What symbol is used when the battery needs to be recharged? Is it ok to recharge the battery before the symbol appears?

Yes. It sure could have caused the problem. You didn't say which Nikon camera you have, so consider this a general answer. NMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) batteries are rechargeable and alkaline batteries are not. When your camera is set for rechargeable, the recharging circuit is activated when your camera is plugged into the wall outlet. When the camera is set to alkaline, the charging circuit is disabled. Therefore, if you had the camera set to alkaline and you used rechargeable batteries, you batteries were never getting charged. Since your NMH batteries were in a discharged state, your camera gave you correct information.

Hi
For faster recharge method: press *101# enter the 16 digits secret code then press # then ok.
press *100# then ok and you will receive an SMS showing the new credit.

discharge battery.... connect 12v bulb from a car , to a tomtom battery.
after fully discharge, recharge again.
if no help- replace battery.

I had this same problem today.  I called Honeywell and they said the flashing broken battery symbol may mean low batteries, or it may mean the battery type is incorrect.  They recommend only non-rechargeable alkaline batteries.  I was using rechargeable NiMH batteries.  Even though they were fully charged, I had the flashing battery symbol and the thermostat relay would not work.  I replaced with alkaline, the flashing battery indicator went out, the thermostat works again.
Odd that it worked for 3 months on the rechargeables after first install. I did notice the broken battery symbol came on after the first few days, but I checked the battery charges and they were good, so I disregarded the symbol until the thermostat stopped working today.  Apparently there is something about the NiMH performance characteristic that the thermostat doesn't like.

Many Kodak brand cameras have this problem, and when I say many I mean almost all. The only solution is to try different types/brands of batteries until you find one that lasts.

Make sure the hold/lock is not engaged- it will prevent the player from charging.

Hey scelzinc,
This camera does not have a way to show the current charge level on your battery, but an Icon of a low battery symbol should appear on the LCD screen when your battery is at a low level and needs to be recharged. I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Allan
Go Ahead. Use Us.

Rechargable batteries actually do not recharge the 100 times advertised. After maybe 10 times they are reduced in capacity noticably. For instance, new alkaline batteries will last me maybe 60 pictures, however the rechargables are only good for about 5. To test this try taking out the batteries, and put back in before you wish to try them, also turn off the flash if it is not needed.(flash uses a lot of power)