Resurrecting a dead battery

saiyuki · 03-31-2016, 06:35 PM

Hi guys. My Kobo Touch battery apparently died on me. I left it on charge for a few days but still nothing, just the green light (which disapeared when i unplugged the charger) . So i contacted Kobo (yes it's out of warrenty), who wanted £60 odd quid to replace it.

Then i remembered something one of my boys did for a duff battery they had -not an ereader battery- so in for a penny, in for a pound, tried and i revived my apparently 'dead' battery.

I know this works on a Kobo Touch but it should work on any battery that refuses to work (unless it's burned out or something).

Method:

1. 9V battery.
2. x2 short lengths of thin wire.
3. Attached the wires to the 9v battery.
4. Take off the back of the Kobo and unplug the battery connection.
5. Hold the wires from the 9v battery and place the positive to the negative connection, and the negative to the positive (swap polarity) of the Kobo battery connection.
6. Hold for 10 secs.
7. Remove the wires from the Kobo connector and reconnect the Kobo battery to the Kobo.
8. Plug in the Kobo charger and it 'should' start to charge -if it doesn't redo from #6.

I'm guessing the 9v power surge wakes the battery up, but why it apparently only works when the polarity is reversed beats me. :chinscratch :

Give it a go. If you think your ereader's battery is dead anyway, what have you got to lose.

Hope this helps.

Regards

rkomar · 03-31-2016, 07:12 PM

I remember we used to do something similar for NiCd batteries in the early days (~1983). We slowly charged up a big capacitor and then discharged it through the rechargeable battery. It blasted apart conductive paths in the battery that were shorting it out. It helped the battery for a while, but it would never return to new condition, and you had to blast it more and more often. I'm not sure if it's the same process with LiPoly batteries, but it might be.

frahse · 03-31-2016, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkomar

I remember we used to do something similar for NiCd batteries in the early days (~1983). We slowly charged up a big capacitor and then discharged it through the rechargeable battery. It blasted apart conductive paths in the battery that were shorting it out. It helped the battery for a while, but it would never return to new condition, and you had to blast it more and more often. I'm not sure if it's the same process with LiPoly batteries, but it might be.

Similar methods will sometimes work on Lead Acid (Automotive) batteries.

You are burning out internal crystalline like formations between plates.

Note, you have to be careful with these big batteries and protect yourself and surroundings from explosions and fire.

davidfor · 03-31-2016, 10:20 PM

saiyuki: Did you leave the device uncharged for a while? If so, it probably discharged below the safe recharge point. The charging circuit in the device would prevent recharging when this happens. You disconnecting the battery and charging it by other means (the 9V battery) probably took it up past this point so that when you plugged it into the device it charged. I have seen other reports of people doing this, but I think they used a real charger.

A warning on this: LiIon batteries are actually quite dangerous. In normal operation, they are fine and can take a lot of abuse. But, if they get damaged somehow, they can explode (search youtube for exploding laptops). One of the ways they can be damaged is to discharge to much and be recharged. Or being overcharged. Doing this is not advisable.

rkomar · 04-01-2016, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

A warning on this: LiIon batteries are actually quite dangerous. In normal operation, they are fine and can take a lot of abuse. But, if they get damaged somehow, they can explode (search youtube for exploding laptops). One of the ways they can be damaged is to discharge to much and be recharged. Or being overcharged. Doing this is not advisable.

Yes, I think I'd remove the battery from the device first before discharging a capacitor through it. And I'd probably do it outside, away from combustibles. And I'd probably be delighted if it did explode...

So take my advice with a big grain of salt.

saiyuki · 04-01-2016, 04:52 AM

@ davidfor....

Yes it was left for sometime. I've been reading discworld on my NookHD and forgot to keep the Kobo topped up

At one point i went into my loft and dug out my first ereader, a Binatone Read Me. the battery in the Binatone was still half charged

and i hadn't used it in years. Thank god for old technology

Regards

Yolina · 04-01-2016, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saiyuki

I left it on charge for a few days but still nothing

How many days did you leave it on charge for? I have an old-ish tablet lurking about (HP TouchPad - anyone remembers them?) which is now seldom used and so I only occasionally remember to charge it

I once needed to have it plugged in for a week before it even showed the empty battery symbol on the screen

theducks · 04-01-2016, 08:42 AM

A huge word of caution
Many of these stunts may cause battery fires with the newer battery types. These batteries are typically 3.7 Volts. that 9Volt trick

is severe over voltage

As has been pointed out, attempting to charge from below a certain point may invoke a protection circuit.

If it does not immediately trip (protection), you may have a chance of recovery.
As soon as it trips. Disconnect the charger. DO NOT TURN/leave the device ON. Also Turn OFF (airplane mode) the WiFi)

Allow a couple of HOURS for things inside the battery to cool (there are heat sensors inside to prevent overheating) back to room temperature.

