K-x won't power on

Stratus106 · 10-16-2017, 03:41 PM

Hey guys, I am new to this forum. I picked up a great condition white K-x recenty, however, i have been having problems. First, it would turn on but would stay on for 5-10 seconds before cutting off. I was getting ready to update it's firmware, as I had seen suggested on another thread but now it will not turn on at all. I switched to new batteries several times but still nothing. Any suggestions? Thanks so much

johnhilvert · 10-16-2017, 06:06 PM

Assuming you have the right batteries, try holding the Menu button down before switching it to On.

If that doesn't work, do it with the Green Button. And finally, if the prior two don't work, hold the shutter release down before powering up.

Read more at: Pentax k-x won't turn on? - PentaxForums.com

**sergysergy** · 10-16-2017, 07:20 PM

The k-x was known to have problems with certain kinds of batteries if the firmware had not been updated.
I would try lithium batteries and then try to update the firmware.

**Kerrowdown** · 10-17-2017, 01:13 AM

Welcome to the forum, please report back on how you got on.

LensBeginner · 10-17-2017, 06:24 AM

I had a similar experience with a friend's K-X: it would flash a "battery depleted" message even with full batteries, didn't matter if those were Ni-Mh or alkaline.

I hooked it up to a regulated power supply (about 6V DC) using crocodile clips through the battery compartment, flashed the firmware, turned it off, inserted the batteries again and it was done.

Stratus106 · 10-18-2017, 04:28 AM

Thank you so much for the replies! It did turn on holding the Menu button (Thank you). It does not stay on long enough to update the Firmware so will try lithium batteries and/or a power supply. Thanks for the support.

LensBeginner · 10-18-2017, 04:58 AM

Originally posted by Stratus106

Thank you so much for the replies! It did turn on holding the Menu button (Thank you). It does not stay on long enough to update the Firmware so will try lithium batteries and/or a power supply. Thanks for the support.

By all means, ensure you have a steady power supply or you will risk not being able to complete the update, with potentially disastrous results.

cublai · 12-03-2021, 11:21 AM

I dig out this old camera and it won't turn on whatsoever.

Eventually I built a battery pack of 6 AA battery and tie it to the battery chamber of the camera with a rubber band.
The camera just needs 4 batteries by design but I guess it is simply not enough. After I forced 6 batteries on it, everything works fine.

It is really stupid design.

**photogem** · 12-04-2021, 04:37 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Stratus106

Thank you so much for the replies! It did turn on holding the Menu button (Thank you). It does not stay on long enough to update the Firmware so will try lithium batteries and/or a power supply. Thanks for the support.

It is good that you don't try to update because it most likely is a battery problem.

First read this one:
Battery type AA/NiMH/Eneloop in K-x, K-r, K30 K50, K500 as well as *ist/K100/200/2000 - PentaxForums.com
because here the most common problem with batteries is explained.
So what you want is a good set of NEW (!!!) Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries

+ a good charger such as the Panasonic BQ-CC65
or even better this one:
https://www.amazon.com/BT-C2400-Battery-Analyzer-rechargeable-batteries/dp/B00MYQ8IYS

The K-x won't take a external powersupply! No socket for it.

The method of connecting a PS via the inner contacts can work but you need to know exactly where to hook those crocodile clips.
Wrong contact would not be on your wishlist. Nor as @LensBeginner wrote a breakdown during flashing the firmware, that would be final exodus.

VERY OFTEN it is just contacts! Together with weak batteries I'd say 95% of all cases and thus to be resolved.
Same for all other Pentax bodies using AA's!

Check those contacts. Make sure the inner contacts are clean and have no green stuff remaining from defunct batteries with leaked!
Same for the contacts on the door. Bend these a bit more so they can really give a strong touch to the AA's.

And stay far away of such sledgehammer methods:

Originally posted by cublai

I dig out this old camera and it won't turn on whatsoever.

Eventually I built a battery pack of 6 AA battery and tie it to the battery chamber of the camera with a rubber band.
The camera just needs 4 batteries by design but I guess it is simply not enough. After I forced 6 batteries on it, everything works fine.

It is really stupid design.

I agree, this design of yours forcing 6 x AA's to run the K-x is indeed really stupid.

Mongolian invasive method?

