Kindle Battery Surgery [Success!]

[geekmaster]

I decided to test it even though not green LED. It is stuck in the frontlight full-brightness diags boot loop again. Maybe if disconnecting power turns off the LEDs immediately, so the battery is obviously not charged yet. I guess I need to try using an external LiPo charger (and/or remove CRP).

It would be nice to find a way to make CRP reboot perhaps EVERY OTHER powered boot (by toggling existence of an even/odd flag file). Or maybe a counter and make it not go to diags every sixth boot, so the loop stops after six boots. And booting to main could delete that file so the six-count cycle would restart. Just a thought. Still "CRP boot-looping", which eats battery before it can charge...

EDIT: I just unplugged during booting, and it froze in the middle of a full-flash eink update. It is showing a diags screen with white text on black background. Not enough energy in the battery yet, but CRP kicks in with not enough power to do diags. It is a modified battery that worked on a K2, but not a PW2 quite yet...

[knc1]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

No offense taken.
I think you might have some good ideas.
I have noticed I get more done after leaving places.
Totally too much information: until I was 41, I was always underweight.
In my mid-twenties severely underweight.
I am 50 now and still adjusting although now I could afford to lose 10 pounds.
That was strange to type.

In the twenties, it was: Flower Power
In the fifties, it is: Pedal Power

Still sew a lot?
Get a foot treadle sewing machine.

If nothing else, it will slim the ankles before you get the next suit finished.

Seriously -
If you can find an old (famous brand name here), it probable still works, they seem to last forever.

[geekmaster]

Like an old-fashioned treadle sewing machine, I mow my grass with an old-fashioned reel-type push mower. Not only is it much easier on the knees to turn, but it is also easier to push uphill on the slope, than my heavy gasoline mower was before it crapped out. I wish I switched to the reel-type push mower decades ago. Perhaps it gives me more exercise too, in a knee-friendly way, because it works better (scissors action) when moving quickly.

And BTW, My PW2 CRP-diags-boot-loops with the LiPo removed now too. I will charge it with an external LiPo charger and try again.

I just removed the battery frame, and now the amber LED just blinks. It cannot find an "authentic amazon battery" (the ID chip on the internal battery circuit board)...

The LiPo is now plugged into its FPV quadcopter charger. I will try all this again with a dead battery later, with CRP disabled, to see if the PW2 can charge a dead battery without looping.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by knc1

In the twenties, it was: Flower Power
In the fifties, it is: Pedal Power

Still sew a lot?
Get a foot treadle sewing machine.

If nothing else, it will slim the ankles before you get the next suit finished.

Seriously -
If you can find an old (famous brand name here), it probable still works, they seem to last forever.

I hand sew usually.
I do have a treadle sewing machine. I also have a 1913 (famous brand name) electric that still works. I also have a 1955 electric. My arms get a workout when I put it on a heavy table to use it. My new one is a 1968 named Ken.

[geekmaster]

I am using a low-capacity LiPo, but that is virtually the same as an old (low remaining capacity) original battery.

It sits at the diags menu a bit with frontlight at full brightness, before it reboots.

Perhaps CRP should check the battery voltage, and if needed, turn the frontlight to "zero" with lipc (so it sticks) and again with the /sys file (so completely off)?

[geekmaster]

That's odd. I just put the original battery back in. It booted to a text-only (eips) screen that says:

PHP Code:

MUSCAT_WFO - POWER SUSPEND - 100
----  1.1.23.266370  ----
  pcbId:06******

Device is now in Suspend mode


Press power button to wake up the device 


After pressing power, it displayed the diags menu. There was no power cable attached -- just the original battery. Hmm... Now it jumped into the DS INFO menu. I did not even touch it. Ghosts in the machine...

Oh, I see. This is my PW3 with flaky touchscreen. I thought it was the good PW2. So of course I cannot exit diags without a hard reboot, because NO TOUCHSCREEN. It boots directly to USBnet in main. But how do I get there with no touchscreen?

[geekmaster]

I held the power button in, it drew that checkerboard grayscale test patter, with "Device is now in Suspend mode" printed on top. Try again...

