Battery issue with Nikon SB-900 flash (Page 2): A 1.5v battery reading 1.2 is essentially dead and needs to be replaced. At 1.3 it is weak and on its way out.

twice_shooter

A 1.5v battery reading 1.2 is essentially dead and needs to be replaced. At 1.3 it is weak and on its way out.

olsonsview

I agree with twice shooter. I would never consider using a battery with a surface voltage of less than 1.4! The alkaline batteries are only used to power the flash electronics when the Quantum is used. The Quantum provides all the power to the flash tube itself. Just the trigger and brain use the alkalines. I would never go out on a shoot without brand new batteries, not worth your reputation as a photographer to save pennies on batteries.
Someone asked how to clean electrical contacts inside the flash compartment. Purchase a contact cleaning pen. I used to get mine from Radio Shack. They look like a pen but they have a bundle of glass fiber inside that you allow only the tip of that to protrude, and wipe across contacts, the sharp glass tips clean very effectively! Then carefully wipe and blow out the chamber. I have used the same pen for over 30 years and it is far from exhausted.

tomcat

Largobob wrote:

I agree with larryepage. It is the CURRENT, not the voltage that does the work. The working voltage of a battery under load, can be significantly lower than the voltage measured without the load....which you did. I'm guessing the SB-900 draws/requires more current (amps, milliamps) than the other speed light. Those batteries could not deliver the required current to power the flash tube.

I did not consider the "under load" component of this situation and it does make perfect sense. The batteries although they still showed an acceptable voltage (?) just do not have the amps to drive that flash. It's peculiar to me because the SB-800 flash has a higher guide number than the SB-900 and was considered the more powerful and the batteries worked fine in that flash. But as someone else said, the circuitry in the 900 must require more amps. Anyway, I'm going to put a brand new set of batteries in that flash and fire away till the cows come home just to make certain that it doesn't do it again on an assignment. I'm thankful that it did not do it last week at the high school homecoming presentations. It's like being the goalie and all eyes are watching you......only this time, it's a good feeling when the light goes on.....

tomcat

olsonsview wrote:

I agree with twice shooter. I would never consider... (show quote)

I quit using those rechargeable AA batteries many years ago when I had one of them fail me in that same flash (Eneloop brand). The flash would not fire then at all and I put in brand new alkaline AA and it started back working. So I gave all of them to a friend--never trusted them afterward. I'm a lot older now and a little more senile I guess and I just never thought to put in new ones yet because these weren't that old. However, I am now going back to my old practice of brand new batteries for each assignment and forget about the old ones. When we were in the wedding business, I used to buy a brick of AA batteries from our local Radio Shack store because they were great batteries and cheaper than anyone else, so we always had 40 available. Between the pre-wedding prep shots and the bridal walk, I always changed batteries during our 20 minute break. I just need to return to that old habit.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

From the information what you have given us those AA batteries were near dead. Best of luck.

Spirit Vision Photography Loc: Behind a Camera.

tomcat wrote:

How do you get deep into the contacts on the flash unit itself? I can clean the upper contacts on the lid, but down deep, only a Q-tip can get in there.

A Q-Tip moistened with vinegar is an excellent contact cleaner.

Spirit Vision Photography Loc: Behind a Camera.

Also, the IKEA branded LADDA batteries are actually Eneloop Pro batteries. But with a much cheaper price tag. 👍

rcarol

larryepage wrote:

.2 volts is a significant difference. Replace the cells that measured low and see what happens. And the SB-800 may have a completely different threshold for flagging a low battery than the SB-900.

Are you using a voltmeter or a battery tester to check the voltage? The difference is that a battery tester will test the batteries under load whereas a voltmeter will not and will often read higher since there is no load on the battery.

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

this is why I use alkaline Eveready batterys ,rechargeable do get weak over time and they don't hold there charge over a long period of time not like alkaline PS don't buy Duracell they leak .If you have sb800 don't use 5 lithium batterys the flash will over heat and shot down and the battery get so hot you can't touch them.

Mike1017

Hi I would be using lithium batteries only for that flash unit I had a 900, turned it back in because it overheated and shut down until it cooled down I use a 910 with no problems Mike

tomcat

rcarol wrote:

Are you using a voltmeter or a battery tester to check the voltage? The difference is that a battery tester will test the batteries under load whereas a voltmeter will not and will often read higher since there is no load on the battery.

It's a combo test meter of some sort. It is a Sperry Digital Multimeter DM-210A. I am using the voltmeter side of the test meter to read the voltage. There's not an option to test the current in amps or milliamps.

tomcat

carl hervol wrote:

this is why I use alkaline Eveready batterys ,rechargeable do get weak over time and they don't hold there charge over a long period of time not like alkaline PS don't buy Duracell they leak .If you have sb800 don't use 5 lithium batterys the flash will over heat and shot down and the battery get so hot you can't touch them.

OK! thanks for the tip so that I don't burn my fingers. Do you know something about this, first-hand from experience?

tomcat

Hey guys, I just completed a test tonight with this SB 900 flash unit, using brand new alkaline AA batteries. After about 50 flashes, I left it on and had dinner. Just a few moments ago, I picked it back up and the low battery warning indicator was on in the LCD panel. The voltage in these batteries were all at 1.42 volts, which is as it should be considering I only had 50 flashes on them. So there is no way that 50 flashes would have used up the batteries that fast and since they have 1.42 volts on them, I think I have a malfunctioning flash unit. I am going to send this back to Nikon for an estimate on repairs.

1grumpybear

You may have the volts but not the amps. I to own the SB-800 and the SB-900 and have ran into the same problem using a volt ohm meter to check the voltage. I was at Tempe Camera store and I happened to see them testing batteries with a Pulse Load Multi-Battery Tester. It was testing for how much battery life was left as a percentage. I bought one and I no longer worry about weather or not I have good batteries.

(Download)

tomcat

1grumpybear wrote:

You may have the volts but not the amps. I to own the SB-800 and the SB-900 and have ran into the same problem using a volt ohm meter to check the voltage. I was at Tempe Camera store and I happened to see them testing batteries with a Pulse Load Multi-Battery Tester. It was testing for how much battery life was left as a percentage. I bought one and I no longer worry about weather or not I have good batteries.

The thing that's the problem here is two-fold:
1) Brand new batteries should give 100 full power flashes, so the specs state. But I am getting only 25 or so flashes out of them before the low battery warning shows up.
2) These batteries that fail in the 900 will fire the 800 many times

So I don't think the batteries are dying or dead. I think there is something wrong with the 900 killing them because I have used this 900 for many years and it has never done this until yesterday. It has always fired continuously using a Quantum auxiliary battery pack and the AA batteries have habitually lasted a long time since they don't have much power draw (because of the Quantum).