LP-E6 Charging Problem and solution

This morning, I put my LP-E6 battery for my Canon EOS 7D camera on to charge in the standard LC-E6E charger, but it did not charge at all.
The charger has a single LED which shows the charging state of the battery.

While charging, the LED is orange - it flashes once and pauses when the battery is less than 50% charged, twice and a pause when the battery is less than 75% charged and three flashes and a pause when the charge is less than 100%. Once the battery is fully charged, the LED turns green and lights continuously.

*   *   *   *   *    < 50% 
**  **  **  **  **   < 75% 
*** *** *** *** ***  <100% 
******************** = Problem! 

When I connected the battery, it flashed orange rapidly with no pause.

To fix the problem, I unplugged the charger, I cleaned all four contacts using a dry duster. There are two copper 'blades' and two silver 'bent wire' contacts. The charger seems to gather lots of dust. I also cleaned the contacts on the battery taking great care not to touch them with anything conductive. The exposed contacts can be rubbed gently with a cloth, but the two slots which connect to the 'blades' on the charger are harder to clean. I folded a clean piece of paper in half and gently pushed it into the slots - there was a small amount of fluff which came out of the slots.

When I put the battery on to charge again, it was showing 50% charged and after a few minutes showed 75%. I hope this will save you spending £75 on a new battery, or £50 or a [new charger!

Comments #

Nick: http://www.photographybay.com/2013/10/08/canon-lp-e6-battery-pack-service-notice-issued/?awt_l=99YX2&awt_m=Jb9vCN2Y8f62xu
lesault: You could try a different charger, and a different battery to work out whether its the battery or charger at fault.
Ardi: doesn't work for me, do you think there are other ways to fix this? i just bought this today never used it ugh
jen: I just purchased three new LP-E6 batteries (Canon) each one won't charge, constant flashing amber lights, I am not happy with Canon, what gives?? I am using the correct charger supplied by Canon. So I unplugged it, removed the battery, plugged it back in and rammed the darn battery back in, now it works! I am dumbfounded!! Also dumb I could have broken the charger although I am not that strong really. The battery light is showing at one flash. Awesome!! Hope the rest will respond the same way.
John T: I just repaired an LP-E6 battery (third party) that exhibited the same symptom (constant flashing led). First I cleaned the contacts - no change. Then I decided (just out of curiosity) to short the contacts of the hard to get to pair (I had to slide a thin metal ruler, and a metal nail file in the slots). Now it is charging again! Maybe I was just lucky.
Raul: Same problem here, with both lpe6 batteries I have I always have to watch the charger to make sure it does not all of a sudden start flashing continuously, mostly when it does I pull it out, put it back in and it works again, sometimes it takes a couple of tries but now there is one battery that I often plug and the charger doesn't react at all... I tried cleaning and it didn't really change anything, am afraid to try the shortcut method though...
Rich: I took My shirt and began to wipe the metal contacts on the actual charger and found the battery started to charge after that. So again I took my shirt and wiped both the battery and the charger metal contacts and it worked hope this helps .
Mixed_Noodles: This seems to have worked for me. "I just repaired an LP-E6 battery (third party) that exhibited the same symptom (constant flashing led). First I cleaned the contacts – no change. Then I decided (just out of curiosity) to short the contacts of the hard to get to pair (I had to slide a thin metal ruler, and a metal nail file in the slots). Now it is charging again! Maybe I was just lucky."
Alek: Just bought a 60d and had same problem. Wiped leads cleaned with a clean towel and paper towel for the slots in the charger. I also pulled the charger prongs out a bit with a pointed knife and now the battery is charging fine. Thank you for all the advice above.
Ben: I just bought another Canon LP-E6 battery for my Canon 70D camera. When I charged this new battery for 203 hours with LC-E6 charger (as I did for the orignial one caming with the camera), I got a big trouble: My charger and the battery got very hot with orange light flashing quickly; it showed about 50% charged. I took it out and followed Canon's Official Instructions to fix problems, but the same problem remained unsolved. Then let them cool, and re-charged it witha a fan aiming at the charger place was running. This time the charger did NOT become hot, after about one hour, the green light is ON, and I checked it and it showed 100% charged. This evidence indicates that the trouble was due to increased temperature in the charger. I hope this problem can be solved. Keep the finger crossed for next battery charging.
Sidath: I have the same problem with my 2 Canon LP-E6 battery's. So I thought problem is in the charger. but I let the battery discharge fully by connecting a PC fan and let it discharge completely(short circuiting a battery can led to a explosion) . it took me one night. then the battery charged fine but newer accomplished the 100%. and my 7D say the condition of the battery is two stars (I used this battery's more than a year, back then always the condition of the battery is three stars)
Tim: I just experienced this problem with a relatively new battery and charger. After reading this blog, I took a close look at the 2 spring loaded contacts in the charger and noticed that one wasn't springing up completely. I used a narrow blade to wiggle the contact (with the charger off!) and now it has sprung out and the battery is charging properly Hope this helps someone.
Ayomide: what if the amber light doesn't come on at all? got my camera a few days ago and I've charged it twice but yesterday I tried to charge it with the Canon charger and the amber light won't even come on
jordan: Hi everyone, I've fixed the problem with my electrician co-worker teacher's help. If any of others suggestions and solutions might not seems to work with you guys try these: THE PROBLEM: The battery is dried out, meaning the battery is dead. THE SOLUTION: You need to SHOCK the battery like a dying man being shocked by "Defibrillator" in the hospital. EQUIPMENT NEEDED: -Regulated DC Power Supply -Continuity tester cables -Alligator clips IF you don't have these resources just go to an electronics shop and do the same procedures OR just buy a new battery. XD PROCEDURE: Step 1: Set the Regulator to at least twice the batteries needed voltage(Depend on you) Step 2: If you see that the battery is alive lowers the voltages to the battery's need for about 20-30 minutes. Step 3: Try the battery in the charger if the blinking stops, if not repeat step 2(But I think 20-30 minutes is enough) And there you go. You battery is alive and ready for work!
youbache: facing the same problem , my canon 60D wont turn , sometimes it work ! battery showing full charged after few pictures its become 0% ! then a shutdown , when i charge it again , it doesn't work ! after a time it work , WTF is that !!!
Jose norlito Villanueva: it works for me, I cleaned the contacts both battery and charger then press the battery harder to the charger, it start to charge in normal mode.
Nathanael Coyne: I ran a small 12V bilge pump with the battery for 5 minutes and now the battery is charging ALTHOUGH I did accidentally short the battery with the two prongs I was using to connect the pump so it's hard to know whether it was loading or shorting the battery that did the trick.
joey skinner: My battery wouldn't charge after I dropped it on a hard floor. Opened the case and found a broken spot weld on the connector between the two cells.
Nir: I can't believe it ! It's really working ! At first I thought the charger is dead. I've cleaned it up too with a piece of cloth and a paper fold into half the the battery came back to life ! Thank you very much for the amazing tip ! I wish I would have read your post before I've ordered a new charger and two new batteries from eBay. Regards, Nir

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