Nikon D40 battery failure!!!

[Tracker]

Warning!!!

Don't know if it's something unique to my USB port/PC, but I've had a second battery fail after leaving my camera hooked up to the USB port (but turned the camera off after transfer).

Put the battery on the charger and the charger's LED doesn't even light up. Tried freezing the battery, but no luck. Cleaned the contacts with a pencil eraser. The first failed battery was a Nikon battery and got Wolf to replace it. This one was my backup Eveready and it's failed the same way. :giveup:

[n578md]

Maybe it's your PC. I leave my D70A hooked up to the USB port all the time. The battery and camera are now almost 6 years old.

[slowride]

Tracker,
Same here with my D50. If you leave it hooked up to a pc USB port it will totally drain the battery and even kill it.

As far as ports, on my PC they are USB 2.0 I have no idea if that is an issue or not.

[jleewebb]

Why not just use a card reader, taking camera and battery out of equation altogether...cheap, works for me...

[Tracker]

Why not just use a card reader, taking camera and battery out of equation altogether...cheap, works for me...
kinda late for that solution, eh?

[Squeaky]

kinda late for that solution, eh?

Saves your next battery :shrug:

[Tracker]

no doubt. fool me twice--shame on me. expensive lesson.

[poser]

no doubt. fool me twice--shame on me. expensive lesson.

"fool me once and shame on me, fool me twice, and...uh....you can't get fooled again"

late to the convo, but yeah a $15 card reader will save your next battery, though I know thats little comfort having already gone through 2

[dixonduke]

Thanks for posting this thread up. I have left my camera unattended plugged into the computer on occasion. (when I forget the card reader at my office :doh:)

I will be more mindful now.

Sorry for your troubles Tracker, but kudo's for letting the rest of us know :thumb:

[Brotha J]

NEVER hook your camera to the computer via USB unless absolutley neccessary!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_u-9sWTIwv88/SB02YVKoPbI/AAAAAAAADMY/p0FprUXNy5M/s400/smokey-the-bear.jpg

ALWAYS use a card reader.

[Tracker]

Good news update.

It appears to be a detection problem; not a dead battery.

I left the battery on the charger (no LED light) since this original post. The LED never came on indicating the charge level. HOWEVER, interestingly, this morning we had a power outage. When I came home, the LED was lit and steady, indicating a full charge on the battery.

I read somewhere in passing that some folks thought that if the battery was fully, completely drained, the charger was not detecting it properly.

My conclusion, leaving the battery on the charger, unplugging (no power) to the charger for a time, then powering it up may let it detect a completely discharged battery. woo-hoo!!!

[sharkey]

I have a bad battery (3rd party for Canon). How does freezing help it?

Yeah, I always use a reader.