512GW Battery not charging / DIY replacement

[IB1]

Hi all,
I have a 5 month old 512GW - bought off ebay (Grade "A"), it was cheap but probably not a good idea as as it came from an unknown background with a minimal warranty.

Its been working fine until recently, but the battery is now refusing to charge up to any usable level - even from a mains charger.

Currently it is hard wired into a switched supply (cigarette lighter) and has parking mode disabled, the G sensor is also off.
Even after a long car journey there is virtually nothing in the battery, so often the last recording is corrupted as it cannot save the file correctly when the ignition is switched off.
The latest firmware is installed and the Systems info menu (page 4) shows the battery is charging when powered, but shows empty when power is removed - even hours later.

I realise Nextbase probably won't fix this under warranty, but has anyone attempted to replace one of these batteries?

I've fixed mobile phones and gopro cameras before so I have some skill in this area but I don't want to attempt the impossible.

Any thoughts?

Regards

Ian

 

[jokiin]

if you've fixed phones before you shouldn't have any problems with this, very simple to swap a battery out

 

[Simcor]

Easy enough to open up and unsolder and resolder a new battery.

Just done my old 512g that I have my parents when I upgraded to the 512gw.

Battery out of 412gw which is slightly large than the original and should last a bit longer was 10 quid from nextbase including next day delivery.

Yes I could have sourced one cheaper but at least I know it fits and is right.

Nextbase will do it for a charge as well if your not sure on doing it so both bases are covered.

I used this YouTube tear down video although nextbase will send instructions out with the battery if you wish to change it yourself.

 

[Simcor]

Just make sure you keep the short screws for the plastic cover of the GPS module and the long screws for the GPS base if I remember correctly and note the positive and negative sides when I soldering it. Take a picture or use a sharpie and mark them on the metal heatshield.

Also be careful not to damage or trap the GPS cable when putting it back together.

 

[Simcor]

Sorry misread it yours is a 512gw so is different but the procedure should be much the same.

 

[Simcor]

Firstly I would PM Tiffany before doing anything and she what she has to say seeing as it's only 5 months old allegedly. Might be hard to prove it's age but it shouldn't need a new battery at 5 months old really.

 

[Kremmen]

Hopefully the unit serial number might give away a recent manufacture date.

 

[Simcor]

Hopefully the unit serial number might give away a recent manufacture date.

It might well do, but as far as I know a manufacturer only has to honour the warranty for the purchaser of the item when it was new. Warranties unless stated are not transferable.

Obviously whether they would do something as a good will gesture to the OP is up to them.

As always buying used isn't always best.

 

[HenryMS]

I must say I'm having a similar problem with the battery not charging/holding its charge. I bought mine in April IIRC. Battery no longer charges - plugged into permanent live too.

A trip back to Halfords is needed I think.

 

[Simcor]

I've had mine over a year a so far it's been fine. The batteries are not really meant for longevity and recording really. The main reason is to allow the clips to be saved and power down once the ignition is turned off.

 

[IB1]

Update.

Thanks for all the replies.

In the end I got a replacement battery and swapped it over myself - it was fairly straight forward and the camera is now working correctly.

This was the procedure I used. Its basically the same principle as the youtube video mentioned earlier in this thread for an earlier model.

1: Remove the SD card
2: Remove the 4 small cross-head screws (all the same size) from the camera housing exterior
3: Carefully crack open the case - don't pull the rear housing away too much, there are some fine wires connecting this to the main circuit board.
4: Remove the 4 small cross-head screws from the corners of the circuit board (keep separately from the above screws, they are different.)
5: Remove the 2 small cross head screws from the magnetic mount / gps holder -not sure if this was necessary but I did it anyway to gain better access
6: Gently prise up the circuit board, it should unclip from the front housing (some small plastic lugs). This gives access to the battery inside the front housing.
7: Unsolder the battery connections and prise out the battery - Its held in place on the front housing by some sticky double sided rubbery stuff.
8: Fit a new battery (I used some strong double sided tape) and solder the connections.
9: Re-assemble the camera in reverse order - make sure the circuit board lies correctly in the front housing with all sockets and LED's aligned correctly before screwing down, otherwise the rear housing wont fit.


The old battery was a Li-ion 3.7V / 280 mAh device - I used a 250 mAh battery -this one- but figured it was only a slight drop in capacity so wouldn't make much difference. Anyway I'd already bought it before I dismantled the camera.

 

[Kremmen]

Given that the battery does seem to sometimes fail prematurely, maybe the next range of cameras can have a user replaceable battery, or maybe just a capacitor across the range, whenever they may be.

The 380 design, apart from no polariser, is a genius design with a capacitor and a user replaceable battery if you opt for one for parking mode. Not to mention the rock solid vibration free mount.