My D90 digital SLR will not power-on

hsu94583

New member
I really need some help or direction (aside from sending the camera in for repair). I own this Nikon D90 for several years. Yesterday, I have not been able to power on. I did the obvious things such as checking my batteries if they are fully charged; clean the battery compartment, the contacts, etc. but no signs of life. I do not use wired remote, or GPS. I search the existing forum for leads but with no success. If you have any experience relating to this problem, I would really appreciate some help. Thank you in advance. Hsu94583
 

WayneF

Senior Member
If the battery is several years old, it could be the battery. Trying another battery is the best test. If you have a volt meter, you can measure the voltage on the two outer battery pins. It is a 7.4 volt battery, and should not be very far below that. Immediately after charging, it could show 8+ volts for a while.

But batteries need to be replaced after only a few years anyway. The replacement for a two pin EN-EL3 battery for D90 is the three pin EN-EL3e, but the D90 only uses the two pins. There are third party brand batteries that are more economical than the Nikon brand. I have have good luck with the Wasabi brand at Amazon.

If the problem is the camera instead of a battery, then that is a defect that will need repair. Frankly, the cost of the repair might be more than the older camera can justify, that money might be better spent on a new current model. I would suspect the battery first.
 
Last edited:

hsu94583

New member
Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I have measured the voltage level soon after the charge, and it shows over 9 volts dc. My batteries are indeed over 2 years old, and I need to replace them if I decide that this camera is still worth fixing. I recognize that the repair cost could exceed the cost of a new camera.

On a different lead from viewing You-Tube, I came across some videos for DIY. One, in particular, prepared by somebody of European or Russian origin, showed the internals of the Nikon D90, piece by piece. Although I do not understand the language, the video showed sufficient details for one to troubleshoot the camera. If I decided that there is no sense to keep the camera, I may follow this video to learn a few things.

Again, thanks for the nice comments. Hsu94583
 

WayneF

Senior Member
I fear that sounds like bad news. A two year old battery ought not to be too suspect, and a 9V charge ought to at least turn the camera on. I'd want to see what a different battery did, but it's not sounding good. On the bright side, its been several years, and the new cameras are pretty spectacular now.
 
Top