spot depends on whether there are chargers in stock; if not, it'll be several days to acquire one.

I fortunately have access to another charger in the mean time, but I am unlikely to need it for the next week or two.

[maccaroneski]

You should have got them to throw in a free battery as well. You know you might need one, one of these days.

[pmack]

haha. and when that time comes, he'll think of this topic and think "damn they were right" :P
speaking of, i hope you are doing fine with the one battery and no charger in the meantime ;)

[OzzieTraveller]

No no Xenedis - it's not another charger replacement you need :D :D

You buy another camera and get the new charger that way

Regards - a very cheeky - Phil

[Schmenz]

canon at north ryde are pretty reasonable. i know lots of people that have had to pop in there to fix stuff / claim stuff and they are pretty good and fixing asap or swapping stuff on the spot. much better turn around than if we sent it to them from work :(

glad to hear its worked out :D

[Xenedis]

No no Xenedis - it's not another charger replacement you need :D :D

You buy another camera and get the new charger that way

That does seem like a logical move. Happy to oblige.

What was your credit card number again?


canon at north ryde are pretty reasonable. i know lots of people that have had to pop in there to fix stuff / claim stuff and they are pretty good and fixing asap or swapping stuff on the spot.

I've no complaints about Canon's service; I've been to its service centre on three or four occasions and I've never had a bad experience, but never has the replacement part been in stock.

I dropped my charger in yesterday, and anticipate I should have a new one by the end of the week. I'm not in a hurry.

[Scotty72]

Different to my experience :(

My faulty 24-105 L ... They quoted $700 plus GST to fix. They would only swap out a whole set of components (even stuff that wasn't broken - 'It's the way we work').

I got a call from a camera repair guy recommended by fellow users that the lens, which I took to them is fixed, test and warranted for 6 months, all for $370.

Not what I call fantastic service from Canon; particularly as I twice emailed them to appeal to their sense of fairness about the repair. I was factual and polite - Canon, after 2 weeks has not even acknowledged receipt of my emails.

Scotty

[Schmenz]

:( sorry to hear that scotty.

i rang canon once and they said theyd call back to fix my login, and they never did. i think their non face to face customer service is pretty poor, but when you walk in is generally better.