Most of the time you put the batteries in your electrical equipment, switch it on enjoy your music, your camera, your torch or whatever it is without any problems. However, there can be times when no power is supplied and you need to do a little of battery troubleshooting in order to get to the bottom of the problem.

The first thing to do is check that the polarity of the batteries is correct. We all know that the battery compartment comes with a polarity indicator but putting the batteries in the wrong way round is very easily done and is also simple to fix.

If they have been correctly aligned but there is still no power, then you should check the “use by” date indicated on the batteries. Modern power cells usually come with a long sell by date but if you have left them lying around a long time or bought from a shop which has old stock then this could be the problem.

Assuming that the date is also fine, then it could be that the power cells are flat. Some models, such as the Duracell Ultra batteries, come with a handy little indicator which will tell you how much power is left in them. This is a great device and if you are ever going to do a very important task where you need to know how much longer your battery power supply is going to last then this type of portable power unit is highly recommended. If the batteries have been incorrectly stored, such as in direct sunlight or at high temperatures, this could also have drained the power from them quicker than you expected.

Some portable electrical products use a lot more energy than others and if you have a cheap battery in the machine then it might not function at all, even on the first use. It can be tempting to buy cheap, unpopular, or imported batteries but the short duration period really makes this a false economy.

If you have carried out the above tests and there is no obvious reason for the problem then the best thing to do is to look for another item you have which uses the same size of battery and which is functioning as it should do. Switching the batteries between the two objects should leave you with a clear answer as to whether the batteries or the piece of electrical equipment is the problem.