Don't buy on Ebay
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Well, I guess thats a bit too strong of a statement. I have bought many things on Ebay and I am very happy with most of my purchases (e.g. the backup server does great and was a steal). However I will not ever buy a replacement battery on Ebay again. Background Story:A while ago I bought to replacement batteries for my and Dani's IPAQ PDA. Those batteries are very high capacity Li-Polymer Batteries that look something like that when bought new:
Finally yesterday I realized that the IPAQ hat pushed its extension sleeve apart and the device was bulging like a balloon. The reason I hadn't noticed any of this earlier was due to the fact that it was sitting in its extension sleeve. After I took the device out (see first picture on this page) I realized that it was bulging. I opened the device and the back panel almost sprung into my face. It was under a lot of pressure and completely deformed:
The battery which should be flat (see picture of new battery) was blown up like a balloon.
When you get it new, it is probably as thick as 2 or 3 credit cards put together. The one I removed from my (now deceased?) IPAQ looked horrible. The bottom line: I should have known better then to buy a replacement battery on ebay. Let this be a warning to you in case you are thinking about it. I won't buy any camera equipment on Ebay either after a horrible experience with a lens. Bookmark/Search this post with: |
After I installed the battery, the device worked for a relatively short period of time until it started to act funny. It forgot the CF expansion card and shortly thereafter, the screen started to develop black spots. I still wasn't aware of the problem and I thought that the LCD would have reached its end of life. Funny thing that Dani's IPAQ would start to fail around the same time.
Sometimes saving money can
Sometimes saving money can cost you a lot.
Sorry about your IPAQs... I
Sorry about your IPAQs... I always recommend to everyone that they buy original equipment batteries whenever possible.
Those Lithium-ion batteries are VERY powerful (energy-wise) and aftermarket ones could possibly explode and cause a fire (some people with cell-phones have had this happen with after-market batteries).
...John
Yeah
Hm. Well I thought I could get away with cheap alternatives from Ebay.
I ripped the battery out of Dani's IPAQ as well, even though it hadn't done this yet.
Overall it was a good learning experience.
Somehow reminds me of that saying: "A poor person buys boots for $40. Those boots last him half a year and then he has to buy new ones. A rich person buys boots for $200 that last him 5 years. In the end, the poor person always pays more".
I guess I will be saving up for better boots now.
Actually, you haven't learned the correct lesson yet ..
The problem is not with the battery, but your inexperience and lack of knowledge in what battery to use or how to replace it.
In examining the photos, I can see where the battery was damaged beyond the ballooning.
In addition to the damage of ballooning, if you look closely in the photo, you will see there are very tiny marks closer to the center of the battery which indicate that certain of the electronic components gouged into the battery, causing slight internal damage and releasing the gas that caused the ballooning.
This is caused either by buying too big (fat) a battery, or not being careful in how it is placed in the housing.
The correct battery size is 1000 to 1800 mhr which will fit correctly in the housing when properly placed.
The 2000 mhr is too fat and meant only for the dual pcmcia device.
I have replaced hundreds of these and have not had this problem, unless I was careless or in tests of the larger battery.
This little crap of a blog points out how people can cause their own problems, but not realize their own responsibility in the results, preferring to blame the manufacturer or the venue that sold it.
You are your own worst enemy.
You should leave certian repairs to the people who know what they are doing.
Yeah sure
Well, I see you have no idea what you are talking about yourself.
First off, the battery was a 1600mAh model and not the 2000 you mentioned. So if anything then it was the proper size.
I am not even sure how you can look at a blown up battery and judge that it was too large in the first place. It is clearly labeled to be used with my pocket PC.
Secondly, a bulging battery is guaranteed to hit the components and be damaged by it.
In examining the photos, I can see where the battery was damaged beyond the ballooning.
Maybe you examine the first photo one more time and notice how the battery pushes the entire PDA apart. Maybe now you realize where the impressions of electronic components come from?
You are obviously mistaking cause and effect here. If the battery balloons up, it will push the electronics out and thats exactly what it did.
Your lashing out and accusing me of writing crap only means that you are probably one of those who sell the exploding batteries on Ebay. You are probably seing your business model in danger by blog posts such as this telling the truth about you. Next time you better leave your name if you want to be taken seriously.
Oh yeah, I am an engineer myself, I know how to replace a battery. So next time you come here all cocky and full of yourself, you better consider that there may be other people besides you who know how to replace a battery.
I stand to my original assesment, the battery blew up just like that and not because I was too dumb to put it into my PDA correctly.
People who sell crappy items
People who sell crappy items on Ebay are the scum of the Earth in my opinion. The bad thing is that you have probably left them positive feedback because it was working initially. This is how the scam works.
I hope you get in touch with ebay / the ebayer to sort this out.
iPAQ aftermarked battery
Hi,
and how the story continued; did you were able to get the iPAQ work again, possible with genuine iPAQ battery? I.e. did iPAQ damage in this exercise?
I had similar experience; purchased a 2250mAH battery (original 1000mAH). The new battery didn't charge at all, only 'ballooned'. In my case, looks like that the old battery neither charge anymore! iPAQ gone?
Purchased the replacement from an UK netstore; no response to my questions.
Bought a new one
No, I didn't bother anymore and bought one of their latest and most powerful iPAQ models with full VGA resolution ;-)
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