Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Digital Camera Logo
Posted on Apr 11, 2012

I put in new batteries in but 5 mins later it says low battery and turns itself off.

It cannot be the issue with batteries themselves because I have gone through many, re-chargeable and non-chargeable ones. What is the solution pls?

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Paul S

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  • Posted on Jun 19, 2014
Paul S
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It could very well be the battery door latches are not holding the contacts tight. This is a common problem with this model. There is about 5 lock down points where little tabs on the door slide into little receiving catches. With batteries intalled and door shut look closely at how tight the door is to the camera, you should not be able to fit a finger nail into the seam, while pressing down on the door there should be no movement. If you have broken latches, you have big problems. Often times even a new door will not help, because the parts may be broke on the camera side. I have fixed some of these with epoxy but it is very tricky business to do so. Sometimes all you can do is seal it down hard as you can with duct tape, and even that trick doesn't always work well.

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  • Posted on May 30, 2012
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I have the same problem. Canon support claims they have never had this problem before, but it is all over the Internet. I won't be buying another Canon for the support, although the camera is sweet.

I have tested everything I can see including the batteries and there's nothing wrong with the batteries.

However, when I eyeball the height of the batteries, I see that one is lower than the others. So I assume that this connection is not as solid as the rest and may be why low battery indicator shows even when the batteries are testing fully charged.

On the SX20 you can't bend down the terminals at the top, so you have to reach in to the bottom and bend the contacts on the short battery up. I believe that this is just a temporary solution because it doesn't fix my camera permanently.

But try it. It is a free fix and can't hurt.

IMHO

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5 Related Answers

Anonymous

  • 1 Answer
  • Posted on Jul 25, 2009

SOURCE: CAMERA battery low message with new batteries

I have the same problem with mine!! Had it about 14 months now too!! Glad I'm not the only one... I don't know what to do! I have gotten brand new rechargeable batteries and instead of getting 250 shots, I only get like 20!

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t00nz

CameraR

  • 4738 Answers
  • Posted on Feb 01, 2008

SOURCE: A95 PowerShot turns on and off until batteries die.

Sounds like you have a stuck power button or shorted power switch. To repair you'll need to remove the top cover. Please see the following disassembly guide. It's in Estonian, but you can follow the pictures.

Continue to page 2, paying particular attention to the second and third picture. It looks like the power switch is connected to the camera through a simple ribbon cable. I'd suggest removing the ribbon cable end from its connector, cleaning any obvious crud, and then reseating the ribbon cable end into its connector. Ribbon cables are notorius for suddenly shorting or getting a bad connection at the connector. Usually just jiggling the cable can fix it too :-) Good luck!

http://qman.fotokala.ee/Kaamerad/PowerShotA95/index.html

By the way, were you the person that left a similar comment on my blog? http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/12/fuji-digital-cameras-showing-black.html


Anonymous

  • 54 Answers
  • Posted on Apr 11, 2009

SOURCE: Low or no power even with new batteries

when you dropped it, it may have nocked something loose.

Anonymous

  • 300 Answers
  • Posted on Jul 28, 2009

SOURCE: Powershot SX100 low battery symbol with new batteries

Hi!
If you're sure that the batteries are full, then the power board has to be changed. It's the first board under back cover, with the buttons on the other side of it. Contact your local Canon service center. If they ask very much, you can contact me [email protected] and I can give you a price - I have access to new Canon parts.

Tom

Anonymous

  • 1 Answer
  • Posted on Oct 22, 2010

SOURCE: canon sd870 says "change battery pack" even though

My IXUS 860 IS behaves the same. I found that if you start it in replay mode and then half press the shutter button it generally starts up OK.

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