Repeat this cycle a couple of times (this may take a couple of days before it settles...if it is going to)

I Googled (looked for DIY) battery replacement. The typical battery I saw, is $28 (Cdn?). Unfortunately, this is also typical for many replaceable (basic) cell phone batteries.
DIY may be an option to save labor charges, but only if QUALIFIED to do the steps precisely as called out. Fire or BURNS can result if done wrong.

murg · 04-01-2016, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yolina

How many days did you leave it on charge for? I have an old-ish tablet lurking about (HP TouchPad - anyone remembers them?) which is now seldom used and so I only occasionally remember to charge it

I once needed to have it plugged in for a week before it even showed the empty battery symbol on the screen

I just got one of these. It took about a day of charging before any sign of life (the low level charging graphic), and another day to get it to boot.

03-31-2016, 06:35 PM	#1
saiyuki Enthusiast Posts: 47 Karma: 1068314 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: binatone ReadMe, Kobo Touch, Scroll Extreme 2	Resurrecting a dead battery Hi guys. My Kobo Touch battery apparently died on me. I left it on charge for a few days but still nothing, just the green light (which disapeared when i unplugged the charger) . So i contacted Kobo (yes it's out of warrenty), who wanted £60 odd quid to replace it. Then i remembered something one of my boys did for a duff battery they had -not an ereader battery- so in for a penny, in for a pound, tried and i revived my apparently 'dead' battery. I know this works on a Kobo Touch but it should work on any battery that refuses to work (unless it's burned out or something). Method: 1. 9V battery. 2. x2 short lengths of thin wire. 3. Attached the wires to the 9v battery. 4. Take off the back of the Kobo and unplug the battery connection. 5. Hold the wires from the 9v battery and place the positive to the negative connection, and the negative to the positive (swap polarity) of the Kobo battery connection. 6. Hold for 10 secs. 7. Remove the wires from the Kobo connector and reconnect the Kobo battery to the Kobo. 8. Plug in the Kobo charger and it 'should' start to charge -if it doesn't redo from #6. I'm guessing the 9v power surge wakes the battery up, but why it apparently only works when the polarity is reversed beats me. :chinscratch : Give it a go. If you think your ereader's battery is dead anyway, what have you got to lose. Hope this helps. Regards

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03-31-2016, 07:12 PM	#2
rkomar Wizard Posts: 2,988 Karma: 18343081 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633	I remember we used to do something similar for NiCd batteries in the early days (~1983). We slowly charged up a big capacitor and then discharged it through the rechargeable battery. It blasted apart conductive paths in the battery that were shorting it out. It helped the battery for a while, but it would never return to new condition, and you had to blast it more and more often. I'm not sure if it's the same process with LiPoly batteries, but it might be.

03-31-2016, 10:20 PM	#4
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,906 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	saiyuki: Did you leave the device uncharged for a while? If so, it probably discharged below the safe recharge point. The charging circuit in the device would prevent recharging when this happens. You disconnecting the battery and charging it by other means (the 9V battery) probably took it up past this point so that when you plugged it into the device it charged. I have seen other reports of people doing this, but I think they used a real charger. A warning on this: LiIon batteries are actually quite dangerous. In normal operation, they are fine and can take a lot of abuse. But, if they get damaged somehow, they can explode (search youtube for exploding laptops). One of the ways they can be damaged is to discharge to much and be recharged. Or being overcharged. Doing this is not advisable.

04-01-2016, 04:52 AM	#6
saiyuki Enthusiast Posts: 47 Karma: 1068314 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: binatone ReadMe, Kobo Touch, Scroll Extreme 2	@ davidfor.... Yes it was left for sometime. I've been reading discworld on my NookHD and forgot to keep the Kobo topped up At one point i went into my loft and dug out my first ereader, a Binatone Read Me. the battery in the Binatone was still half charged and i hadn't used it in years. Thank god for old technology Regards

04-01-2016, 08:42 AM	#8
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,944 Karma: 55705602 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	A huge word of caution Many of these stunts may cause battery fires with the newer battery types. These batteries are typically 3.7 Volts. that 9Volt trick is severe over voltage As has been pointed out, attempting to charge from below a certain point may invoke a protection circuit. If it does not immediately trip (protection), you may have a chance of recovery. As soon as it trips. Disconnect the charger. DO NOT TURN/leave the device ON. Also Turn OFF (airplane mode) the WiFi) Allow a couple of HOURS for things inside the battery to cool (there are heat sensors inside to prevent overheating) back to room temperature. Repeat this cycle a couple of times (this may take a couple of days before it settles...if it is going to) I Googled (looked for DIY) battery replacement. The typical battery I saw, is $28 (Cdn?). Unfortunately, this is also typical for many replaceable (basic) cell phone batteries. DIY may be an option to save labor charges, but only if QUALIFIED to do the steps precisely as called out. Fire or BURNS can result if done wrong.

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