I have this strange problem for a while with each D200 battery that is fully charged only showing one segment charged after briefly showing fully charged. 2 different batteries tested to be fully charged. It seems to be the camera that isn't picking up the power. Initially I had to put a small piece of paper between the battery and closing door to get a decent connection but now that no longer works. I have checked all the electrical points and they are all clean.

What could this be ?

Quote from: Herg on April 19, 2014, 09:47

I have this strange problem for a while with each D200 battery that is fully charged only showing one segment charged after briefly showing fully charged. 2 different batteries tested to be fully charged. It seems to be the camera that isn't picking up the power. Initially I had to put a small piece of paper between the battery and closing door to get a decent connection but now that no longer works. I have checked all the electrical points and they are all clean.

What could this be ?

are the terminals in the camera bent or pushed down? or have no "spring" left in them?

They seem fine.

I had an original nikon d 200 battery completely die from one day to another.
I think I charged it too much too often.
But batteries do that dont they? suddently become unreliable.

Batteries are a mystery.
I think they would sometimes benifit from you playing basic physics with them. I mean discharge them by shortcut and charge them with more voltage than they like.

All points are clean but I did clean with alcohol as you advised just in case. It still shows one bar on the power and then starts flashing. Everytime I turn on the power it shows fully charged for about a second before dropping. Both batteries were working fine after being fully charged up until yesterday which puts the owness on the camera. Around 5 years ago I would say there was an intermittent power problem between almost no power and fully charged when i was out on location shooting in cold weather. If i pushed the battery further in and used a small piece of card behind the battery it seemed to cure it.

Again, the electrical pins inside the battery housing do not look out of place or bent and I haven't done anything to them. It's a mystery

The D200 battery info virtual meter item in the setup menu will tell you the condition of the battery. 4 positions on a scale from where zero is good (equivalent of new) and 4 (!) means time to send the battery to the recycling.

Right, forgot about that.  Good call, Bunhill.

Lots about D200 "dead battery syndrome" if you search online.
One thread here.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/26537844
With Li-ion batteries in particular I wouldn't try discharging them except in the camera, or charging them with anything except a charger designed for that battery.

Yes, did a bit of digging myself and found a can of worms. Time to invest in a new camera I think.

Ive also had my share of D200 battery woes. (Incidentally I now use the same batteries with my D700 and they are fine)

1) full charged battery suddenly "marked" as flat then only needing a few minutes on the charger to be full again:

I tracked my problem down to dodgy battery to camera connection - not certain if it was dirty battery terminals or the terminals in the camera, cleaning both with a cotton stick and isopro (IMPORTANT note to clean the thin face of the metal contact on the battery not the larger face on the back - the D200 connects to the thin edge on the end of the battery)

2) fake batteries:- its better to buy original nikon batteries, then if pushed the cheap generic type. Whats to avoid is ebay fake nikon batteries, they will cause they no end of problems, and look IDENTICAL to the genuine Nikon ones, packaging holograms etc. if you bought you batteries somewhere 'cheap' online as 'genuine nikon' treat them as suspects.

do you have the motor drive? If not see if you borrow one to see if that can drive the unit

after reading about the D200 all of different message boards, it seems that the D200 has suffered power problems from the very beginning. The paper between the door and the battery was a common thread. Maybe it is fate telling you it time to upgrade.

what lenses do you have?

So I get to the Nikon support page and click to download the latest D200 firmware. Nothing happens. Nothing downloads. Can anyone else confirm the same problem ?

https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/25680

no prob, PM your email address and I will send it to you

Thanks Dave but I managed to get it. Nikon said their server was down but just checked and it's up. Installed A and B firmware as it says on Nikon site it addresses issue of dead battery. All done and it's still the same