Pentax D BG-5 on K3 II: Battery in Grip Not Recognized/Empty

BijanK · 05-17-2022, 03:25 AM

Good morning everyone,

on my Pentax K3 II, I recently noticed that it has begun to reject batteries in the battery grip. By that I mean that the camera tells me that no battery is present in the grip even if there is. I tried with fully charged rechargeables and alkalines as well – same result. The camera shows me a greyed-out battery in the grip compartment that is also crossed out. If I remove the internal battery and keep the grip mounted with batteries, the camera tells me "Battery empty".

I have checked the grip thoroughly and I am seeing 7,6 V on two of the larger pins, so I am assuming that the grip is fine and that the camera, for some reason, is not recognising it. All other grip functions work perfectly.

Has anyone seen this? Does anyone know if there is a "hard reset" that can be done on the camera? (a regular "reset" using the function did not help).

Many thanks!

Bijan

AfterPentax Mark II · 05-17-2022, 04:23 AM

I take it that you use original Pentax batteries. Did you try to clean the contacts of the battery and those inside the grip? If you put no batteries in the grip, can you use the buttons on the grip? With Alkaline batteries, tried different brands? I once had a camera that would not work with Duracell, but worked fine with any other brand including the cheapies from the supermarket.

BijanK · 05-17-2022, 05:09 AM

I am currently using rechargeable AA cells as I currently do not have a holder for the Pentax batteries in the grip. However, I have tried with both rechargeables and full alkalines to no avail.

I find it hard to believe that the original Pentax cells would make a difference – the camera is not showing "low battery", it's not even seeing the AA cells currently –, but who knows. I have the holder already on order, but over here the shipping delays are currently exhorbitant.

AfterPentax Mark II · 05-17-2022, 06:00 AM

With rechargables I can imagine that it does not work well unless you have very high quality cells. If you only have 7.6 on two pins I guess that is a bit low for 6 alkalines, which should be 9v and high for rechargable which should be approximately 7.2v. Then it comes to the question how much mAh those batteries deliver. That can be too low for the camera to work. When it says battery empty, did you set the camera to use the grip first? Am I right in assuming that you bought the grip second hand and if so, do you still have warranty? Missing the tray for the Pentax original battery looks like a second hand item that was not well cared for, because you should have received both trays.

**photogem** · 05-17-2022, 06:19 AM

It can be a common problem: Contacts!

See here:
Pentax D-BG2 Grip Repair - Page 2 - PentaxForums.com
It is just the D-GB2 but the process is similar.
I had done it once with the D-BG4 for the K5-Series.

New Alkalines should work. If not recognized, it is some contact problem.

Not a Number · 05-17-2022, 08:13 AM - **1 Like**

Check that all the connector pins spring back. They sometimes get stuck in the down position and don't make contact with the camera. Also try cleaning the connector pins and contacts.

Oldbayrunner · 05-17-2022, 09:15 AM

OK, are your settings selected to auto or grip first in the camera menu?

BijanK · 05-17-2022, 10:50 AM

The pins are all fine, none stuck, and the contacts clean. I tried with all possible settings, both auto and grip first.

**photogem** · 05-17-2022, 07:49 PM

Originally posted by BijanK

The pins are all fine, none stuck, and the contacts clean. I tried with all possible settings, both auto and grip first.

Internal contact problems, a common problem.
That is what you need to tackle.

If the grip worked before and now doesn't this is most likely the issue.

But just for fun, try a reset of you K3II!

BijanK · 05-18-2022, 01:48 AM

I'm not so sure. I already took the grip apart and the BG5 is fairly robust, unlike the earlier versions. There are no springs that could dislodge; everything is mounted on tensioned brass leaf-contacts that work fine in my case. Also, as I said, the correct voltage is there.

I yesterday ordered a no-name brand version of the grip to test it in direct comparison and compare pinouts. I'll have to see if that brings any new insights.

Not a Number · 05-18-2022, 06:11 AM

Did you try in the menu changing the AA battery type in the grip? On the bodies that can use AA batteries "auto" doesn't always work in detecting the battery type and will show fully charged batteries as depleted. The workaround is to manually set the correct type of battery.

BijanK · 05-18-2022, 11:14 PM

Yes, of course, I did. I fiddled around with all the settings.

BijanK · 05-23-2022, 10:18 AM

So, after some testing with a known-good no-name brand grip with the proper battery tray it would seem that it is indeed ... a battery issue. Funny, enough the new grip also does not work with different brand high-quality brand-name rechargeables or alkalines. However, it does work with proprietary D-LI90 Lithium ion batteries – but only if they are fully charged. It does not work if they're at 50-75% only.

Given that the AA tray is of course meant to work with AA rechargeables or alkalines, this seems to be a strange result....

lotech · 01-26-2023, 12:12 AM

I got the original grip and the AA tray never worked, the only thing I noticed was a "sunk" and stuck contact pin at the grip I believe is for AA, so I bought an after market one with complete pins but still didn't work, I used rechargeable btw and the grip supported that.

