On Wed, 6 Nov 2002 23:52:08 -0000, "Colin Caskie" wrote:

>I've has a Sony PC5E for a while and the NP-FS11 battery that came with it
>has seen better days. It has not had much use, however most of the time it
>has been used it has been in cold climates. After a trip to Banff this year
>(and associated -25C temperatures) it will now not power the camcorder for
>more than a few seconds, before shutting down due to "lack of power".
>However, when I plug it into the charger it reports a full charge. My
>assumption is that the InfoLithium electronics within the battery have
>become confused about the real amount of residual power left.
>
>Any idea if/how I can properly discharge the battery or reset the control
>any other way? I've had a hunt on the Sony support site but found nothing.
>I'm sure I read someone here having the same problem but it was a long while
>ago and I can't find anything relevent.

Simple, but not definitive advice: get a 10-watt 10 ohm
resistor from Radio Shack, bend the leads to fit into
the supply sockets on the battery so that contact is
maintained with the battery sitting upright (with the
resistor on top), and follow the discharge until it
reaches about 6 volts (assuming it is a 7.2V battery,
and not one of the lower-voltage ones - if it is, go
about one volt below rating). Remove the resistor and
try charging the battery again...