One of the contacts inside battery compartment missing - fixable?

[InfinitSilver]

Hi guys, just returned back from vacay and got very sad, My working horse Canon Rebel T3 is not turning on. I closely looked and noticed that the battery compartment inside the camera there supposed to be 4 contacts that would align with the battery and one of the them came off and is missing, therefore, the camera cannot have contact with the battery, hence, no power. Any idea whether it’s something fixable? Or perhaps it will be so expensive that it’s cheaper to buy new Rebel? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[robbins.photo]

Hi guys, just returned back from vacay and got very sad, My working horse Canon Rebel T3 is not turning on. I closely looked and noticed that the battery compartment inside the camera there supposed to be 4 contacts that would align with the battery and one of the them came off and is missing, therefore, the camera cannot have contact with the battery, hence, no power. Any idea whether it’s something fixable? Or perhaps it will be so expensive that it’s cheaper to buy new Rebel? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like the sort of thing you'll need to take to a repair shop and get an estimate. If the estimate is too high, might be time to replace the camera.

 

[InfinitSilver]

Yea, I guess so. I don't think it's possible to troubleshoot on your own. And I think Canon will charge a lot, not sure if local generic shops are worth checking out either...By the looks of it, entire compartment body will need to be changed.

 

[robbins.photo]

Well I'm not familiar with the interior design of a Canon DSLR, or any DSLR for that matter, but in most cases those contacts go directly to a circuit board that needs to be replaced.

In many cases that circuit board is integrated into a much larger board that isn't a quick and easy fix, so they end up having to tear the camera apart and replacing a big circuit board which becomes a very expensive repair. Used to be the same way with a lot of laptops, the power connector was connected directly to the main board so if those contacts broke, well you could in theory soilder it back on but that never really worked, the contacts would break off again quickly and the only long term repair was to replace the entire main board.

In a lot of newer laptops the power connectors are connected to the main board in such a way that they can be replaced without replacing the whole MB, but my guess is that with something as compact as a DSLR that's probably not the case.

Might not be bad to get an estimate though, just to see how much it would cost and then figure out if you'd be better off with a repair or just buying a replacement. Also keep in mind that even though the camera may be worth less to you than what it might cost to repair, that is not the case for everyone.

If you put it up for sale on Ebay as a "for repair" camera your likely to get a few bucks out of it from folks who like to tinker and fix stuff, they might repair it or use it for parts for other cameras. It's kind of surprising what a parts unit like that can sell for sometimes.

 

[table1349]

Service Location

They respond quickly and you can talk to them over the phone.

 

[InfinitSilver]

Yes, sounds good for the ideas. I will let you know what they said.

 

[InfinitSilver]

Miracle happened! I turned it on today before finally calling Canon and it worked!!! I have no idea why, I have 2 batteries and tried both and it works with both..... Maybe there should be only 3 tabs there.... I don't know because I never looked. Maybe it stopped working due to some other reasons.... Have no idea, but very happy. I am hoping it won't stop working on me during my next vacation!

 

[john.margetts]

How many contacts on the battery? Should be the same number, I would have thought.

 

[InfinitSilver]

On the battery there are 4 and inside the compartment 3 and one gap between the second and third so I guess it is missing...... I guess sometimes my camera will be working and sometimes not it looks like....

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

The compartment should have 3 contacts. Shine a flash light in there, you should see two next to one another and the third with a space between. You can try cleaning all the contacts with rubbing alcohol and something that won't leave lint or dust or anything. Maybe a q tip?

 

[InfinitSilver]

The compartment should have 3 contacts. Shine a flash light in there, you should see two next to one another and the third with a space between. You can try cleaning all the contacts with rubbing alcohol and something that won't leave lint or dust or anything. Maybe a q tip?

You are absolutely correct. This is what I see, 3 contacts: 2 beside each other and gap and then just 1. But the battery has kinda 4 slots so I automatically assumed that the one that has gap between is missing, so I guess the way you described it has 3 contacts in the compartment but 4 slots on the actual battery... Odd design but I guess works for me as long as it is working I am fine. I will use q tip and sanitizer, very good idea! I appreciate you helping me!

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I believe one is positive, one is negative (on either side) one is for sensing battery voltage between the two and the other is used for charging, which is why one is missing in the camera since it doesn't charge. The battery grip for that camera also only uses 3 pins.

 

[InfinitSilver]

You are genius!!!! Thank you so much for clarifying!

 

[RowdyRay]

Glad there wasn't actually a battery contact missing. I would definitely clean all contact points. Inside the camera, all batteries and the charger. Just eliminate that as a source of the problem. If you have several batteries, make sure one hasn't died. It does happen. It may not have been a battery contact issue at all.

You said you just got back from vacation. Things get hastily thrown in sometimes. Stuff gets packed in on top of other things. We've all been there. If it were mine, I'd take it with me to work for a week. Lug it around. Take it out periodically and see if it turns on. If there's something else broken inside it'll hopefully act up now. Not while on your next vacation. Just my .02.

 

[Piccell]

That camera never had 4 contacts inside the battery compartment. Try cleaning the 3 contacts with a swab and isopropyl alcohol of at least 99% strength. Do not use the type for the medicine cabinet as it contains a lot of impurities and will leave a residue.