**Photos-by-Chas** · 12-04-2021, 01:49 PM

Does the camera stay on long enough to choose the battery type? If it will turn on, go to the menu and choose the wrench icon #3, down button to "select battery" click OK and use the up or down button to select the type battery you have and click OK. Then click the menu button to close out.

**photogem** · 12-04-2021, 03:24 PM

Originally posted by Photos-by-Chas

Does the camera stay on long enough to choose the battery type? If it will turn on, go to the menu and choose the wrench icon #3, down button to "select battery" click OK and use the up or down button to select the type battery you have and click OK. Then click the menu button to close out.

From the moment when the K-x stays on longer than 1 min. it remembers the type of battery!

If less than 1 min. it gets "confused" and can give wrong battery-measurements, i.e. display empty battery and switch off.

Ricoh Germany recommended the use of Eneloos almost as a MUST!

That is not his problem. The problem is most likely bad contacts and/or bad batteries.

I uploaded the German "Question and Answers" which I had translated in the link I gave.

The direct link to the Ricoh website is down.

They also write that the true capacity of rechargeable AA's is only achieved after several charge/discharge circles!

cublai · 12-04-2021, 09:45 PM

Yes. With 6 batteries, the camera seems to stay on forever. I tried your suggestion and selected AL as my battery and it still doesn't work. The light won't even turn on when I tried to turn on the camera with 4 batteries (whatever batteries I tried).

I did update the firmware to the most recent one and I tried all the other methods suggested in this thread. None of them seem to work so far.

I remember when I first got this camera years ago, it could turn on for a little while and turn off after some shots. There had been many complaints about this camera eating battery too fast. I don't want to buy those expensive batteries so I rarely used it. After a couple of years it won't even turn on. I am sure many other people did the same thing.

Obviously there is a design flaw. They put too high a threshold for batteries. When the camera turned off on my batteries, I could still use them in other places like new batteries.

My hack of 6 batteries works like charm. I did have to use my multimeter to find out where to connect them at the first time. Now the camera seems to be very stable. I expect it to turn off when the total voltage fall to around 6v.
It just looks a little ugly when I carry them around.

Originally posted by Photos-by-Chas

Does the camera stay on long enough to choose the battery type? If it will turn on, go to the menu and choose the wrench icon #3, down button to "select battery" click OK and use the up or down button to select the type battery you have and click OK. Then click the menu button to close out.

**photogem** · 12-06-2021, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by cublai

Yes. With 6 batteries, the camera seems to stay on forever. I tried your suggestion and selected AL as my battery and it still doesn't work. The light won't even turn on when I tried to turn on the camera with 4 batteries (whatever batteries I tried).

I did update the firmware to the most recent one and I tried all the other methods suggested in this thread. None of them seem to work so far.

I remember when I first got this camera years ago, it could turn on for a little while and turn off after some shots. There had been many complaints about this camera eating battery too fast. I don't want to buy those expensive batteries so I rarely used it. After a couple of years it won't even turn on. I am sure many other people did the same thing.

Obviously there is a design flaw. They put too high a threshold for batteries. When the camera turned off on my batteries, I could still use them in other places like new batteries.

My hack of 6 batteries works like charm. I did have to use my multimeter to find out where to connect them at the first time. Now the camera seems to be very stable. I expect it to turn off when the total voltage fall to around 6v.
It just looks a little ugly when I carry them around.

I think your hack made it impossible to run with 4 batteries anymore, so not such a good idea after all.

ChristianRock · 12-07-2021, 06:14 PM

I had never heard of this before... makes me wonder if these batteries are really giving 1.5v each.
I would try eneloops like photogem said. The battery that works best in my K200D.

bobore · 12-10-2021, 04:01 AM

I use nothing but Energizer Lithiums in my AA battery operated Pentax cameras, including the K-x, K-200d, and K-r. They all operate flawlessly, but I make sure to run them through their paces every couple of weeks. The worst thing you can do to a K-x is to store it away and not use it - which can play havoc with the time-date battery, which can in turn play havoc with the camera's start-up process.

