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The Nikon distributor in South Korea is recalling EN-EL3. Some of the EN-EN3 can overheat and may catch fire. There are 4 cases of overheating reported worldwide. As such, they are recalling batteries with following manufactor's 4-digit lot number. The lot number is engraved in the center gap of the battery.

44A-A-
44AC

46A-A-
46AC, 46AD, 46AE, 46AF, 46AG, 46AH, 46AI, 46AJ, 46AK, 46AL, 46AM, 46AN, 46AO

46AP, 46AQ, 46AT, 46AU, 46AV, 46AW, 46AX, 46AY

47A-A-
47AA, 47AB, 47AC, 47AD, 47AE, 47AF, 47AG, 47AH, 47AI, 47AJ, 47AK, 47AL, 47AM

47AN, 47AO, 47AP, 47AQ, 47AR, 47AS, 47AU, 47AV, 47AW, 47AX, 47AY

48A-A-
48AA, 48AB, 48AC, 48AD, 48AE, 48AF, 48AG, 48AH, 48AI, 48AJ, 48AK, 48ALAL

49A-A-
49AA, 49AB, 49AC, 49AD, 49AE, 49AF, 49AG, 49AH, 49AI, 49AJ, 49AK, 49AL, 49AM

49AN, 49AP, 49AQ, 49AR, 49AS, 49AT, 49AU

4AA-A-
4AAA, 4AAB, 4AAC, 4AAD, 4AAE, 4AAF, 4AAG, 4AAH, 4AAI, 4AAJ, 4AAK, 4AAL, 4AAM

4BA-A-
4BAA, 4BAB, 4BAC, 4BAD, 4BAE, 4BAF, 4BAG, 4BAH, 4BAI, 4BAJ, 4BAK, 4BAL, 4BAN

4CA-A-
4CAA, 4CAB, 4CAC, 4CAD, 4CAE, 4CAF, 4CAH, 4CAI, 4CAJAJ

Three digit lot number and other numbers are not recalled.

Well, it seems that Maxwell is not recalling the batteries yet but stay tuned if you have one of the batteries with the LOT number above.

Nikon USA is recalling too. I expect to see the same thing from Maxwell soon.

Thanks for this info.... I will check my batteries when I get home tonight.

So it seems it's not just the aftermarket batteries that malfunction!

Cheers

Ah... just remembered I had one in my bag so checked and yep - it's gotta go back. Damn.

tschoi - do you have a link to where you saw the South Korea recall?? Does it say anything about replacements? (eg on the spot or a waiting period?)

I only have three weeks (to the day!) left in Korea and I really don't want to be battery-less for that time....

Mine says 46AC

I'll take the risk! (Until I get a free replacement)

If a company "recalls" a product, doesn't that mean it *has* to provide a replacement?
ie It is admitting a fault and is therefore liable for replacement?

Or is my understanding wrong?

33M - I’m safe

Thanks for the warning tschoi,
I'll check mine shortly.
Cheers

Well - one good and one bad (46AP).

Funny thing about all this is Maxwell warned us here of the evils of not using genuine Nikon batteries including the possibility that the non geniune batteries poses concerns not only for irrevocable damage to equipment but also for serious personal injury and fire hazard.

The simple answer is that Nikon do not make batteries

Thank you for the post - I'm safe too: 30C & 33G

Well mine says 49AN back it goes Lucky I have a backup after market en-el3
I suppose we'll find out soon from maxwell about returning? What happens to those bought from other than Maxwell? Is it an International call back by nikon?
cheers
marco

I got my D70 from Mr Poon....do I return it to Mr Poon, Maxwell or...?

anubis wrote:I got my D70 from Mr Poon....do I return it to Mr Poon, Maxwell or...?

If you get it direct from Poon, then you have to send it back with the recall notice.

Thanks Birdy

Well just checked mine, it is on the list so does mean it has to go back to you birdy or is this only if Maxwels recall them?

BBJ wrote:Well just checked mine, it is on the list so does mean it has to go back to you birdy or is this only if Maxwels recall them?

If it's from Maxwell stock then Maxwell's job, you paid for Maxwell price.

If it's from HKS and purchased it thru me then return to me, if purchased directly from HKS, then return it to HKS directly, it's simple!

I only accept the return of whatever from HKS which purchased from me and I have all of your purchases in our system.

Just because you got the number does not mean you have to send it back. If only 4 worlwide caught fire then what's the chances that..............HEY! WAIDAMINUTE! WHAT'S THAT SMELL COMING FROM MY BEDROOM? DOH!

This is going to be a very messy process (eg I have one Maxwell EN-EL3 and one from HKS Damned if I know which came from where!.)

I think we should all remember that Birddog does all the work here in his own time and for no return. At this point in time he probably knows no more than the rest of us about how this will work.

Best to wait to see an offical announcement from Maxwell.

One good one bad, I don't know which came with my camera and which I got from Birdy.. I wonder if 4 worldwide is really accurate, I guess there's no way of knowing..

Thanks Birdy well i look at it this way it has not given any problems so i wont bother too much about it, i also have a second after market not that i use it, but i wont panic i dont think.

I still have two brand new EN-EL3 battery in my hands and they are my spare stock for replacement in case, these two batteries are from the same batch (in a box of 20) which I did a sale last month, and they're 43AL, anyone bought the battery last month perhaps will have the 43AL rather than other number.

Birddy, might be an opportunity to buy pirates now, they soon should sell for more than originals. Mine is on the list, please blow up, I could do with a replacement body and maybe upgrade to D2X for pain and suffering.

Maybe if I stick it in the microwave?

Glen wrote:Birddy, might be an opportunity to buy pirates now, they soon should sell for more than originals. Mine is on the list, please blow up, I could do with a replacement body and maybe upgrade to D2X for pain and suffering.

