Amamba

I suck at soldering and don't own a soldering iron, so I postponed fixing the battery latch problem until very last minute. Finally, it got to the point where I simply couldn't stand it any longer. I managed to fix it with no soldering involved.

What you need is needlenose pliers, a really small screwdriver or a safety pin, and glue gun.

Take the unit apart and gently break off the spring loaded battery latch switch. Retain the top portion of the switch enclosure (a thin metal plate with a small hole inside ***). Break off the lower plastic portion to expose two contacts.

Now, using the tip of the screwdriver, gently pull the ends of the contacts up. You'll end up with an exposed rectangle of the green circuit board in between the contacts.

Take the thin metal part from (***) and, using pliers, form it into a rectangular tab roughly matching the size of the exposed area of the board. Dab a tiny bit of glue in the middle of that area and set the metal tab on it (just enough to prevent it from falling off). Now, bend the contacts back so that they end up on top of that tab. Don't be afraid to apply some pressure, it's important that they contact well.

Put the battery back in its place (no need yet to put the guts back into the case, just hold the battery in place with your finger) and hit the power button. If the unit comes back on, you did it right.

Turn it off again, take the battery out, and apply glue on top of the switch area, so that both contacts and tab are encased in it (just be careful not to make a large blob). This should prevent them from separating.

Now put the unit back together. Be sure that you crack the right side of face plate if you want to match my procedure exactly ;).

Good luck !

FelisucoVFR

It sounds good!
Any picture?

Amamba

Originally Posted by FelisucoVFR

It sounds good! Any picture?

No, sorry. I wasn't really predisposed to take any pictures during that process.