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10-01-2015, 04:02 PM   #1
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Join Date: Oct 2015
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WG-3 GPS Battery will not charge

Hello all,

I have had my WG-3 GPS for a couple of years and it has been a great camera. Last year when I went on vacation I took three batteries along with me and they all charged well.

Recently one of those batteries died completely.

Lately I have been using the camera a lot to take pictures of items I am posting on ebay.

A couple weeks ago another of the batteries died

And two evenings ago, the last one also died - or did it?

I have ordered new batteries and an external charger, which should arrive in a few days

In the meantime, I went out and bought one more battery. I charged it.. or thought I did.. but it apparently is not charging.

By that I mean..... I am plugging the camera into the wall with the provided AC charger, as I have always done. The green light blinks on and off, which supposedly indicates that the battery is charging. But it never stops blinking. I leave it overnight, and come home to find it still blinking. I detach the power cable, close the camera and hit the power switch... no power.

So, somehow the camera is not charging the battery. And perhaps my other batteries are okay as well.

Thinking that perhaps the battery was not making a firm connection in the camera, I used the tip of a knife to raise the connector prongs in the camera ever so slightly. Now the battery slightly resists being pushed into the camera, which to me means that a good connection has not been made - but no luck on charging.

Possibly the new battery that I bought is also faulty? Possible, but unlikely.

Could the cable from the AC plug to the camera be the problem? Could the connection IN the camera be the problem? Would those be problems if the green light successfully flashes, indicating that the battery is "charging"? I do not know.

Unfortunately I do not have another cable with a similar small connector. I see that I can buy one on Amazon.ca for Cdn$17 plus shipping, but would hate to spend the money if the cable is not the problem (yes, I could buy it and return it right away if it did not solve the problem, but dislike doing that)

Does anyone have a suggestion as to what else I might try?

Thank you,
Larry Hancock

11-28-2015, 02:54 PM   #2
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Grand Junction, Colorado
Posts: 91
Your battery may not be the problem

My WG3-GPS had the same problem, and it wouldn't turn on. I found that the battery was not making proper contact with the terminals inside the batter compartment. You can fix this by making a thin cardboard ship to place between the base of the battery and the compartment cover. Also, if the camera won't turn on, give it a good shaking until is does turn on.

You can test to see if this is your problem instead of a dead battery by turning on the camera while pushing the battery firmly against the contacts.

If the contacts are your problem when charging the only thing I've found to do is to keep manipulating the battery until the charge light comes on.

I consider this a serious weakness in the design of the WG3-GPS.

Good luck.
11-28-2015, 03:03 PM   #3
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Location: Grand Junction, Colorado
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Replying to myself. I should have mentioned that the cardboard shim must be really thin, or it could compromise the waterproofing.

JT
01-07-2016, 12:24 PM   #4
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Medicine Hat
Posts: 2,306
You could try to plug the camera into a universal USB charger using the original cable. If that works then the charger itself is not working.

good luck, I know the batteries do not last very long in that model.

Some day I am going to get a battery plate for the Watson charger from B&H so that I can charge the battery outside of the camera. I already own the charger but the plate is $1.99 plus over 12 bucks shipping, GST and handling so looking for a local person who is also making an order there.

06-17-2016, 03:23 AM   #5
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Join Date: Jun 2016
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Hello,

I'm having exactly the same problem.

@dlarryhancock what turned out to be the problem and how did you solve it?

Best,
Anne
06-18-2016, 09:27 AM   #6
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Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Grand Junction, Colorado
Posts: 91
Two things helped. One was to cut a thin (ca. 1mm or less) cardboard shim shaped like the base of the battery. The other is to give the camera a hard shaking until it will turn on. That seems to settle the battery onto the contacts.

Regards, and good luck.

John Trammell
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