Steelski · 07-09-2023, 08:22 AM

So,
I have some things to share on this topic as I have real batteries, fake batteries, A real grip and issues.

So I have a K3 MKII, I got it new with a working grip back when it came out. The AA battery holder always worked, but would not give a good indicator on NIMH and AK batteries. I have only one genuine Pentax battery and a couple of China Party ones with their fake charger. I worked professionally for a while but had to put things on hiatus for a few years. When I came back to use the grip, it would not work with the fake batteries, or so I thought. They were not holding a charge well any longer so I thought this was the issue. But then I tried some new AK batteries, and they too did not work. Then I tried some NIMH. Did not work. I didn't really need the grip, so I worked without it for a bit. But now I have an assignment and one working battery, so I decided to take a closer look. I put the genuine battery in the grip, and it did not show. I tried it without another battery in the camera and the camera was receiving power to give me the message "Battery Depleted" Fiddles with all sorts of combos in the menus to no avail. I started looking and came to this thread. Decided to give the contacts a great clean with some 95% Ethanol, and cotton buds, not just the contacts, but the pins. I too thought the pins were stuck down, But after cleaning them, they did not change position and now everything works again. Looks like the pins have different heights as they need to come into contact with the camera body and different heights, incase something comes loose.
The pin, they need to be pristine clean in order to work. if you have a Dremel tool with a soft polishing tool (nothing hard, it may ruin everything) then I would try to give them a quick polish, very very carefully, only on the very ends, with some alcohol. NOTHING MORE ABRASIVE THAN CLOTH.
The pads, clean as much as possible with a few cotton swabs.
I could not see any dirt anywhere before cleaning, but it was there.
Also the AA tray had some corrosion that needed cleaning, you can be a bit more aggressive with that one as the contacts are not so delicate. A leaked battery was the culprit with that one. It had corroded one of the contacts. I cleaned it and it works now! But it will not work with old low voltage Alkaline batteries. I had 5 batteries at 1.5v, one at 1.48 volts, and it still did not work, but it works with lower voltage NiMH batteries now. Generally the camera needs good sustainable power. The fake D-LI90 shows volts, but now power. Same with the alkaline.
To summaries,
Things to do.
Clean contacts thoroughly, and then clean them again. and again. The contact patch is very very small, and there are a lot of contacts. Be thorough.
Make sure you have good working batteries, check with the genuine pentax battery alone in the grip.
Good Luck to all!

05-17-2022, 03:25 AM	#1
BijanK New Member Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 6	Pentax D BG-5 on K3 II: Battery in Grip Not Recognized/Empty Good morning everyone, on my Pentax K3 II, I recently noticed that it has begun to reject batteries in the battery grip. By that I mean that the camera tells me that no battery is present in the grip even if there is. I tried with fully charged rechargeables and alkalines as well – same result. The camera shows me a greyed-out battery in the grip compartment that is also crossed out. If I remove the internal battery and keep the grip mounted with batteries, the camera tells me "Battery empty". I have checked the grip thoroughly and I am seeing 7,6 V on two of the larger pins, so I am assuming that the grip is fine and that the camera, for some reason, is not recognising it. All other grip functions work perfectly. Has anyone seen this? Does anyone know if there is a "hard reset" that can be done on the camera? (a regular "reset" using the function did not help). Many thanks! Bijan

05-17-2022, 06:19 AM	#5
photogem Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 3,517	It can be a common problem: Contacts! See here: Pentax D-BG2 Grip Repair - Page 2 - PentaxForums.com It is just the D-GB2 but the process is similar. I had done it once with the D-BG4 for the K5-Series. New Alkalines should work. If not recognized, it is some contact problem. Last edited by photogem; 05-17-2022 at 07:44 AM.

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05-17-2022, 04:23 AM	#2
AfterPentax Mark II Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 1,458	I take it that you use original Pentax batteries. Did you try to clean the contacts of the battery and those inside the grip? If you put no batteries in the grip, can you use the buttons on the grip? With Alkaline batteries, tried different brands? I once had a camera that would not work with Duracell, but worked fine with any other brand including the cheapies from the supermarket.

05-17-2022, 05:09 AM	#3
BijanK New Member Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 6 Original Poster	I am currently using rechargeable AA cells as I currently do not have a holder for the Pentax batteries in the grip. However, I have tried with both rechargeables and full alkalines to no avail. I find it hard to believe that the original Pentax cells would make a difference – the camera is not showing "low battery", it's not even seeing the AA cells currently –, but who knows. I have the holder already on order, but over here the shipping delays are currently exhorbitant.

05-17-2022, 06:00 AM	#4
AfterPentax Mark II Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2021 Posts: 1,458	With rechargables I can imagine that it does not work well unless you have very high quality cells. If you only have 7.6 on two pins I guess that is a bit low for 6 alkalines, which should be 9v and high for rechargable which should be approximately 7.2v. Then it comes to the question how much mAh those batteries deliver. That can be too low for the camera to work. When it says battery empty, did you set the camera to use the grip first? Am I right in assuming that you bought the grip second hand and if so, do you still have warranty? Missing the tray for the Pentax original battery looks like a second hand item that was not well cared for, because you should have received both trays.