10-16-2017, 03:41 PM	#1
Stratus106 New Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2	K-x won't power on Hey guys, I am new to this forum. I picked up a great condition white K-x recenty, however, i have been having problems. First, it would turn on but would stay on for 5-10 seconds before cutting off. I was getting ready to update it's firmware, as I had seen suggested on another thread but now it will not turn on at all. I switched to new batteries several times but still nothing. Any suggestions? Thanks so much

12-04-2021, 04:37 AM - 1 Like	#9
photogem Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 3,525	Originally posted by Stratus106 Thank you so much for the replies! It did turn on holding the Menu button (Thank you). It does not stay on long enough to update the Firmware so will try lithium batteries and/or a power supply. Thanks for the support. It is good that you don't try to update because it most likely is a battery problem. First read this one: Battery type AA/NiMH/Eneloop in K-x, K-r, K30 K50, K500 as well as ist/K100/200/2000 - PentaxForums.com because here the most common problem with batteries is explained. So what you want is a good set of NEW (!!!) Eneloop rechargeable AA batteries + a good charger such as the Panasonic BQ-CC65 or even better this one: https://www.amazon.com/BT-C2400-Battery-Analyzer-rechargeable-batteries/dp/B00MYQ8IYS The K-x won't take a external powersupply! No socket for it. The method of connecting a PS via the inner contacts can work but you need to know exactly where to hook those crocodile clips. Wrong contact would not be on your wishlist. Nor as @LensBeginner wrote a breakdown during flashing the firmware, that would be final exodus. VERY OFTEN it is just contacts! Together with weak batteries I'd say 95% of all cases and thus to be resolved. Same for all other Pentax bodies using AA's! Check those contacts. Make sure the inner contacts are clean and have no green stuff remaining from defunct batteries with leaked! Same for the contacts on the door. Bend these a bit more so they can really give a strong touch to the AA's. And stay far away of such sledgehammer methods: Originally posted by cublai I dig out this old camera and it won't turn on whatsoever. Eventually I built a battery pack of 6 AA battery and tie it to the battery chamber of the camera with a rubber band. The camera just needs 4 batteries by design but I guess it is simply not enough. After I forced 6 batteries on it, everything works fine. It is really stupid design. I agree, this design of yours forcing 6 x AA's to run the K-x is indeed really stupid. Mongolian invasive method? Last edited by photogem; 12-04-2021 at 03:06 PM.*

12-04-2021, 03:24 PM	#11
photogem Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 3,525	Originally posted by Photos-by-Chas Does the camera stay on long enough to choose the battery type? If it will turn on, go to the menu and choose the wrench icon #3, down button to "select battery" click OK and use the up or down button to select the type battery you have and click OK. Then click the menu button to close out. From the moment when the K-x stays on longer than 1 min. it remembers the type of battery! If less than 1 min. it gets "confused" and can give wrong battery-measurements, i.e. display empty battery and switch off. Ricoh Germany recommended the use of Eneloos almost as a MUST! That is not his problem. The problem is most likely bad contacts and/or bad batteries. I uploaded the German "Question and Answers" which I had translated in the link I gave. The direct link to the Ricoh website is down. They also write that the true capacity of rechargeable AA's is only achieved after several charge/discharge circles! Attached Images

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10-16-2017, 06:06 PM	#2
johnhilvert Senior Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Canberra, ACT Posts: 245	Assuming you have the right batteries, try holding the Menu button down before switching it to On. If that doesn't work, do it with the Green Button. And finally, if the prior two don't work, hold the shutter release down before powering up. Read more at: Pentax k-x won't turn on? - PentaxForums.com

10-16-2017, 07:20 PM	#3
sergysergy Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,175	The k-x was known to have problems with certain kinds of batteries if the firmware had not been updated. I would try lithium batteries and then try to update the firmware.

10-17-2017, 01:13 AM	#4
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,867	Welcome to the forum, please report back on how you got on.

10-17-2017, 06:24 AM	#5
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	I had a similar experience with a friend's K-X: it would flash a "battery depleted" message even with full batteries, didn't matter if those were Ni-Mh or alkaline. I hooked it up to a regulated power supply (about 6V DC) using crocodile clips through the battery compartment, flashed the firmware, turned it off, inserted the batteries again and it was done.

10-18-2017, 04:28 AM	#6
Stratus106 New Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2 Original Poster	Thank you so much for the replies! It did turn on holding the Menu button (Thank you). It does not stay on long enough to update the Firmware so will try lithium batteries and/or a power supply. Thanks for the support.

