rollei 6000 battery charge problem

[bug009]

Hello,

 

I just bought a 6003 with what appeared to be a new battery. When I put

the battery in the camera for the first time it said to charge it. I

put it in the charger (type N) and left it for about an hour. When I

put it in the camera, it registered as full. After playing around with

the camera a little (about the equivilant of 5 rolls of 120) and

shooting a roll and a half of film, the battery went from bc=6 to no

charge in only a couple of shots.

 

So I recharged the battery, leaving it in until the red light went off

and only the green light remained constant just as the manual says. I

put it in the camera to check it, and the readout said bc=6. Since the

battery wasn't charged fully, I put it back in the charger and noticed

that rapid charging with both green and red lights on is lasting for

only about 20 seconds. The red light then goes off for about ten

seconds, then on for 10 seconds, then off and into pulse mode blinking

every 16 seconds. The battery now does this every time I put it in the

charger. Is this a problem with the camera, the charger, or the

battery? Could this be an old battery? What do the red and green lights

on the charger actually mean?..I've heard different things from

conflicting sources. I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks, John.

[jim_chow]

In the manual under operations in cold weather, it says it takes about 3 hrs to get max. charge. The charger goes into a slow charge mode. I noticed the battery which came w/ my original body, which is marked "medium acting" (referring to the fuse), didn't last nearly as long as my newer batteries purchased in 1997-98, which are marked "slow acting." I deduced that the battery was made around 1995 or so (based on serial numbers, etc.), so it had been sitting around for 2 yrs before I bought it. I believe the batteries inside the cells are just like the cordless phone Nicads, except twice as many cells. I believe Nicads need to be used often, and you should try to drain them as much as possible before recharging for maximum charge. Two batteries should be plenty.