05-17-2022, 08:13 AM - 1 Like	#6
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,525	Check that all the connector pins spring back. They sometimes get stuck in the down position and don't make contact with the camera. Also try cleaning the connector pins and contacts.

05-17-2022, 09:15 AM	#7
Oldbayrunner Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 1,665	OK, are your settings selected to auto or grip first in the camera menu?

05-17-2022, 10:50 AM	#8
BijanK New Member Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 6 Original Poster	The pins are all fine, none stuck, and the contacts clean. I tried with all possible settings, both auto and grip first.

05-17-2022, 07:49 PM	#9
photogem Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 3,517	Originally posted by BijanK The pins are all fine, none stuck, and the contacts clean. I tried with all possible settings, both auto and grip first. Internal contact problems, a common problem. That is what you need to tackle. If the grip worked before and now doesn't this is most likely the issue. But just for fun, try a reset of you K3II!

05-18-2022, 01:48 AM	#10
BijanK New Member Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 6 Original Poster	I'm not so sure. I already took the grip apart and the BG5 is fairly robust, unlike the earlier versions. There are no springs that could dislodge; everything is mounted on tensioned brass leaf-contacts that work fine in my case. Also, as I said, the correct voltage is there. I yesterday ordered a no-name brand version of the grip to test it in direct comparison and compare pinouts. I'll have to see if that brings any new insights.

05-18-2022, 06:11 AM	#11
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,525	Did you try in the menu changing the AA battery type in the grip? On the bodies that can use AA batteries "auto" doesn't always work in detecting the battery type and will show fully charged batteries as depleted. The workaround is to manually set the correct type of battery.

05-18-2022, 11:14 PM	#12
BijanK New Member Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 6 Original Poster	Yes, of course, I did. I fiddled around with all the settings.

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05-23-2022, 10:18 AM	#13
BijanK New Member Join Date: May 2022 Posts: 6 Original Poster	So, after some testing with a known-good no-name brand grip with the proper battery tray it would seem that it is indeed ... a battery issue. Funny, enough the new grip also does not work with different brand high-quality brand-name rechargeables or alkalines. However, it does work with proprietary D-LI90 Lithium ion batteries – but only if they are fully charged. It does not work if they're at 50-75% only. Given that the AA tray is of course meant to work with AA rechargeables or alkalines, this seems to be a strange result....

01-26-2023, 12:12 AM	#14
lotech Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 1,311	I got the original grip and the AA tray never worked, the only thing I noticed was a "sunk" and stuck contact pin at the grip I believe is for AA, so I bought an after market one with complete pins but still didn't work, I used rechargeable btw and the grip supported that.

07-09-2023, 08:22 AM	#15
Steelski Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Varna Posts: 470	So, I have some things to share on this topic as I have real batteries, fake batteries, A real grip and issues. So I have a K3 MKII, I got it new with a working grip back when it came out. The AA battery holder always worked, but would not give a good indicator on NIMH and AK batteries. I have only one genuine Pentax battery and a couple of China Party ones with their fake charger. I worked professionally for a while but had to put things on hiatus for a few years. When I came back to use the grip, it would not work with the fake batteries, or so I thought. They were not holding a charge well any longer so I thought this was the issue. But then I tried some new AK batteries, and they too did not work. Then I tried some NIMH. Did not work. I didn't really need the grip, so I worked without it for a bit. But now I have an assignment and one working battery, so I decided to take a closer look. I put the genuine battery in the grip, and it did not show. I tried it without another battery in the camera and the camera was receiving power to give me the message "Battery Depleted" Fiddles with all sorts of combos in the menus to no avail. I started looking and came to this thread. Decided to give the contacts a great clean with some 95% Ethanol, and cotton buds, not just the contacts, but the pins. I too thought the pins were stuck down, But after cleaning them, they did not change position and now everything works again. Looks like the pins have different heights as they need to come into contact with the camera body and different heights, incase something comes loose. The pin, they need to be pristine clean in order to work. if you have a Dremel tool with a soft polishing tool (nothing hard, it may ruin everything) then I would try to give them a quick polish, very very carefully, only on the very ends, with some alcohol. NOTHING MORE ABRASIVE THAN CLOTH. The pads, clean as much as possible with a few cotton swabs. I could not see any dirt anywhere before cleaning, but it was there. Also the AA tray had some corrosion that needed cleaning, you can be a bit more aggressive with that one as the contacts are not so delicate. A leaked battery was the culprit with that one. It had corroded one of the contacts. I cleaned it and it works now! But it will not work with old low voltage Alkaline batteries. I had 5 batteries at 1.5v, one at 1.48 volts, and it still did not work, but it works with lower voltage NiMH batteries now. Generally the camera needs good sustainable power. The fake D-LI90 shows volts, but now power. Same with the alkaline. To summaries, Things to do. Clean contacts thoroughly, and then clean them again. and again. The contact patch is very very small, and there are a lot of contacts. Be thorough. Make sure you have good working batteries, check with the genuine pentax battery alone in the grip. Good Luck to all!