10-18-2017, 04:58 AM	#7
LensBeginner Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Photos: Albums Posts: 4,696	Originally posted by Stratus106 Thank you so much for the replies! It did turn on holding the Menu button (Thank you). It does not stay on long enough to update the Firmware so will try lithium batteries and/or a power supply. Thanks for the support. By all means, ensure you have a steady power supply or you will risk not being able to complete the update, with potentially disastrous results.

12-03-2021, 11:21 AM	#8
cublai New Member Join Date: Dec 2021 Posts: 2	I dig out this old camera and it won't turn on whatsoever. Eventually I built a battery pack of 6 AA battery and tie it to the battery chamber of the camera with a rubber band. The camera just needs 4 batteries by design but I guess it is simply not enough. After I forced 6 batteries on it, everything works fine. It is really stupid design.

12-04-2021, 01:49 PM	#10
Photos-by-Chas Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Northwest Pennsylvania, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,318	Does the camera stay on long enough to choose the battery type? If it will turn on, go to the menu and choose the wrench icon #3, down button to "select battery" click OK and use the up or down button to select the type battery you have and click OK. Then click the menu button to close out.

12-04-2021, 09:45 PM	#12
cublai New Member Join Date: Dec 2021 Posts: 2	Yes. With 6 batteries, the camera seems to stay on forever. I tried your suggestion and selected AL as my battery and it still doesn't work. The light won't even turn on when I tried to turn on the camera with 4 batteries (whatever batteries I tried). I did update the firmware to the most recent one and I tried all the other methods suggested in this thread. None of them seem to work so far. I remember when I first got this camera years ago, it could turn on for a little while and turn off after some shots. There had been many complaints about this camera eating battery too fast. I don't want to buy those expensive batteries so I rarely used it. After a couple of years it won't even turn on. I am sure many other people did the same thing. Obviously there is a design flaw. They put too high a threshold for batteries. When the camera turned off on my batteries, I could still use them in other places like new batteries. My hack of 6 batteries works like charm. I did have to use my multimeter to find out where to connect them at the first time. Now the camera seems to be very stable. I expect it to turn off when the total voltage fall to around 6v. It just looks a little ugly when I carry them around. Originally posted by Photos-by-Chas Does the camera stay on long enough to choose the battery type? If it will turn on, go to the menu and choose the wrench icon #3, down button to "select battery" click OK and use the up or down button to select the type battery you have and click OK. Then click the menu button to close out.

12-06-2021, 11:19 PM	#13
photogem Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 3,525	Originally posted by cublai Yes. With 6 batteries, the camera seems to stay on forever. I tried your suggestion and selected AL as my battery and it still doesn't work. The light won't even turn on when I tried to turn on the camera with 4 batteries (whatever batteries I tried). I did update the firmware to the most recent one and I tried all the other methods suggested in this thread. None of them seem to work so far. I remember when I first got this camera years ago, it could turn on for a little while and turn off after some shots. There had been many complaints about this camera eating battery too fast. I don't want to buy those expensive batteries so I rarely used it. After a couple of years it won't even turn on. I am sure many other people did the same thing. Obviously there is a design flaw. They put too high a threshold for batteries. When the camera turned off on my batteries, I could still use them in other places like new batteries. My hack of 6 batteries works like charm. I did have to use my multimeter to find out where to connect them at the first time. Now the camera seems to be very stable. I expect it to turn off when the total voltage fall to around 6v. It just looks a little ugly when I carry them around. I think your hack made it impossible to run with 4 batteries anymore, so not such a good idea after all.

12-07-2021, 06:14 PM	#14
ChristianRock Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: People's Republic of America Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,912	I had never heard of this before... makes me wonder if these batteries are really giving 1.5v each. I would try eneloops like photogem said. The battery that works best in my K200D.

12-10-2021, 04:01 AM	#15
bobore Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North Oregon Coast Posts: 162	I use nothing but Energizer Lithiums in my AA battery operated Pentax cameras, including the K-x, K-200d, and K-r. They all operate flawlessly, but I make sure to run them through their paces every couple of weeks. The worst thing you can do to a K-x is to store it away and not use it - which can play havoc with the time-date battery, which can in turn play havoc with the camera's start-up process.