Battery stuck in charger :/

[sweetmeat]

I have a riva 510 650 mah. This morning I got up and went to change my battery, as I tried to unscrew it it turned but it's not coming out. I don't want to force it but gah! I'm not sure what I can do. I noticed there are little screws on the back of the charger and I'm trying to find a tiny screwdriver to open it up, but I'm not sure if this is advisable.

I have a small one for my sewing machine but it's not quite small enough, when BF gets here we'll see if he has one.
Any suggestions as to what I can do? I've never seen this problem mentioned in the forums before, I think I may have screwed it in a bit too tight, though I'm usually very careful not to

Julia

 

[Nashy08]

This happened to my eGo a few months back. Definitely don't force it. I did that to mine and it ruined my charger, twisted it all up and disconnected everything. I don't know what would be the best solution to this unfortunately, but good luck and I hope it comes loose for you.

 

[sweetmeat]

Thanks Nashy! I hope that doesn't happen.

 

[martinc]

Hopefully the terminal didnt melt on you;
The little screw is in plastic,so a sharp object should be able to loosen it (dont use your fav sharp knife,the tip might bend/break);inside its just a littlePC board on which the adaptor is soldered on;hold it firmly and do light little twistings left/right/left/right,dont try to torque it out;you could add a drop of oil at the junction of the adaptor and your battery,let it sink in a minute.

Good luck.

P.S.

I stress,dont torque it in one motion,do the little tight.untighten/tight/untighten procedure.

P.P.S.

Unplug it prior!

 

[sweetmeat]

Thank you Martin, I don't have it open yet, still haven't found anything small enough to fit in the screws. I thought of a drop of oil too, what type do you think would be good WD40 or olive, sweet almond, I have a variety
And yes it's unplugged at the moment!

 

[ChrispyCritter]

I've had this happen before and it twisted the wires in the charger until they broke..I had to solder that charger until I got a new one. If you grab the charger from near where the battery screws into it and squeeze hard while trying to unscrew the battery it might come loose..but don't keep spinning it around if it doesn't come out because if the wires aren't broken you might break them.

Also I would order another charger. If you can't get it out unscrew the case of the charger and snap it apart..then use some plyers to hold the nut and unscrew the battery..good luck

 

[sweetmeat]

Thanks Chrispy, what a PITA to wake up to on a saturday morning!

 

[ChrispyCritter]

Thank you Martin, I don't have it open yet, still haven't found anything small enough to fit in the screws. I thought of a drop of oil too, what type do you think would be good WD40 or olive, sweet almond, I have a variety
And yes it's unplugged at the moment!

I wouldn't use oil either..it's probably not corroded. The ecig chargers are made really cheaply and if you tighten too much after awhile the nut comes loose..even without tightening too much they wear as it's a metal "nut" with only plastic holding it from spinning...

 

[sweetmeat]

I wasn't thinking it was corroded but that maybe the oil would sink in and help me loosen it a bit, do you think it may cause more harm than good?

 

[ChrispyCritter]

I wasn't thinking it was corroded but that maybe the oil would sink in and help me loosen it a bit, do you think it may cause more harm than good?

Yes no oil should be needed and it probably would get all inside the charger ruining it plus it would make it slippery making it harder for you to get it out..if you grab hard enough on the charger you may be able to stop it spinning inside the charger and get it off.

Otherwise I would say ask a friend who has tools and knows how to use them. I could have it off in a couple mins but I've worked on cars and electronics for a very long time...

Edit: I'm not saying you can't take it apart or get it out..it's not all that hard really but you need to pry the chargers case open most likely after removing the screws if you can't get it out the other way I posted...

 

[denali_41]

oil might short out the battery also,,if it seeps down into the battery

 

[ChrispyCritter]

oil might short out the battery also,,if it seeps down into the battery

I would be more worried of the oil eating away and the seal in the battery connector than it getting inside causing issues later..plus it would be a pain getting the smell of oil off the battery. I forgot to ask is it the short USB charger or the one with the cord?

 

[martinc]

I said a drop,not soaking it in the stuff
nothing worst than dropping ejuice all over your battery in fact.

Yeah,order a new charger and break this one in half if you are desperate (and have a spare!)

 

[classwife]

any way to let a tiny drop of alcohol run down the battery to the connection to soften it up ?


or is there room for a q-tip moistened with alcohol ?

 

[sweetmeat]

I got it open, the wires were completely disconnected so bye-bye charger, I will order a new one. I have slim 510 chargers here which I'm told will work in the meantime. Thank you guys so much! I was not looking forward to having to go back to slim batts for the weekend, they suck!

 

[ChrispyCritter]

I said a drop,not soaking it in the stuff
nothing worst than dropping ejuice all over your battery in fact.

Yeah,order a new charger and break this one in half if you are desperate (and have a spare!)

You would have to soak it in oil to get it inside where it's "stuck" but I don't believe it's stuck really it's just tight and the "nut" inside the charger is spinning..I know from experience this is most likely what is going on. I repaired over 1,000 PS2's for my friends game shop..do some light computer-electronics repairs and have put in a couple dozen engines in cars ect...

Also no reason to break the charger in half lol...

 

[ChrispyCritter]

I got it open, the wires were completely disconnected so bye-bye charger, I will order a new one. I have slim 510 chargers here which I'm told will work in the meantime. Thank you guys so much! I was not looking forward to having to go back to slim batts for the weekend, they suck!

Yeah but if it's lower mAh it will take longer to charge..the slim battery's charger usually charge around 200mAh and the eGo's around 400mAh..it should say on the charger somewhere..so it could take 5-6 hours to charge instead of a couple but should work..glad to hear you got it apart

 

[classwife]

awww...poor charger

 

[martinc]

Order 2,they are cheap

 

[ChrispyCritter]

any way to let a tiny drop of alcohol run down the battery to the connection to soften it up ?


or is there room for a q-tip moistened with alcohol ?

Alcohol could have helped if the connection was caked with juice but it would have took a bit probably to get inside enough to help. Also alcohol would be a better choice with electronics because it drys so fast..I use it to clean electronics sometimes including the screen of my HDTV I use a 40% rubbing alcohol/60% water