Lumix G9 battery charger LED blinking - won't stop

[ralf-11]

I am trying to recharge my G9 battery, but the green LED on the charger is blinking and it has been like that for 12 hours or more.

The battery is only 9 months old and the contacts are all clean.

Any ideas??

 

[Petermfiore]

Can we assume you tried the battery and it has no power?

 

[PakkyT]

Did you pull it out and put it back in again (sometimes my 3rd party Oly batteries do this and I have to re-seat them to start it over)?

Have you tried a 3rd party charger that might be more forgiving of a voltage a bit too low (where the Panny charger might refuse to charge a battery if the voltage falls below a certain "safe" charging minimum level)?

 

[ralf-11]

Yes, I reseated it many times. I don't own a 3rd party charger, and the battery is only partly depleted.

Panasuckit "support" wastes my time filling in fields then a bot just kicks out a site to buy a new battery (where there are none in stock anyway).

 

[Mike G]

Have you tried charging in the camera?

 

[Apollo T.]

can you use a different charger? This may determine if the battery is faulty or charger. And a different outlet power source?

 

[ScottinPollock]

Panasuckit

 

[PakkyT]

Yes, I reseated it many times. I don't own a 3rd party charger, and the battery is only partly depleted.

Does only this one battery do this or have you tried another battery on the same charger to see?

 

[ralf-11]

only have 1

 

[PakkyT]

only have 1

Darn. Kind of hard to figure out which one is the problem when you only have one of each. On the other hand, with no spare of either, maybe it is time to buy one of each anyway. If you don't mind 3rd party ones you can probably get a charger+battery (or 2) for under $20. Where as original Panny stuff will likely cost you well over $20 for either one.

 

[ralf-11]

Where can I get a battery for $20?

BTW, Lumix finally sent me a quasi-doherent response and said to send the "unit" back to Texas for "testing" - the worst customer support I've ever seen. They will never compete with Nikon or Canon at this rate.

 

[ScottinPollock]

Where can I get a battery for $20?

I have used these for Nikon and Lumix for years and they have been great.

BTW, Lumix finally sent me a quasi-doherent response and said to send the "unit" back to Texas for "testing" - the worst customer support I've ever seen. They will never compete with Nikon or Canon at this rate.

Unfortunately, I have experienced the same from Panasonic support and it is frustrating at best.

Have you tried charging the battery in camera using the included power supply, and if that didn't work trying some other USB source like a phone charger?

 

[ralf-11]

Thanks Scott. I am trying it on in-camera charge now. The red light is steady...

 

[gwydionjhr]

Don't forget, it's an "eliminate the variables" kind of situation. Change the wall wort and the micro USB cable you've been using if doing it in camera does not solve the problem.

You could also try fully depleting the battery and then trying it again in the factory charger.

 

[Wasabi Bob]

Where can I get a battery for $20?

BTW, Lumix finally sent me a quasi-doherent response and said to send the "unit" back to Texas for "testing" - the worst customer support I've ever seen. They will never compete with Nikon or Canon at this rate.

Just curious - how do you feel they could have better handled your situation? Requesting that the battery and charger be sent in so they can determine the problem seems like the logical thing to do. If the battery can be charged in the camera, connect a generic USB charger and see if the battery starts charging. If it does, it's the charger. If not, it's the battery. Assuming you are within the battery warranty period, once the problem is identified they will take the required action. Don't get me wrong, service is never as fast as we would like it, but from the details you shared it seems that they have followed a logical and reasonable approach.

 

[ralf-11]

many manfs. would send out refurbed ones, with a pre-paid label to send in the old since they are well within the warranty period

this seems to be the charger BTW

 

[Brownie]

+1 on the Wasabi batteries. I use them with my Pannys and my daughter has a set for her Nikon. They seem to last as long as the Panasonic and are cheap.

I bought from Amazon. The first one came with a faulty battery. Wasabi replaced the whole setup without questions. I now have 2 spare chargers and 3 extra batteries.

 

[Danny_SWE]

I have same problem with my new G9 ("out of the box"-new).
Tried charging in body and that works though.
This charger seems very crappy if it fails on us like this, the DMW-BTC13. Anyone had it replaced or so?

 

[Danny_SWE]

...uhh, ok, I tried the dreaded trick "Read the manual". It says...

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

So I tried using this cotton-stick with electronic cleaner spray on it on both charger and battery terminals. And you know what. Now it works!!! Very sensitive terminals on the charger it seems!

 

[speedy]

...uhh, ok, I tried the dreaded trick "Read the manual". It says...

View attachment 979531

So I tried using this cotton-stick with electronic cleaner spray on it on both charger and battery terminals. And you know what. Now it works!!! Very sensitive terminals on the charger it seems!

Nailed it. Mine's done it once or twice now, a good cleaning of the battery and charger terminals, and away it goes again. Panasonic knows a bit about Lithium ion batteries. In all the Panasonic cameras I've owned, I've yet to replace a battery. My little LX7 is nearly 10 years old, still on the original battery