EXOPC battery dead?

Hi guys,
My girlfriend doesn't want to use my EXOPC, so I decided to prepare it for the bathroom. That way I can listen to some music while in the shower and perhaps watch some movies while in the bath tub.
So, my EXOPC has been on the dock for a few weeks now. Sometimes it has been switched on, but most of the time it was switched off. Today I started it up again and I noticed it doesn't want to run without the AC power connected. It constantly says: "0% available and charging".
Is my battery dead? The battery is mentioned to be impossible to replace, but I think it should be possible right?

Lots of people have said that the battery is nonstandard in size and shape. They also say that there are connections within the case that are easily broken. Try charging the device with the power off for several hours. See if it registers any charge at all after that. It may just need to be reset to show how much of a charge it actually has.

For € 35,- I can buy a second hand battery from a WeTab. That should be the same, right?
I have opened my EXOPC and briefly disconnected the battery. Currently I am charging it without being standby. On connecting the charger the LEDs on the device briefly flash. So, let's wait and see.
Does anyone know of a way to reset the battery? I know that my Asus R2H had a way to calibrate the battery.
Which connections are easily broken? The ones from battery to main board? Perhaps I need to check if the device runs without a battery and AC connected. If it doesn't it needs a battery in place to run and the battery is broken. If it does maybe only the connection is broken.

Plantje:

The battery can still be replaced by EXOPC: we still have a few parts in stock... $93.75CAD plus shipping. There's also a post on the old forum describing a method to revive a dead battery in the unit... here's the text:

I purchased an ExoPC off of eBay for only $176 total. It has a bad battery, in fact it doesn't even recognise that it had a battery in it.

I opened the unit and removed the battery pack. I then peeled back the covering surrounding the battery pack. Inside is a circuit board and two Lithium-ion polymer batteries 3.7V (see the previous post for the attached pdf file for details). When I checked the cells, one was 3.12 volts, and one was 2.76 volts. According to the battery document, there is a circuit cut-off, if a cell goes below 3.0V, it will not charge it.

I looked all over on-line, and could not find a cell that would work for a replacement. So I decided to see if I could somehow charge the battery I have.

I have some standard Lithium-ion laptop cells (cylindrical), also 3.7V. I decided to try connecting one to the tabs of the low-voltage cell, and see if I could trick it to begin the charge cycle. I did this with alligator clips, and with the battery still disconnected from the tablet, I decided to check voltage once again. I found that the good/bad cell was now reading 3.25V. I disconnected the alligator clips, and found that the bad cell was now reading 3.12V!

I reconnected the battery, and was able to charge it!

There was one downside. I was aware of the two ribbons that connect the base to the screen. Even though I was very careful when removing/attaching them, the touchscreen ribbon still broke off. I think that I can also repair this, and will report on if I am successful.

I urge anyone trying to open up the ExoPC slate to reinforce the ribbon connector with some tape. Mine broke right where it connects to the small circuit board that is attached to the back of the screen, Some tape on both sides will give much needed reinforcement, and hopefully prevent damage to it.

Ok, thanks. That looks like a working solution as well... Indeed, my EXOPC doesn't recognize the battery at all.
So, I'll have to open up the battery pack and then just put some power on one of the parts? Perhaps someone else here knows another way to trick the EXOPC in recognizing the battery pack again.
I don't think I will pay additional $ 100,- or more for a tablet that I am not really using anymore. Not if I can get a WeTab battery for 37,- including shipping.

That was me.

What happened was that by hooking the two cells positive to positive, and negative to negative, the two seemed to try and equal out. Thus, the cell with the lower voltage gained enough power to once again again allow regular charging.

As for replacing the cells. I did find some cells that would fit in the existing space, but the placement of the tabs was different. The original cells have the tabs soldered directly to the charging circuit board, but the replacement cells would need to have wire jumpers from the tabs to the board.

The document with very specific details about the battery can still be downloaded from M&A, but who knows for how long:

http://www.shopmanda.com/public/Companion%20Pad/(08)AVL/(11)Battery/0B15-000J000_B%20(8299-PRLUCMD50004).pdf

The dimensions for the individual cells are: 114 mm L x 62 mm W. I found these that might work, but I never tried them:

http://www.all-battery.com/Li-Polymer3.7V5100mAh7545135Battery-30192-0.aspx?zmam=55942680&zmas=1&zmac=4&zmap=30192

EDIT: That one looks to be too big, but you get the idea on what to look for.

You could also look here for cells that may work:

http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-ioncells.aspx

You would still need to rebuild the battery pack yourself. The upside to that is you will have a fresh battery with possibly a higher mAh rating, but with a used battery you don't know what you are getting.

I received a second hand/new battery yesterday. Built it in and my EXOPC works as a charm again!

And that for only € 37,-

Plantje wrote:I received a second hand/new battery yesterday. Built it in and my EXOPC works as a charm again!

And that for only € 37,-

Nice deal!