Good evening all. I've got a question regarding battery life on the wireless controllers. I purchased an extra controller with my 360 last Christmas so we could play multiplayer, and now it seems that the extra controller battery is toast. It will only work when plugged into the 360. The controller that came with the xbox still works fine, and only needs a short time on the charger. I purchased an extended warranty with the xbox...does that apply to the extra wireless controller with recharger or am I SOL on this one and have to buy a new battery for said controller? Thanks, JoeB

the extended warranty applies to the console and original controller only.

the extended warranty applies to the console and original controller only.

Really? Last I heard the accessories are only covered by a 90 day warranty

Really? Last I heard the accessories are only covered by a 90 day warranty
The OP purchased an extended warranty, the terms of which will list what is covered.

Controllers don't come with batteries, so presumably you mean you purchased both a controller and a separate battery pack? The issue with the battery packs is that, despite some claims that they use Li-Ion batteries, the actually use the same NiMH battery cells that one would slap in there oneself. NiMH cells get old after enough charging cycles and stop holding their charge well, and some suffer from early mortality, as you're describing.

As far a warranty issues, who knows. I never buy the extended warranty on anything.

I use rechargeable AA batteries in mine and they last for a long, long time between charges.

When they die I just head to the charger and grab two fresh ones.

Guess my second unit has suffered from short life span(a dud!). Guess I am going to go for some Li-Ion batteries. What a joke! This battery didn't even last four months! On top of that we are not hard core gamers in this house...Maybe 1-2 hrs a day, and some of most of that was single player, so that particular controller was only used half the time...oh well.:mad:

You can't buy Li-Ion batteries in a generic AA form factor. That is, they aren't simply drop-in replacements for normal batteries, but instead require circuitry in the device using them to prevent accidentally destroying them (e.g. by limiting current or heat build up). The best you can do for a device which isn't made to use Li-Ion batteries is probably low-discharge NiMH batteries.

low-discharge NiMH batteries.

I had the "Play N'Charge kit" as well and over time the life of the included battery pack has gotten shorter and shorter. When it was new I swear that thing lasted 25+ hours of solid gaming, now it's more like...2-2 1/2. I picked up a set of Sanyo Eneloop low-discharge NiMH batteries and am quite impressed. They don't last nearly as long as the pack did in it's prime but probably still 7-10 hours, then you throw 'em in the charger and grab two more. Plus in a few year when you get rid of your 360 the NiMH's will (hopefully) still be going strong.

Sad though it may be, NiMH batteries simply don't hold up to the number of recharge cycles they claim to. I've seen them advertised as being able to stand up to thousands of full charge cycles, but we all know that after a hundred cycles or so (and sometimes even less when one gets a "bad cell"), they just don't store charge as effectively. They don't have the "memory effect" associated with older NiCD batteries, but still aren't always the nirvana they claim to be. This is doubly true when they're a cheap brand, like the ones Microsoft seems to embed in their battery packs.

So yes, definitely go with Eneloop or Imedion batteries if you don't mind having to take them out to charge them.

Guess my second unit has suffered from short life span(a dud!). Guess I am going to go for some Li-Ion batteries. What a joke! This battery didn't even last four months! On top of that we are not hard core gamers in this house...Maybe 1-2 hrs a day, and some of most of that was single player, so that particular controller was only used half the time...oh well.:mad:

I think you hit it...a dud. Not all of them are like that. I have battery packs from when I first got my 360 3 years ago that still last 10-12 hours. I have several and I swap between them when one finally does go dead. I leave the others in Microsoft battery pack chargers.