RCR-V3 Not charging? (SP-350)

[OzeDiver]

I bought a RCR-V3 for my SP-350 and until yesterday had been using the original CR-V3 and the charge the RCR-V3 already had.

Then I went to charge it...I plugged the charger in with no battery, the FULL light came on, I put the batteries in, the FULL light stayed on and the CHG light didn't come on.
I emailed the guy I bought it from (eBay) and said to leave it in there for 6 hours. I did this then put it in the camera. Came on for about 10 seconds with full battery light on camera,then the empty light came on and the camera turned off.

This morning I had a look at the battery and charger and there appears to be 3 'contacts' on the battery, and only 2 'contacts' on the charger.

It sounds to me like what happens when you put rechargeables in withouth the firmware upgrade, but I'm using a RCR-V3???

Hopefully the guy will get back to me this morning but it looks like I'm going to have to send it back and get replaced/repaired.

Unless there is something I am doing wrong???

Thanks for any help, Jordan

 

[OzeDiver]

3 contacts

2 contacts and FULL light with no battery

Battery JUST put in, FULL light still on, CHG light not on

 

[Larry C]

My charger has a third, center pin. I don't know if it is a charge reader, a ground or what, but there's obviously a reason for it. I'd certainly contact the seller if he's an e-bay store and find out if there's a defect or what. One way to check the charge level is with a voltmeter. If it's fully charged, it should read at or above the specified charge.

PS After a little research, this is from the website of the "Small Battery Co."

"A safety feature is the unique 'third contact point' for charging. It is distinct from the discharging contacts and, in this way, a CR-V3-R battery is safely charged but it would be impossible to inadvertently charge disposable lithium CR-V3 batteries or AA NiMH batteries."

It sounds to me like they gave you the wrong charger.

 

[OzeDiver]

thought that might've been it... theres a little slot on the charger in the middle were it looks like there should be another pin.