Nikon recalls some SLR / mirrorless batteries for fire risk
posted Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 11:59 AM EDT
If you're shooting with the Nikon D800, D800E, or D7000 digital SLRs, or the Nikon 1 V1 compact system camera, you'll want to take a careful look at all of your EN-EL15 battery packs. These packs were included in the camera bundles, and =sold separately as Nikon model number 27011. In either instance, they're clearly identified as an EN-EL15 on the pack's label. Nikon has announced a voluntary recall of certain batches of these packs, after identifying an issue that could potentially lead to a fire hazard, according to our friends over at Rob Galbraith Digital Photography Insights.
According to Nikon, there have been seven instances to date of battery packs in the affected batches short circuiting, with no injuries reported. When the pack shorts, it can overheat and deform, which Nikon Australia cautions can potentially lead to a fire in extreme cases.
Identifying the affected batteries is easy: simply locate the 14-character alphanumeric lot number shown in the diagram below, and check the ninth character. (That's the first character after the date portion of the lot number.) If the ninth character is an E or an F, then the battery has been recalled.
If your battery doesn't match this pattern, you need not worry, and can continue using it as per normal. If you have a battery in the affected batches, stop using it immediately, and contact your local Nikon agent for instructions. In the US, Canada and Europe, Nikon has stated that it will arrange a courier service to collect the faulty batteries and provide free-of-charge replacements. There will likely be similar arrangements in other markets where these batches of packs were sold.
Official statements from Nikon can be found on the following pages:
If your local agent isn't listed, you can find their details on Nikon's Global Network page.
(Thanks to Peter Burian for bringing this story to our attention!)