Erroneous low battery indicator

Good pictures, video and price, and CHDK (free software to upgrade Canon cameras, see google) works well. However, after a few months, may A560 gave the message "replace batteries" immediately after I put in new batteries, or in its better moods it let me take a few pictures, before freezing the camera with the "replace batteries" message. Sometimes turning the camera on and off would give me a few more pictures. The camera is unreliable so I can't rely on it now. Other internet reports of same problem are on the net. With CHDK, which provides a battery gauge, I can watch the battery capacity go from 100 to 0 in a minute or so.