Maybe if I stick it in the microwave?

Glen,
It's true, pray Santa to blow it up tonight or tomorrow or next month then a new replacement body as the new D200.
If it's recalled by Nikon and if it's blow up and damaged your D70 in anytime, Nikon has to replace it for you regardless of which and where you purchased the battery, provide it's Nikon genuine battery.

Matt. K wrote:Just because you got the number does not mean you have to send it back. If only 4 worlwide caught fire then what's the chances that..............HEY! WAIDAMINUTE! WHAT'S THAT SMELL COMING FROM MY BEDROOM? DOH!

So... Matt takes his camera into the bedroom. Very interesting...

Potatis wrote:
So... Matt takes his camera into the bedroom. Very interesting...

Naturally that is where the Benro is....

Updates...

It is rumored that in the 4 unfortunate cases the battery case swelled in the camera due to the heat and did not come out of the battery compartment.

It seems that there's no EN-EL3 to give out in Korea and they give you a EN-EL3e.

Mine has 46A and a circle. The circle is quite narrow so I think it means 46A0 - not for recall.

Hi,

Official announcement from Nikon USA: click here

And Maxwell is actually quick at posting:
http://www.maxwell.com.au/service/notice/enel3.html

Lucky, 3 batteries, all good.

Cheers,

radar

Is it just me or is there anyone else unable to find a number on their battery?

Camera purchased from USA battery has Nikon Li-ion Battery Pack on the front in silver ink

2 stickers on the back 7.4v 1400mAh

But I can't locate a serial or batch number, even had the magnifying glass out to it.....

TonyH wrote:But I can't locate a serial or batch number, even had the magnifying glass out to it.....

Hi TonyH,

have a look at the link that I posted in a reply above to the USA Nikon site. It has a photo of a battery and where you will find the batch number.

HTH,

radar

Got 2 battery (2x D70)...one from Maxwell and one from birddog

How do you tell which battery is which?

Both are recall I am fully booked until Christmas, so cannot afford to not have batteries.

Thanks Radar,

no number there at all it's a completely clean skin.

now that's a worry.......


Regards

Tony

How ironic... My D70 is currently at Maxwells getting its' warranty service. I wonder if they will bother to check my battery while it's there?

I just filled in their (Maxwell's) online form. The only mandatory fields were the battery code, and my contact details.

Seems pretty easy to me.

I filled out the form too, even though I don't have any concerns about my battery. Brand new battery for free? Why not?

Thanks Radar for the link.

tschoi wrote:Updates...

It is rumored that in the 4 unfortunate cases the battery case swelled in the camera due to the heat and did not come out of the battery compartment.

It seems that there's no EN-EL3 to give out in Korea and they give you a EN-EL3e.

Mine has 46A and a circle. The circle is quite narrow so I think it means 46A0 - not for recall.

Hi tschoi,

Mine is 47AO - the O is also fairly skinny, but to me it actually looks like it is an alphabet 'O' rather than a zero.... which would put it on the recall list. It might be worth taking yours in to check anyway....?? Anyway, if they tell me mine is a zero I will let you know!

Cheers,

... Obsolete ...

Hi tschoi and cyanide. Ialso have a 46AO battery I bought with camera from harvey norman. I think it is an alphabetic O not a zero, as there are no 46a1, 46a2 etc. As there are only two alphabetic letters after 46 and no numbers mentioned in any of the last position of any serial number, I would be pretty sure its for recall. I am guessing they will not have enough replacement stock, so they have asked that we cease using the old (knowing we won't) and send us out stock when they get it. In a recall, it is not like they reuse the old ones anyway. If the old battery does swell up and nuke your camera because you were using it for a spare, then they will know and void your warranty. This is basically because if you send in a burnt out camera for warranty repair with no battery or the battery in the camera is in good condition they will know what happened. Also they if you requested a new battery they will know where all the bad ones were and whether you returned yours.
Given the low incidence of exploding batteries to date, i am guessing there will be a lot of old batteries "lost in the mail" on return to maxwell.

Just my two cents.

Damn 47AD

Well i got mine from Birdy and its EN-EL3a D51AQ i'm safe phew !!!!

Well, just got home from my supposed 0900-1700 job (ugh... don't ask) and checked my second battery... it's a 45 series, so looks like that one is not included in the recall....

Will be returning my other one to the distributor here in Seoul hopefully this week (skyva - I agree with you re the 'O' being an actual letter O rather than a number zero) so hopefully I can just get a replacement on the spot.... well, fingers crossed, anyway...

Cheers all

radar wrote:Lucky, 3 batteries, all good.

Cheers,

radar

radar got all his 3 batteries from me and they're HKG stock with the batch number 43AL and they are the same batch/ box of 20 which I delivered to members.

TonyH

Still trying to find the battery no? It's black ink on the black plastic in a little cutout on the back. Easiest way to see it is to move the battery in a strong light so the light bounces off the ink.

Bugger, 46AF. Just filled in the Maxwell return form, after giving them a call. Apparantly, they are expecting a shipment this week, so should be about a 2 week turnaround...... hopefully anyway
Rel

skyva, I agree. I've just filled up Maxwell's web form for replacement. It seems that they will ship the battery to us first, so there shouldn't be any downtime.

Bugger 46AL just filled the online form aswell!!!

Thanks for the info!

Cheers

Scott

Hmm - Nikon Europe are right up there with the rest of the world; no clunky forms to fill in, just a list of phone numbers (how high do I rate my chance of geting through?) BTW, what's the difference between an EN-EL3, EN-EL3a and EN-EL3e ?

bummer,

I got 2 batteries, one good and one not.

just filled in the recall form.
gotta wait for mr maxwell to contact me

Steve