AA Battery Leak/Explode Inside F5 Body

Were these alkaline or lithiums? I have heard that the lithiums can get very hot if short-circuited, however there is supposed to be some built-in protection. I guess you were lucky, though. I have been using the Ni-Mh on my F5 and have had no troubles with them, keeping the lithiums for back-up. Regards,

Alkaline. I am not mentioning the manufacturer as I want to take steps towards getting the problem resolved without making a public fuss. It is one of the big battery companies-- one whose products you see in virtually every large camera, drug & grocery store in the USA. <P>Since making my original post I have been to their website and they claim that they will replace or repair any item (at their discretion) damaged by their product.

Very unusual as far as I know. I have a friend who repairs cameras that recommends against this brand based on the number he has seen that leak. This is not scientific as his customers may buy more of that brand than others. His recommendation is Varta or Energizer.

Based on recommendations from Steve Sint and others on another forum I’m using Energizer L91 lithiums mostly. I also use Energizer MH15 NiMH batteries in my cameras.

Years ago I saw a display by a Varta rep showing the insides of their batteries. There was a device that would puncture the battery’s inner cell and cause it to leak before it would explode from over pressure. The cause of pressure would be heat I’d guess from internal resistance and a heavy load (also reveres charge).

I have had batteries with a built in battery check that activate and ran the cell dead. This was in a digital voice recorder. I won’t buy batteries with one of these devices if I can help it.

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If one cell goes dead before the others that cell will be reverse charged. This can happen to rechargeable as well as non-rechargeable batteries. It’s possible one of the cells was defective from the start. This could case rapid failure and leakage of the defective cell. This is my best guess.

I doubt that the F5 is at fault. I would think it would take a dead short to cause a fresh set of name brand alkaline cells to leak this rapidly. Someone might ask if you put a cell in backwards but the MS-30 battery holder is failsafe in this respect. I hope you got the camera cleaned out. Is it running? I’m sorry this happened and hope everything turns out ok.

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The same repairman friend recommended that I pickup spare battery holders for my MD-12(s) as he has seen some crack due to age. I decided to pickup spare holders for my F5 and F100. It’s nice to have preloaded batteries that can replace a used set quickly. The price is about $34.00 and $17.00 respectively at B&H.

Regards,

I never look inside the F5 battery compartment before. There are a number of seams. I can see some sealed seams and other seams I can’t tell. If you haven’t put batteries back into it I don’t think I would. Also I’m told that corrosive material from batteries can wick its way up wires and into a camera damaging the flex after a time. I don’t like writing this. Again sorry this happened.

One thing you should do is to get a Q-tip dabbed with a small amount of vinegar and repeatedly clean the battery compartment changing your Q-tip frequently. The mildly acidic solution neutralizes the alkali battery fluids very efficiently. Just don't go crazy with it and flood your camera...small amounts do the trick.

If the camera is still working and you are reasonably certain that it isn't damaged, this might stop problems down the road. If you think its fried, then of course I'd leave it alone and go after the battery manufacturer.

My only experience of a severe battery leak was a new, Duracell AAA cell in my home theatre universal remote. The remote stopped working and I found a leaky battery in my investigation which I treated using the vinegar treatment prescribed above.

Sounds like a good reason to dust off an F2!Im curious why you dont mention the brand?Do you think that if a few hundred photonetters boycott this brand,that their stock will drop?LOL I use an 8008s for wedding candids,it also has nearly a fistfull of AA's.I often thought about battery's leaking,this would really suck!"Everyready" battery company used to advertise they'd send you a new flashlight if their batts leaked.Im sure they'd draw the line with a multi thousand $$ SLR!

Ellis,

This hasn't happened with my F5 or F100....but it did happen in the drive of my F3 a long time ago. I believe the F3 drive had a seperate on/off switch and I left it on. When the camera failed to turn on, I opened the battery drawer and there was goop everywhere!

I cleaned it off the best I could (didn't know about the vinegar trick then....thanks!) replaced the batteries and the camera functioned perfectly. The battery tray had some corrosion but continued to work until I traded the camera. Guess I was lucky!

The batteries were one of the two top consumer brands. I have used everything....including bulk Sam's Club batteries (no Lithiums) in my F5 with no problems and I've left it on for several days without remembering to turn it off.

However, I think I WILL get a spare battery tray....just in case!

Is this a camera body problem or a battery problem? I have been using "Copper Top" regular and Ultra on many of my Nikon bodies since 1989. I don't shoot as much as pros such as Ellis, but I have never had this problem.

Only a defective battery would have leaked with the way you were using it. I wish you luck trying to get them to assume responsibility and cover repairs.