Please help! How to replace back-up battery?

[bartsimpson123]

Hello, I just bought a used V36 and it needs its backup battery replaced; however, I have an idea where it is, and I've opened the unit before, but, it looks like it is soldered on? Do I just rip it out and solder a new one in? What kind of battery is it exactly? Thanks...

[FlameOfWrath]

I can't help you since I just recently got a used V36 as well, but what are the symptoms? My backup battery reads pretty low but the main battery charges up just fine and it "runs". I checked the manual and they only mention the backup battery in passing as being "small".

Regards,
Roger

[FlameOfWrath]

Followup discovery...

My backup battery was reading low and mine didn't come with the external AC adapter. I recently got an AC adapter for a v37 and guess what I found. The USB cable apparently only charges the main LiIon battery and not the backup battery.

I just used the external AC adapter and it topped off the backup battery in about 45 minutes. If you don't have an AC adapter, you won't be able to recharge the backup battery even if you replace it. It did do this scary looking please wait 15 seconds when I unplugged the AC adapter. You might look into trying that to recharge the backup battery.

Regards,
Roger

[bartsimpson123]

Sorry, but you are incorrect. The backup battery is one of those button-cell batteries that are NOT rechargeable. Sometimes though, they wear out and you must replace them. I have been forced to hard reset my Viewsonic V36 many times and I am just about done dealing with its crap. I have two main batteries for it. One is the stock 900 mAh lithium-ion battery, and the other is a 1000(1100?) mAh li-po battery(Lithium-Polymer). Once I purchased a new main battery, it worked normally for a couple days max, but then I was forced to hard reset it because it would not turn on, but the red light kept flashing. Before that, I was getting warnings that the backup battery was low. Therefore, I believe I need to replace the backup battery for the unit to work properly. I was just checking on these forums to verify exactly HOW to replace. I wouldn't want to screw anything up...

If anything I said was wrong, someone please correct me.

Thanks.

[FlameOfWrath]

You are correct. I checked the status of my backup battery and it was back to just a bit of power. I hope someone can give you some advice on the backup battery because I'll probably wind up doing the same thing in a couple of months. :) Does the power setting show any power in the backup battery? Mine has about 1/2" but I haven't had any problems with hard resets or red lights.

Regards,
Roger

[bartsimpson123]

Well, right now it is completely turned off. I kind of gave up on it, until someone can show me how to replace the danged back-up battery. I mean, the V36 has been out for what? 5+ years? Surely someone here has had to replace or at least knows how to replace the back-up battery. Any information at all would be very helpful.

[zenobious]

OK, here is the deal on that button battry that everyone is freking out about on that V36. I have 2 of these things ad I can not get view sonic to support the parts location pof thses "button/coin backup batteries. Yese they are rechargable, and viewsonic has the part listed, but unavailable. "not in stock" It is: Back Up Battery
(P Battery ;NIMH,1.2V/20MAH,1/V20HR) View sonics part # M-00002783
It has two prongs that you can unsolder withput damaging the unit!
Now interstae batteries tolds me IF i took the battery off of th board and brought it to them they could construct a battery for me that would work just fine in this thing, they have all of the little prongs and button batteries compatablle to this OEM Viewsonice battery. I was first going to give viewsonic the opportunity to give me a lead on an easier fix or lead to a part compatable with this unit. Today is the 13th of June 07, they said they will contact me within 48 hours, know that this IS the 3rd attempt to do this, but they did not have a ticket open for me until now!
ZEN

[bartsimpson123]

Thanks for the info. However, I sold my V36 and just bought a Dell Axim X5 to replace it, along with a CF wifi card. 8O