Camera battery help please.

[bluenose1940]

I think that I may be about to encounter a problem with my camera Battery.

Whilst away on holiday last week, the camera did not seem to be holding its charge very well.  I could put it on charge and it would appear that it became fully charged but, whilst out and about and, after using it to take some shots, it would then struggle to turn on after being off for a while but, if I left it for a while it would be OK.  It seemed as though that if it was given a little time to recover it would work OK.

The Battery is a Lithium-Ion EN-EL5   3.7v   1100mAH   4.1Wh jobby.

I have a small multimeter and am wondering if I can use this in some way to try to determine the state of the Battery.

Any help will be much appreciated.  Thank you.

[Britprius]

A multi meter will not be of much help to you in determining the condition of the Battery.

After being fully charged it should register  4.2 volts, and after being discharged expect a reading of 2.8 volts. These readings however will not give the capacity of the Battery. Replacing the Battery is the only real option "without spending much more on equipment that can measure actual capacity", and this will tell you if it is the problem.

John.

 

[bluenose1940]

Thank you John, I had a bit of a feeling that that was the case.  I will fully charge the Battery and check for the reading that you have mentioned and also the discharged reading, just from an interest point really.

They are not that expensive to replace, I think that it is just a case of ensuring that I buy a quality product as opposed to a possible fake one.

Thanks again.