After a hard reboot, battery only -- still diags, except it first displayed the "Misc individual diagnostics" menu, where it now sits. Random touchscreen detection?

I wish CRP was smart enough to DELETE the ENABLE_DIAGS file without needing a reliable touchscreen. Now what? I cannot delete it without SSH or exporting USB, and those require a touchscreen from diags.

EDIT: After a few reboots, the touchscreen worked long enough to disable diags. Problem averted (this time). Quadcopter LiPo still charging... And I need to see if we can make CRP safe with a flaky touchscreen or a "too-depleted" battery (frontlight off). My frontlight is dim in main, but it was at max brightness in diags. I wonder why... And yes, I just verified that this is not my PW2 as I thought (hard to tell apart). PW3 with intermittent touchscreen.

[IFixKindles]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

And yes, I just verified that this is not my PW2 as I thought (hard to tell apart). PW3 with intermittent touchscreen.[/COLOR]

PW2 - Kindle on bezel is in Silver
PW3 - Kindle on bezel is in Black.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by IFixKindles

PW2 - Kindle on bezel is in Silver
PW3 - Kindle on bezel is in Black.

Ahh. Thanks. Neither has a bezel at the moment. Now I will know which goes on which, so thanks!. Now how do I tell where the Silver and Black screws go? Other than color, they look identical.

[geekmaster]

Here is a quote from another thread, which really belongs here, IMHO:

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Actually, I replace the LiPo in the dead kindle battery, leaving the connectors, circuit board, and mounting frame all intact. If the replacement LiPo does not have its own thermal protection (mine does), you need to wrap the battery pack up again so the LiPo heat can propagate to the kindle circuit board in the battery pack, to manage charging temperature.

NiMh has a different charging curve. Perpaps safe with 3 NiMh cells (never reaching peak voltage), though LiPo is much preferred. Folks HAVE used NiMh in a kindle, in fact (but using "kernel hacking" custom firmware instead of kindle battery circuit board). Overcharging NiMh makes them start thermally DISCHARGE, so they use a peak charging algorithm. LiPos use a dual charge algorithm (fixed current until they reach maximum voltage (4.2v) then a ramp down current until they are at full capacity (same 4.2v, but much longer discharge time).

Always keep in mind that LiPos are a potential fire hazard, but usually only after they have been physically damaged, or charged or discharged beyond their specifications.

And if you use a battery from an old phone or camera (instead of an R/C toy), probably no need to disasemble it -- just wire the '+' and '-' to the corresponding pads on the kindle battery PCB. I plan to test an old phone battery in my kindle soon.

[IFixKindles]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Ahh. Thanks. Neither has a bezel at the moment. Now I will know which goes on which, so thanks!. Now how do I tell where the Silver and Black screws go? Other than color, they look identical.

Larger black screws go on the front to fasten it to the back of the case.

Tiny black screw goes with the little aluminum rectangle with slot and hole that fastens one corner down.

Bronze 'hat' washer with silver screw goes in hole closest to the aluminum rectangle.

Silver screws without hat washers go closest to the USB port.

Before replacing the back, note the location of the two snaps at the side of the battery. After replacing the back, you'll want to lay the PW down on a hard surface and apply pressure over those snaps to lock them into place. If those are not in place, the kindle can be rocked from side to side if laid on its back on a hard surface.

[encol]

Maybe this link can be useful to you

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by IFixKindles

Larger black screws go on the front to fasten it to the back of the case.

Tiny black screw goes with the little aluminum rectangle with slot and hole that fastens one corner down.

Bronze 'hat' washer with silver screw goes in hole closest to the aluminum rectangle.

Silver screws without hat washers go closest to the USB port.

Before replacing the back, note the location of the two snaps at the side of the battery. After replacing the back, you'll want to lay the PW down on a hard surface and apply pressure over those snaps to lock them into place. If those are not in place, the kindle can be rocked from side to side if laid on its back on a hard surface.

Thanks! I just doubled your karma. All SIXES! Applogies to fundamentalists!

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Thanks! I just doubled your karma. All SIXES! Applogies to fundamentalists!

There fixed the 6's lol.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

There fixed the 6's lol.

Spoilsport!