Leica Advice needed ... (battery replacement)

[saladin]

If the only viable solution is to send the M8 to Australia, where BetterBatt batteries are available, then I promise that the M8 will lead a full , rewarding and joyous life alongside my MFT , Fuji and DSLR gear.

 

[John King]

@saladin Jason, I just had my very first BetterBatt battery fail on me. One of my BLN-1 batteries that I've had for at least 7 years. Probably hasn't been used all that much, but it's brother and sister are still going strong!

No warning of any kind. Put it into the OEM charger, and it immediately threw an error. Same in the aftermarket charger. Dead as a dodo. Had worked perfectly up until then. Removed from camera. Put in charger. Died.

 

[Brian]

If the battery is 100% discharged, the circuit in it cannot run and the charger will not detect the type of battery.
I use a third-party charger to charge the battery for a few minutes, then place in the Leica charger.

 

[saladin]

@saladin Jason, I just had my very first BetterBatt battery fail on me. One of my BLN-1 batteries that I've had for at least 7 years. Probably hasn't been used all that much, but it's brother and sister are still going strong!

No warning of any kind. Put it into the OEM charger, and it immediately threw an error. Same in the aftermarket charger. Dead as a dodo. Had worked perfectly up until then. Removed from camera. Put in charger. Died.

John, Ssshhhhhhhhh! I'm trying to convince Matt that my place is the kindest and most suitable abode for his M8 !

 

[John King]

John, Ssshhhhhhhhh! I'm trying to convince Matt that my place is the kindest and most suitable abode for his M8 !

I NEVER would have guessed that! Really? ...

 

[saladin]

I NEVER would have guessed that! Really? ...

 

[John King]

If the battery is 100% discharged, the circuit in it cannot run and the charger will not detect the type of battery.
I use a third-party charger to charge the battery for a few minutes, then place in the Leica charger.

Hallelujah, Brother! That worked. Brian, thank you. It is now happily charging in the OEM charger after around 2-3 minutes in the aftermarket charger.

No flashing lights after about 5-7 minutes in the OEM charger, when that happened all but immediately before.

 

[MoonMind]

If the battery is 100% discharged, the circuit in it cannot run and the charger will not detect the type of battery.
I use a third-party charger to charge the battery for a few minutes, then place in the Leica charger.

I have a funny little update: After reading this post, I retried charging the dead battery - after all, for a short moment, it *had* appeared to get charged, so maybe it had gained a little something? And lo and behold, it worked - it's topped up again! No intervention (rubber band) needed, either.

Which means that this thing *can* go dead on me without warning when out and about (that's manageable, I have two batteries ...) and may need *two* rounds of charging, the first of which may also require the rubber band-aid ... Colour me baffled, but also somewhat relieved. It's well possible I'll be back with the next little conundrum at some point in time, but for the time being, things look much more encouraging.

Thanks, @Brian, for being as insightful as ever!

M.

 

[Jesse]

Earlier this year I found myself also in need of a new battery for my M8. I emailed Leica support and they were able to find a Leica store in California with some in stock. Received a brand new Leica battery a few days later.