Attempting Battery Replacement?

[ghilt]

While this thread subject has been touched upon elsewhere, "Search" didn't find much in the Fuze subforum.
Our Fuzes are getting somewhat long of tooth and Li batteries are known to have a finite life (both calender time and number of recharges - limited), has anyone purchased a Fuze battery replacement (ebay shows two vendors) and installed it?
While I'm not against progress, why throw something that works well for an ipod?

[koperniczx3]

I didn't replace the battery but I opened my Fuze the other day...
Clips that retain the faceplate can be a pain.. Also, the ribbon cable on the clickwheel broke.. right now my Fuze is totally useless so be advised..

As for the battery, you must solder 3 wires. Not a big deal but if you never used a soldering iron before, I suggest you ask somebody else to do it for you

[saratoga]

It can be done, but you have to solder, and carefully remove the ribbon cable from the wheel. If you're not very careful, you can rip it in half.

[paker]

My Fuze was washed in a laundry washer. It was rescued right before dryer. It worked but battery life got shortened drastically.

1) I got the least expensive Fuze battery from ebay. It was slightly larger than OEM. End result is I cannot close Fuze completely. If I force-close it, the navigation wheel gets stuck in Fast Reward position. My Fuze now is about 1/32" lifted in the middle. Still works though.

2) The navigation wheel has a ribbon cable permanently attached to it. The other end of the ribbon is inserted into an on-board connector. I wasn't aware of it. The cable got pulled out. Putting it back required a long nose plier without aggressive serration. It was difficult. If I would do it again, I would swing open the top 90 degrees and duct-tape the bottom. Enough space for soldering.

3) Soldering was no trouble. You don't need a miniature soldering iron. Regular sized one that Walmart sells (30W?) was okay. I used a resin-core tin.

4) Once you open it, chances are the moisture barrier will be compromised. The barrier is a thin rubber cord with adhesive and it gets stretched, kinked, etc.

[curmudgeon]

Can iPod service places typically do this, while ensuring that the moisture barrier remains intact? Will SanDisk do it? If so, does anyone know what they charge?

[forensic fox]

Originally Posted by paker

1) I got the least expensive Fuze battery from ebay. It was slightly larger than OEM. End result is I cannot close Fuze completely. My Fuze now is about 1/32" lifted in the middle.

Anyone know if this is still a problem with the eBay batteries?