[DanG]

Hey guys,

I have a Sony D-EJ01 that's been mine for pretty close to a year now. It's been working fine, but I've just come upon a problem last night. It seems that the player doesn't recognize that I have the two NiMH batteries inside. When I try to use the player with only those batteries, nothing happens -- though the batteries could just be dead. But when I try to charge the CDP, the charge light doesn't come on and it seems the CD player doesn't recognize that there are batteries in the battery compartment. I have checked and yes, the batteries are inserted correctly. What might be the problem, and what can I do short of sending it back to Sony or getting new expensive batteries? Thanks

Best,
Dan

 

[Magicthyse]

Those NH-14WM's probably need replacement. Sorry.

Did you get 'progressive dementia'? Where the batery life got shorter and shorter? If so, the cells need replacing. If not, then probebly the unit is faulty... Arrgh

 

[DanG]

If that's the case, I"ll probably just start using AA batteries with the clunky external AA battery case. No way I'm dropping $50 on replacing a pair of batteries. Does anyone else think there might be something else I could do?

 

[DanG]

By the way, I wasn't using the player all that much. I probably haven't used it since June. That's around three to four months of just sitting around in the Airbag. Any possible way that could have contributed? The batteries were inside the player the whole time.

 

[Magicthyse]

I thought it was just the nicads which would degrade after a long period of non-chargedness(...).

Sefu, one of the mods on Minidisc T-Board had some inexpensive (but lower capacity) replacements for the gumsticks. Could be worth PMing him on T-Board.

 

[DanG]

Haven't been there in a while, used to be a relatively active member there. Thanks Magic.

 

[DanG]

Just figured out the problem. I decided to call Sony tech support, they were no help. Then I decided to try the external 2-AA battery pack and see if it would at least work with that connected. It did. I then disconnected the battery pack to see if perhaps some small amount of energy had been restored to the NiMH cells. Apparently it had as it started playing for a few seconds then said "lobatt." I've started recharging the batteries now and it seems to be working fine.

Lesson to be learned here? If your rechargeable batteries are completely dry, they need to get a little juice in them before they can be recharged by an electronic mechanism that needs to recognize their presence. I suppose if the battery is completely dry then it's like there's absolutely nothing between the two battery contacts.

 

[purk]

DanG,
I'm glad that everything works out for your D-EJ01. Anyway, I hope it will last you a long time.

Purk

 

[DanG]

Thanks for the kind words, Purk. It's a good lesson for the future, I think. I had always thought that completely discharging the battery increased overall battery life with Nickel Metal-hydrate batteries; now I know that's not really the case. I, too, hope this player will last a long time -- it's a beauty and it works great! Thanks again for my little friend, Purk.

 

[Magicthyse]

odd... glad you sorted it out anyway.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Fully discharging to get more battery longevity is a myth, period.

You're not the first guy from whom I heard that their NiMHs are dead after a long period of storage while flat.

Maybe it's better to recharge them before storing them?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

My recommendation here: Do NOT store NiMH batteries fully discharged. Also, do NOT leave rechargeable batteries inside the PCDP if you're going to leave the PCDP unused for very long stretches, since most PCDPs will cause some battery drain even when switched off.

 

[DanG]

I believe all batteries are slowly drained even when not in use. At least that's what I learned back in high school physics.

Do you think the rate is actually higher when it's inside the CD player?

 

[HeadWired]

DanG,
I had the EXACT scenario play out two nights ago. Spooky. Hadn't used my player in a while; the whole bit.

The only thing I did differently than you was thatI tried replacing them with two extra batteries I have stored (not in a player) and they were as dead as the ones in the player. So I guess it's not just the player that drains these babies.

 

[linnem]

if you are going to store batteries for a long time do it in the fridge/freezer. Fully charged of course.