Battery latch open

big al too · 03-14-06, 12:19 PM

Hey whats going on, I downloaded A06 from dell, and have had no problems with this thing untill now.

When I leave my x51v for the night, and go to start it the next moring, I get a message that the battery latch was opened, and the system was put in sleep mode to avoid data loss.

Unless there is a ghost in my house, I cant figure how the latch is opened??

Anybody else getting this message? Better still can anyone explaine why?

03-14-06, 01:26 PM

Thats a new one on me.

c00lk1d · 03-14-06, 05:16 PM

i get this a lot... pad sensor i presume... putting some faomed tape on the foot that hits the sensor works miracles

RenFra · 03-15-06, 05:53 AM

Originally Posted by big al too

Hey whats going on, I downloaded A06 from dell, and have had no problems with this thing untill now.

When I leave my x51v for the night, and go to start it the next moring, I get a message that the battery latch was opened, and the system was put in sleep mode to avoid data loss.

Unless there is a ghost in my house, I cant figure how the latch is opened??

Anybody else getting this message? Better still can anyone explaine why?

Nothing of a ghost at all. This is a standard reply on a power failure, that can be caused by a) indeed an open latch (there's your ghost) b) a too low battery level for a too long time c) a fall or shock or something alike, that immediately causes the device to give you a message of the kind yopu mentioned.

n5emj · 03-15-06, 07:07 AM

Just wondering where is the sensor is located at. I am running WM2003se and never had this problem until i got a replacement unit last December. now it seem to show up more and more.

weel · 04-04-06, 01:17 AM

Im having the same problem. but didnt get the error until i upgraded the rom. well at least i dont remember getting the error before the upgrade... My latch error will happens while im holding in my hand. cannot duplicate even when shaking or lightly tapping the thing....

Umbyboy · 04-06-06, 06:58 AM

I had the same problem than I changed the battery and I don't have this problem so often now. I don't know if is a software problem but it seems to be really strange.

ToddLa · 04-06-06, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Umbyboy

I had the same problem than I changed the battery and I don't have this problem so often now. I don't know if is a software problem but it seems to be really strange.

If you have a close look at the battery latch with the hatch off, you will notice that the latch does indeed press down on a plastic widget between the two knobs of plastic, which I assume closes a contact for the mobo to detect whether the latch is locked or unlocked. Thusly the prob is mostly mechanical in nature.

I use mine off road, and this used to happen puh-lenty until I used some tape to FATTEN UP the battery hatch around this contact point.

Hope this helps

04-06-06, 10:59 AM

Put a couple of layers of scotch tape or packing tape on the flat end of the little feet to essentially make them longer. trim the tape to fit. a thin pad of some sort of foam material would also work. but for mine two layers of regular scotch tape fixed it.
edit: there have been many complaints of this so you can search on it for more info. Also most of the complaints so far have been in regards to the use of the extended battery.

Lewis P Nassa · 04-10-06, 04:20 PM

Maybe someone they will listen to should tell Dell of this fix. I suspect that half or more of the involuntary lockups, shut downs, and just plain screw ups that many of us are experiencing can be traced either to this stupid battery latch thing, or to something loose in the lock switch on the side (does anybody ever really USE this switch?)

04-10-06, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by Lewis P Nassa

Maybe someone they will listen to should tell Dell of this fix. I suspect that half or more of the involuntary lockups, shut downs, and just plain screw ups that many of us are experiencing can be traced either to this stupid battery latch thing, or to something loose in the lock switch on the side (does anybody ever really USE this switch?)

Actually it is pretty funny about that lock switch. there are lots of newb's writing in asking why they can t even do a hard reset blah blah the screen wont respond. We tell them about the switch and everyone feels a little sheepish but pretty much all of us have done it once. But I never found a reason for that switch. Just another point of failure as far as I am concerned.

boba23 · 04-11-06, 02:45 AM

same problem over here, i called dell, they are aware of the problem and already shipped a replacement battery cover to me. if this doesn't help, i'll get a new unit. i hope the new battery cover itself will do the job.

boba

Nemoj · 04-11-06, 05:28 AM

I have this problem too.

04-12-06, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by boba23

same problem over here, i called dell, they are aware of the problem and already shipped a replacement battery cover to me. if this doesn't help, i'll get a new unit. i hope the new battery cover itself will do the job.

boba

At least that has gotten better then, when i complained to Dell they wanted to replace the whole pda. I asked them for the door and they refused. seems like such a stupid problem. of course dell doesn't manufacture these things so the quality control is in someone elses' hand.

04-12-06, 05:13 PM

I ran into that same problem when I got an extended battery. I read someplace on the site where someone had a similar problem with the battery cover. I took a close look and noticed that the slide wouldn't go all the way to the right (locked position). Their solution was to shave the battery cover prong.

So I carefully took an exacto knife and scraped off just a hair of the plastic from the inside of the hooks and it worked. :approve: The battery latch now goes all the way over to the right.

One thing to check also (especially if you have an extended battery with the larger cover) is that the cover seats inside all the way around the face.