[merengue]

Have been using it with 3 batteries for over a year and now the green led blinks with one of the 3 batteries discharged. Has anyone else had this happen? Checked on web and found nothing.

Thanks, Earl

[JimJohnson]

If it is only one of the batteries, the probability is it is the battery that is shot and not the charger.

LiON batteries do wear out. They are rated for a specific number of full recharges, but that is a target and not an absolute number. Sounds like this one is pretty much dead. Toss and replace.

[crewl1]

Don't toss, take to hazardous recycling spot. Best buy takes them.

[JimJohnson]

Don't toss, take to hazardous recycling spot. Best buy takes them.

Good response.

[JohnX]

It is possible to discharge a battery so low that the charger simply 'sees' it as dead.

I use a method to partially revitalise a battery enough for the charger to 'see' it again using a standard 9v battery connected + to - and - to +, held in place for 10 seconds, repeated a few times if necessary.

Has resulted in me being able to re-charge apparently dead batteries, some of which are still going strong some time later.

The method is well documented out there on the internet.

[merengue]

Thanks to all. Will try the 9v battery method.
Earl

[JimJohnson]

Thanks to all. Will try the 9v battery method.
Earl

Make sure you wear eye protection and hand protection.

[nanhi]

Have been using it with 3 batteries for over a year and now the green led blinks with one of the 3 batteries discharged. Has anyone else had this happen? Checked on web and found nothing.
Thanks, Earl

Hello Earl, I had the same problem with one of my K-5 batteries. I cleaned the terminals with a Q-tip dipped in Surgical Spirit. For good measure I cleaned the charger contacts.
Eureka, the battery stsrted charging pretty fine.
I think some kind of an oxidized film builds up on the terminals over time.
Using a 9-volt battery to shock charge a bad cell is also a good idea. In fact you can use double the volts - in this case 15 volts - to shock the cell out of slumber.
Regards

[sadatoni]

I have a brand new never charged battery doing this - blinking green light on the charger.

Edit:

Nevermind -- it finally went solid green. I do not recall any other fresh battery doing that.

[Miro2]

Charger is checking battery voltage, if it detects voltage below 6V it threads battery as faulty.

If that’s happen (usually could happen when you leave your empty battery for a long time unused or if battery gets old and it is close to end of its life cycle) you can still try to revive/refresh it.

If the battery is not too old and voltage is not below 5V the trick explained by JohnX may work, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Not because battery could explode, but because you are not able to control current flow from 9V battery to camera battery (technically you can if you calculate appropriate resistance and place it in the circuit).
Better way is to use regulated power supply, set voltage to 8.4V (charging voltage for Pentax D-Li90 battery) and current somewhere between 20-50 mA. If you are just refreshing, you can just wait until battery voltage rise above 6V and you can place it into the D-BC90 charger. If you want to revive battery in worse shape set again voltage on power supply to 8.4V and current to 5-20mA (lower better). Charging with very low current for a long time usually reviews batteries appear dead on first look.

If you use regulated power supply it should cut current flow into battery when desired voltage is met (8.4V), but you should regularly check on charging status.

Sorry for reviewing this old post, but I believe it may help someone not to throw away batteries that can be still used.

[GuyFoto]

I discovered quite by accident that the Panasonic DMW-BLF 19E is identical to the Pentax D-LI90 except for an additional contact. I have a Lumix that I use for IR. I spoke to Hahnel, whose wonderful cube I use to charge all my batteries. The Cube uses interchangeable trays with electronics and sockets tailored to individual batteries.

I love the Hahnel because it allows me to charge two different Olympus, my Pentax and my Panasonic batteries either via a plug or car adaptor. It gives a wonderful readout showing the charge percentage/progress and total charge applied. I called them a bit disappointed that they did not officially have a tray for the Pentax ,but they said that the Pany tray would likely work.

Indeed it did. A Pentax D-LI90 battery that had not been used for months showed up with the flashing green LED on the Pentax charger but charged flawlessly on the Hahnel using the Panasonic tray.

That charger costs 80 bucks, but it has saved more than one $50 battery, as well as a lot of space in my luggage and a lot of shoots because it will work off AC ad DC.