Glo Gah! Faulty Glo!

[Sausages]

Hello everyone!

I've just signed up here because my beloved Kobo Glo has died (out of warranty), and I'm desperately hoping that someone on here can help me...

My Glo has been looked after well, but all of a sudden it's decided not to work properly. It thinks the battery's fully discharged (ie 0% charged), but that can't be true. I can get it working again by connecting it to power and doing a reset with a paperclip, but the backlight / ComfortLight™®™™™ won't come on, and it dies when the power is disconnected. Even when it's connected to power, when the unit is switched off it will only come on again with a paperclip reset. I've also managed to perform a full factory reset, but it hasn't improved matters.

Has anyone heard of this happening before? Is it a common fault, by any chance? Also, is there any kind of engineer's diagnostic self-test mode available on the unit that might shed more light on what's gone wrong?

I could really do without replacing my Glo... Any help or pointers gratefully received.

[Sausages]

OK, I've had the unit apart and the problem seems to be just that the battery has died. When the battery's no longer connected to the board the device appears to work perfectly so long as I power it off properly before disconnecting external power.

Does anyone know a source for replacement batteries for the Kobo Glo? It's marked "GN345361" and is apparently a 3.7V, 1200mAh part. I've found a source, but those don't come with the small white connector that connects the battery to the unit's board.

[filmo]

Unplug old battery. Cut off wires with connector close to old bad battery then solder connector wires to wires on new battery. A fold of electrical tape to cover bare wires/solder joint. Use about 20 watt soldering iron and rosin core solder from Radio Shack. They can also teach you how to solder or learn from Internet. You also must keep plug polarity correct with + battery output to correct side of connector and - output to other side of connector. Don't see battery dimensions. Size matters if replacement battery is to fit.

Another possibility is wire up external battery pack to further test if replacement batteries fixes problem. Just don't try to charge these batteries and excess voltage can damage reader beyond repair.

There are procedures to reactivate your batteries that could work or cause them to explode or catch fire. Do not try this because best left to experts.

[TechniSol]

Did you leave it uncharged for an extended period? It's possible the battery dropped below whatever safety voltage level is necessary before the Kobo will allow a charge.(sometimes this limiting is done by an internal chip in the lithium battery pack) You could use a multimeter set for DC voltage to check the output of the battery. If it's been uncharged long enough, it could have dropped considerably.

While I don't really recommend it, you might attempt recovering the battery by slowly charging it to a voltage in excess of the safety voltage. You have to be extremely careful to monitor the process and it would be best attempted with an intelligent power supply capable of maintaining a current limit with an adjustable voltage limit in a safe location because lithium batteries can be explosive, catch fire, etc. Wear safety glasses, etc., the whole nine yards.

The advice you were given regarding replacing it is probably for the best. If you attempt any of the above you need to be extremely careful to protect yourself and your environment.

[dakini]

it looks, from a quick google search, like that battery's easy to buy online and at chain battery stores. About $12 US. certainly a pretty cheap repair before totally giving up on the unit.