Repairing a loose battery in a mp3 player

[johnrambo]

Object: Telefunken mp3 player

Problem: The mp3 player has been exposed to the elements and shaken about alot. It has lasted a decent period of time - at least 2 years - but now when turned on and shaken or moved it turns off.

So far: I've unscrewed it and had a look. There was some clear plastic type substance that used to shield or hold the lithium rechargeable battery in (it looks like a cellphone battery). Now these clear plastic glue type bits that used to hold the battery are no longer holding the battery in place.

Possible solution:

1) Using some insulated material which has sticky qualities to hold the battery in place. I've thought of using bluetack (blue stuff you often use to stick things to walls). Any other ideas? I have access to a soldering iron and solder (I'm a newbie with it but keen to learn - just not sure if this is the right time to be trying solder - on a battery).

2) Maybe the battery isn't holding its charge. Might have to remove the battery and test with a dmm (digital multimeter). If so, what's the best way to test this?

mini-update: I just had the battery apart from the main unit and playing a mp3 while attached to some external speakers. I left it playing and it turned off in under 30 seconds. I had charged it recently. This 'project' might not be worth doing much with in your eyes but I'm just imaging giving this unit a new lease of life and learning something on the way.

I've attached a picture so you can see what I'm dealing with.


Thanks in advance,

- John

 

[CocaCola]

Doubled sided tape? Double sided carpet tape is easy to find at the hardware store, it's thin and the adhesive is incredibly strong... There are also 'foam' double sided mounting tapes to be found in all craft stores, including scrap book mounting 'blobs' that are like a squished flat blob of glue that hold quite well..

 

[shrtrnd]

It sounds like the factory used a hot glue gun (cheap at any store for hobbies or home repair), to tack the battery in place.
Do you have a meter to check your battery voltage, to see if it's holding a charge?
Big problem I've seen with CD players and cordless phone batteries, is crushing of
the fine battery wires that can break the connection. Often done when changing
(or taking out and reinstalling) batteries.
I'd check the battery voltage, then the connections internally from the battery, and
lastly the power plug jack, to make sure you've good good conductivity from the
recharger, all the way to the battery.