Charger problem

E

eleskin

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I just noticed that when I plug the charger in the wall, the power and charge lights no longer illuminate. Is this thing dead? I will try it anyway with a battery to see what happens. Does anyone have this problem as well? I have the larger, original charger. I guess it would pay to have a spare one on hand. How many of you have had the need for a second charger as a backup?
 
Have you checked your outlet? Fuse panel? Check the contacts on the charger? The green and yellow lamps are LEDs chances are they are not the problem. The weight of the charger itself sometimes pulls the charger down at an angle, spread the lugs outward slightly for a tighter fit.
 
I have the same problem w/the charger that came w/my M8. With mine it turned out to be strictly an LED issue as the battery still charges & the LEDs come back most of the time, but it was enough to prompt me to buy another charger. Now I have 2 working chargers.
 
Car adapter works!!!

Car adapter works!!!

It seems that the car adapter works with my charger, the lights are both on. When I use the regular house plug adapter on the back, the LED's do not light up. Could there be a problem with the house plug adapter that attaches to the back of the charger or is something wrong inside the charger itself. I used an eraser to clean all the contacts to no avail.

Another thing I am thinking about. If I buy another charger, should I buy the more compact model or stick with the older one? Since this one is not working well, maybe the newer one is better.
 
Put a voltmeter on the house adapter and see if there's any juice.

Use a little deduction, you're not helpless.
 
Ahmed Poltroon said:
Put a voltmeter on the house adapter and see if there's any juice.

Use a little deduction, you're not helpless.
Click to expand...

I think you're being a little harsh on the guy, considering he's actually seen an M8 charger 😉

There is no "house adaptor", just an interchangeable prong set that locks into the charger. All the current-adapter electronics are internal to the charger.

My guess is that if the car cord lights the LEDs and the wall plug doesn't, it could be something in the internal voltage switching/converting circuitry. Are you sure (eleskin) it's actually charging your battery correctly?

PS I do have a backup charger, it's an Ansmann Digicharger Vario, which has movable contacts so when I travel it can back up my D-Lux-3 and my wife's Canon S80 chargers too, in addition to charging our cellphone batteries if I lose the charging cord.
 
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Ben Z

I just charged fully my M8 battery with my charger connected to a portable jumper cable device that has lighter plugs via my car adapter. I tried charging the battery before by plugging the charger into a house outlet the normal way ( i had it plugged in overnight) with no charge up to my M8 battery at all. In essence, my Leica M8 charging unit will charge my camera battery if I use the auto cigarette adapter. It will not charge if I do not use the car adapter and just plug it in a regular home electrical outlet. On Amazon, I just bought an adapter that will let me use the car adapter plug in my house , a universal AC to DC converter ($3-$10 fix). I figure, this is not a waste of money in that I can charge other devices that would normally plug in a car lighter socket, and use it with my M8 charger too. I will probably get a second charger as well later this year (TAXES,$$$, etc,,,) when it is in my budget. I think the weak point of this charger is the area where the plugs change in the back. I have had other adapters for various devices over the years, many of them being thrown about. None if any have ever quit like this one. I love Leica lenses and cameras, but their electronic devices can be touchy at times!
 
Ansmann digicharger

Ansmann digicharger

Ben Z

Wow, I see this charger (Ansmann Digicharger) for $59 at B&H. That is a good deal. How has it been holding up for your M8? It seems as it is working well for you. I may get one today from what you have said here.
 
It does seem to work fine, but since it's a universal charger I wonder if it "communicates" as intimately with the battery's electronics to indicate a full charge as well as the OEM charger. There are only 2 contacts on the Vario, more on the OEM charger. Seems to be fine though. Ansmann makes the chargers for Leica anyway. There was a review of it on the LUF some time ago (and maybe here too, IIRC) and somebody posted a picture of which battery contacts to attach the charger. I don't think I'd use it as my main charger, only an emergency backup.
 
The Ansmann charger works fine for a backup/travel charger. Especially considering the small investment it's a must have. Handy that it charges all your other batteries too when you want to travel light. Zero problems for me after a few months use. You connect to the M8 battery with the slightly longer slot and the second last slot from the opposite end.
 
Andy Aitken said:
The Ansmann charger works fine for a backup/travel charger. Especially considering the small investment it's a must have. Handy that it charges all your other batteries too when you want to travel light. Zero problems for me after a few months use. You connect to the M8 battery with the slightly longer slot and the second last slot from the opposite end.
Click to expand...

The light is red on the charger. Does this mean that it is not charging?How can you tell when it is charging?
 
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