D7100 Clock issue: Theirs has happened twice in the last week: Turn on camera, display goes blank, but shows “clock settings have been reset”, and I would have to re-enter the date and...

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Theirs has happened twice in the last week:

Turn on camera, display goes blank, but shows “clock settings have been reset”, and I would have to re-enter the date and time info.

Second tone was after changing the battery.

Ideas?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

kb6kgx wrote:

Theirs has happened twice in the last week:

Turn on camera, display goes blank, but shows “clock settings have been reset”, and I would have to re-enter the date and time info.

Second tone was after changing the battery.

Ideas?

Nikon cameras contain a small rechargeable battery or "supercap" to power the clock. It recharges from the main battery. The charge rate is quite slow...they typically require a few days to reach full charge and will then keep the clock running for a couple of months even if the main battery is removed or fully discharges.

Sounds like one of two things has happened...either both your main battery and clock battery have completely discharged and you didn't leave the big battery in place long enough to recharge the clock battery, or more likely, your clock battery has failed and needs to be replaced.

To check, put a fully charged main battery in your camera and leave it there for a week. If the same thing happens, the clock battery is bad. Also make sure the main battery is still charged at the end of the week. If not, it is bad. Replace it and try the test again.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

kb6kgx your Nikon D7100 has an internal Clock power source i.e. Battery or Storage Device that needs to be charged for at least two days in order to run for up to 2 or 3 months...

I believe you may have removed your D7100 battery or let it run down...
This is what actually may be causing the issue. Give it 48 hours of charging time with a fresh battery, k?

kb6kgx did the thought ever occur to you that it might be appropriate and germane to read your manual?
Here it is... https://download.nikonimglib.com/archive2/Wt74B00WmPdp01GF7sU080xUqy56/D7100_(En)03.pdf
I've posted page 29 of the aforementioned below if you find it too challenging to download/study the D7100 Manual.

My "Pro Build" Nikon D3x has a separate clock battery with approximately a 3 to 4 year life in constant use.
This allows one to always have an instant replacement on hand... a CR1616 lithium battery. Commercial photographers demand this level of fault tolerance... and Nikon provides same in it's flagship bodies...

Below also find the instructions for my Nikon D3x Clock Battery Replacement (page 398 of the Instruction Manual)
I change mine every 3 years.

Hope this helps kb6kgx or is at least food for thought...
All the best on your photographic journey kb6kgx
.

Nikon D7100 Clock Power Supply

(Download)

Nikon D3x Clock Power Supply (Replacement)

(Download)

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Thomas902 wrote:

kb6kgx did the thought ever occur to you that it might be appropriate and germane to read your manual?

What? I’m supposed to read the manual? Who does THAT???

Seriously, appreciate the info. I’ll check it out when I get home later.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

kb6kgx wrote:

What? I’m supposed to read the manual? Who does THAT???

Hahahahahahahaha

Most people don't!

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Thomas902 wrote:

My "Pro Build" Nikon D3x has a separate clock battery with approximately a 3 to 4 year life in constant use.
This allows one to always have an instant replacement on hand... a CR1616 lithium battery. Commercial photographers demand this level of fault tolerance... and Nikon provides same in it's flagship bodies...

Apparently there is no such battery in the D7100 that can be user-replaced. Nothing in the manual refers to such a thing. Only that there is an internal rechargeable battery, but does not tell how to go about replacing it.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

kb6kgx wrote:

Apparently there is no such battery in the D7100 that can be user-replaced. Nothing in the manual refers to such a thing. Only that there is an internal rechargeable battery, but does not tell how to go about replacing it.

Apparently user-replaceable only in the Dx bodies. Has the extended charge opportunity made any difference in the behavior of your camera? I have a D300 which still works fine when the main battery is removed.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

larryepage wrote:

Apparently user-replaceable only in the Dx bodies. Has the extended charge opportunity made any difference in the behavior of your camera? I have a D300 which still works fine when the main battery is removed.

The D7100 IS a DX body. I’ve had the camera for about six years or so, but only NOW experiencing this clock reset problem.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

kb6kgx wrote:

The D7100 IS a DX body. I’ve had the camera for about six years or so, but only NOW experiencing this clock reset problem.

I was referring to the D3, D4, etc.

BebuLamar

larryepage wrote:

I was referring to the D3, D4, etc.

And you meant that replaceable internal battery is only available on top of the line models.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

BebuLamar wrote:

And you meant that replaceable internal battery is only available on top of the line models.

Thomas said that his D3 or D4 has a replaceable battery. None of the Nikon cameras that I have owned (D200, D300, D300s, D500, D810, D850), nor my wife's D40x nor the D40 I used at work years ago have had a user-accessible clock battery. Don't know about any other models.

Machinedoc Loc: Yorktown Heights, NY

kb6kgx wrote:

Apparently there is no such battery in the D7100 that can be user-replaced. Nothing in the manual refers to such a thing. Only that there is an internal rechargeable battery, but does not tell how to go about replacing it.

The D7200 has the same system for keeping the clock going - the D7200 manual calls it a "rechargeable power source" which probably is a "super capacitor", not a battery. Good luck

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Machinedoc wrote:

The D7200 has the same system for keeping the clock going - the D7200 manual calls it a "rechargeable power source" which probably is a "super capacitor", not a battery. Good luck

I have both cameras. But, I don't like the way that sounds: "Good luck". Does that mean that I'm SOL in terms of anything I can do on my own and that I have to send it to Nikon? If so, is it an expensive fix, one of those "it'll cost more than it's worth"?

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

larryepage wrote:

Sounds like one of two things has happened...either both your main battery and clock battery have completely discharged and you didn't leave the big battery in place long enough to recharge the clock battery, or more likely, your clock battery has failed and needs to be replaced.

I've never left a battery in long enough to be fully discharged. In fact, I've noticed that certain functions, like AF, don't work if the battery voltage drops below a certain point. I believe that the battery was around 40% when I took it out and put a fresh one in. When I turned it on to use it, that's when the display showed me that the clock was reset.

I reset the time and date, and tried it again a couple of days later. Same thing.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

kb6kgx wrote:

I've never left a battery in long enough to be fully discharged. In fact, I've noticed that certain functions, like AF, don't work if the battery voltage drops below a certain point. I believe that the battery was around 40% when I took it out and put a fresh one in. When I turned it on to use it, that's when the display showed me that the clock was reset.

I reset the time and date, and tried it again a couple of days later. Same thing.

Understood. The reason I was pressing for answers or to see if the problem is something that you can fix is that I'm not sure Nikon is still accepting D7100s for repair.