Battery Problem

[Lilmoose]

I bought a refurb 80D from Canon.  It came with a Canon LP-E6N battery and Canon charger.  About (1) one year later, the battery shows a green light when placed on the charger but shows "dead" when installed in the camera.  That is, the camera will not turn on and the discharged battery symbol shows in the display.  A compatible (after-market) battery seems to show the normal series of orange blinking lights when placed on the charger and, after a minimal amount of charging, powers up the camera.  Is the Canon battery shot?  I assume that it wouldn't have more than a one-year warranty. 

[Waddizzle]

Yup, sounds like a bad battery.  It is unusual to only get only one year of use out of one.  Canon batteries hold charge better than the third party batteries.  I would replace it with another Canon battery from a reputable, factory authorized Canon dealer.

[wq9nsc]

Try carefully cleaning the contacts on the battery with a cloth and isopropyl alcohol.  You probably have a bad cell in the battery but it only takes a few minutes to try cleaning the contacts so it is worthwhile to do so before discarding the battery.

I use my cameras heavily and I usually get 3 to 4 years out of Canon batteries before the capacity drops far enough that I replace them but these are batteries in 1 series cameras.  About a year ago I picked up a 5DS R which also uses the LP-E6N battery like your 80D and that camera doesn't get as much use as the 1DX series but I haven't experienced any noticeable decrease in capacity with it.  I added a battery grip with dual batteries to the 5DS R shortly after I bought it because I couldn't live without the "portrait orientation" duplicate controls which are a standard on the 1 series but require a battery grip on the 5 series.

Some of the third party batteries are supposed to be pretty good but I stick with Canon because they are a known commodity.  I tried a pair of third party batteries in my 1D Mark II several years ago and although they initially appeared to work normally once I tried shooting extend bursts at maximum frame rate they created an error due to excessive voltage drop.  A new Canon battery cured that problem.

Rodger

[RobertTheFat]

A Canon refurb almost certainly doesn't have dirty contacts. A marginal battery is more likely, because that defect is easier to miss.

[wq9nsc]

Bob,

I was referring to the battery and not the camera contacts.  It is pretty easy to have a battery contact pick up oil or other contaminants from the owner's fingers when removing or inserting it into the camera and the contacts on the LP-E6 series are highly exposed in this regard.

It is probably a defective battery but cleaning the battery contacts with a cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol takes a few seconds and is worth that small effort before sending stuff back or buying a new battery.

Rodger

[Lilmoose]

Thanks to all for your feedback.

[BurnUnit]

If I remember correctly, there is a menu on my 60D that is used to register a specific battery to the camera body. Don't know if the 80D works the same way, but might this be necessary for the camera to accurately detect the battery condition?