This is just a stab in the dark, that somebody might be able to help me?. I
have a camcorder that doesn't get used all that often, and when I eventually
go to use it, I always find that the batteries are dead and wont charge with
their own charger. (the batteries have not had a lot of use) What I have
done in the past is, give them a boost for a minute or so with my car
charger, and then charge them in the usual way with their own charger to
complete the charge, and this usually works OK, but for some reason it
didn't work this time. Does anyone have tips or ideas how I might get some
life into the batteries again as new ones are expensive. Thanks up-front.

Chances are they are nickle cadmium batteries, which last longer if they are
charged when they are completely discharged. They, like all rechargeable
batteries, have a measured life. How long have you had the battery pack?
Check that. You may need to buy a new battery pack if it's older than a
couple of years old. If it's a brand new battery pack, try to get it
replaced under warrantee.

Harry

"AK" <alexkaye@address.invalid> wrote in message
news:s4Yqb.611$g_1.528@newsfep1-gui.server.ntli.net...

Thanks for your reply Harry. The camcorder-battery-charger works fine. I
think part of the problem could be; I might have used the car charger to
long on them, about five minutes? I managed to get one charged OK, the two
hour one, but the hour one (the newest one) has not responded to anything
I've tried. It doesn't even heat up anymore when on charge even if I try my
car charger. The hour battery has only been charged about fifteen/twenty
times since new. (5yrs)
===========
"Harry Flaxman" <hflaxman@nospamneb.rr.com> wrote in message
news:CG4rb.8852$M02.5220@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...

"AK" <alexkaye@address.invalid> wrote in message
news:s4Yqb.611$g_1.528@newsfep1-gui.server.ntli.net...
as someone who has been an indusrtrial battery service engineer for 29 years
i have to say that i;ve run into that before

although it's possible your batteries are now at the end of their
life...there is still hope

first off, in order to get any battery to charge,
current must flow through it...
if the batteries have become extremely discharged current flow can often be
initiated by applying a higher voltage...

ideally one would use a variable voltage powersupply
with an ammeter...then raise the voltage high enough to get an initial
current
flow...then reduce the voltage as needed to avoid excess current...
evenentually the battery may be transfered to a conventional charger

the most important thing here is *heat* you never want to raise the
voltage high enough to overheat the battery...
and if for any reason the battery would get hot...
turn off the voltage source at once and allow the battery to cool down

since you may not have a variable supply at hand...
i;ve know people to simply "zap" a battery momentarily with a higher
voltage

note: there is always the possibility of explosion
so if you "zap" a battery it;s at your own risk...
be sure to use the proper safety precautions

i only blew up *one* battery in my 29 years on the job...
unfortunately it was a 4 *MEGAWATT* battery bank...
i was nearly deaf for 24 hours after that one

I tried to boost the battery with a higher voltage 4amps I think, but the
charge seams to be running right through the battery with no affect. Someone
has suggested that I put it in the freezer for an hour then leave it out for
a couple of hours, then try to charge it, but I think that would be
dangerous would it not?
============
"philo" <NONphiloNONplazaearthNONcomNON> wrote in message
news:vqq3lsa4chnc41@corp.supernews.com...

"AK" <alexkaye@address.invalid> wrote in message
news:iK9rb.1183$Ym.201211@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...

the current capability of the supply is not the issue...
it;s the voltage

for example, if the battery you are trying to recover is 12volts

you may need to momentarily hit it with 24 volts...possibly as high
as 36 or 48 volts

if that's not a possibility there is still a chance that if you leave it
on a charger of the same voltage

if you wait long enough...current will begin to flow


btw: do you know what type of batteries they are???
if they are lead-acid gel cells (or recombinant lead-acid) 5 years is all
you can expect anyway

with NICads you may get more however especially since you say you don;t use
them much

AK wrote:

Ok, first off... DON'T DO THAT! That is roughly three city blocks beyond
"dangerous". The battery pack could explode from the excessive current
flooding through. (12vDC going into a 9vDC battery isn't THAT bad... but
if it's more like 6v... think "Russian Roulette" with an automatic rifle.)

If the bat-pack won't hold a charge, you're first solution is to buy a
new battery and follow the directions to the letter on recharge,
discharge cycles. If you follow that, you'll get some NICE battery life
out of it.

Once you have a GOOD bat-pack, then you can see about opening the old
bat-pack (CAREFULLY!) and use a volt-tester to find which cell is
reverse polarized. There's a way to "coerce" the polarity back to right,
but its not always successful. If it works, you can get two good bats
out of the deal. If not, you needed to replace the bat-pack anyway.

--
--
MichaelJ@BuffNET.net
BuffNET Technical Support Supervisor
(BEHOLD! The power of the BOFH!)

The battery is a JVC Battery pack BN-V12U, 6v 1200mAh. It was the battery
that came with my JVC Camcorder, Model No: GR-AX260e, with a DC input: 6V
5.7W. The JVC, AC power adapter (battery charger) is Model No: AA-V11EK.
Input: 110-240v 50/60Hz 23W. Output: 8.5v-1.3 (charge) 6.3v-1.8A(VTR). I
haven't a clue what it all means, but no doubt you will? You said I should
try and leave the battery on charge and see if it will eventually boost up.
The problem here is after a while the chargers safety feature cuts in and
switches the charger off. I even tried the refresh option, but that did not
work either.
=================
"philo" <NONphiloNONplazaearthNONcomNON> wrote in message
news:vqqpcrfcvrnh23@corp.supernews.com...

"AK" <alexkaye@address.invalid> wrote in message
news:18grb.3436$Ym.378623@newsfep2-win.server.ntli.net...

as long as you are sure of the polarity

and hook + to +
and - to - you could try connecting it to a 12v car battery for a
while...

the voltage of the car battery is not likely to be high enough to do much
damage
but still... use caution and common sense

a car battery can out out a lot of current if shorted!

Thank you for your advice, please read my last reply above. I don't think
that the battery can be opened successfully unless you knew what you were
doing. I noticed that the battery has got THREE connection plates on it; (-
minus) (+ plus) and one with the letter ( T ) in the middle of the ( - +),
just a thought, could I bridge this in any way to help. I bet that's
dangerous as well, isn't it?
=========
"BuffNET Tech Support - MichaelJ" <michaelj@buffnet.net> wrote in message
news:3fad7098_1@news3.buffnet.net...

AK wrote:
First off, I'll defer to philo for some of the better info on HOW to
make it happen. (Chuckle! 24 hr defness.)

If it can't be opened, chances are you're SOL, though.

--
--
MichaelJ@BuffNET.net
BuffNET Technical Support Supervisor
(BEHOLD! The power of the BOFH!)

"BuffNET Tech Support - MichaelJ" <michaelj@buffnet.net> wrote in message
news:3fae0b37_1@news3.buffnet.net...
yes, the darned things can blow up!

so any attempt to revive the thing has got to be viewed with caution...

at any rate,,,i have no idea what that third terminal is and suggest not
using it

On Sun, 09 Nov 2003 04:07:09 -0500, BuffNET Tech Support - MichaelJ
<michaelj@buffnet.net> wrote:

Listen you twonk, enough with the sig that you post on the bottom of
each message you send. You aren't supposed to put your employer's name
below your name as if your employer finds out, you will be fired. This
newsgroup is for everybody to help each other with computer issues and
posting under a company name can get you in trouble. Why don't you
smarten up! You are supposed to use a fake name, not a real one when
posting in here!

Zermut