Lithium-Ion Batteries

[Friends just call me Ross]

About a year ago, my Motorola Droid Maxx 2 phone's battery stopped taking a charge.

It would register 100% charged but it would shut off as soon as I disconnected it from the charger.

 

I went to a 'phone fix' store and had them order a new battery for it.  They said they would call when it came in.

They never called because, as I discovered months later, they had never ordered the battery.

I had them order a battery.  Last December it came in and the phone fix store replaced my old battery.

 

I noticed right away that this new battery would not hold a charge.  Soon, it was shutting my phone off at 30% charged.

A few weeks later, it would shut my phone off when it read 50% charged.   This continued until about two months ago, when it

would shut my phone off even though it read 100% charged.

 

As a result, the phone was never off the charger.  It would die the moment the charger was disconnected.

 

Fast-forward to about two weeks ago.  I had posted that my phone's exterior speaker had quit working, but that

I could still get sound via headphones.  I blamed a new bluetooth speaker I had purchased for causing this problem.

 

A day or so later, I noticed my phone case had popped off all by itself.  Not an easy

thing because the case fits very snugly and requires some effort to remove it.  

 

When I examined the phone, I saw that its lithium-ion battery had swollen to more than twice its normal thickness

and that is what had cracked the case open.  

 

I carefully placed my phone into a plastic bag and sealed the bag to keep moisture out.

I put the whole works in a non-combustible container with a glass lid, and then stuck the container out in the middle of our gravel driveway.   

 

Then began my search for a way to get the swollen lithium-ion battery safely out of my phone so I could have a new one put in it.

Every avenue I explored posed a very real danger that the removal of the battery could result in great bodily harm to the remover.

Quote

 

WARNING

 

A SWOLLEN LITHIUM-ION BATTERY MAY CATCH FIRE OR EXPLODE. PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION AND AT YOUR OWN RISK WHEN REMOVING A SWOLLEN BATTERY FROM AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO DO SO SAFELY, POWER DOWN AND ISOLATE THE DEVICE, AND CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL REPAIR TECHNICIAN IMMEDIATELY.

 

Removing a swollen battery can be hazardous, but leaving a swollen battery inside a device also poses risks. To prevent potential device and bodily harm, a device should not operate with a swollen battery. These guidelines offer best practices for removing swollen batteries, but cannot guarantee a safe repair. If you have doubts, power the device down, place it in a fireproof container, take to a repair professional and ask them to remove the faulty battery. Do not delay battery removal.

 

What happens when a battery gets swollen?

Lithium-ion batteries use a chemical reaction to generate power. As the battery ages, this chemical reaction no longer completes perfectly, which can result in the creation of gas (called outgassing), leading to a swollen battery. Additionally, if the battery’s internal layers do not maintain proper separation (due to damage or defect), outgassing, swelling, and even fire can occur. Swelling is the result of particulates getting caught in between the layers of the battery and eventually puncturing the membrane that separate the layers. If the membrane has been compromised, moisture in the air can react with the cell, causing the cell to swell. This explosive reaction has infamously affected the Samsung Galaxy Note7 and hoverboards, resulting in the strict limitations placed on shipping batteries, as well as carrying them on airplanes.

 

How to identify a swollen battery

As batteries swell, they expand and push other components out of the way. Oftentimes a display, button, or trackpad will be pushed out of normal alignment. You may have a swollen battery if your phone case doesn’t fit as well as it used to, or there’s a new gap between components, or buttons have become stiff or hard to push, or your device has more give than usual and feels “squishy.”

Identify by smell

Practice safe sniff testing! Never stick a dangerous substance near your face and inhale deeply—rather, waft the area near your battery. You may notice a sweet, metallic chemical smell which could be battery gas escaping a swollen battery.

https://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/What_to_do_with_a_swollen_battery

I have posted the above info in the hopes that it might prevent someone else from experiencing the close call I did with my phone.

 

We have very few phone repair stores in the remote area I live in. (Michigan's Upper Peninsula) In fact, I am only aware of one. And the service and quality of

the product I received from 'the professionals' who I paid $88.00 to fix my phone, was FAR from satisfactory.

 

So I researched how to remove and replace my phone's battery MYSELF.  

 

I ordered the battery Wednesday evening.  (Only fifteen bucks and it included a year warranty and all the tools I would need to do the job.)

It arrived by Friday morning.  (And I didn't even use speedy shipping.  )

 

I took the phone and the new battery out to a safe area and donned my firefighter helmet with a faceshield and the bottom

half of my bunkers.    Using the tools and online training, I disassembled my phone and carefully removed the swollen battery.

The swollen battery was locked back up in its plastic case and placed back into the noncumbustible container with the glass the lid.

 

It was really cold outside, so the phone was brought back into the house and reassembled-with its new battery installed.  

I replaced the SIM card and powered it up.

It works like a charm!  I even got my exterior speakers back!  

 

To prolong the life of this new battery, I intend to follow the seller's advice TO THE LETTER.  I would also like to share this info with others,

because it may save their batteries, too:

Quote

At the first beginning, the battery will drain quickly, this issue is caused due to the unstable li-ion of a new battery, it will become normal after long-term use.  To use the battery longer, please use up all the energy of the battery until your phone shuts down automatically, then charge it for up to ten hours. Repeat this 3-5 times, thus the battery can be reached the optimum effect of using.

For Best Performance

Make sure to fully charge and discharge your new battery 3-5 cycles

--Use your original charger which came with your phone to recharge the battery, other fake and cheap charger may damage the battery or your phone

--When the battery is depleted, it may take a few minutes for indicator to show when recharging 

--Recharge the battery once every three months if it will not be used for a long period of time

 

[Friends just call me Ross]

This is the battery and 'Do-it-yourself' kit I received and used...myself.  

[Tortuga]

I'm impressed!

I was wondering if you would don your turnouts 

I was going to replace the battery on my Samsung S7 but it looks too complicated so I'm going to have a Batteries + Bulbs place do it..or I could send it to you!

[Old Guy]

I had the same problem with my Samsung tablet. Took off the back and put in a new battery in about 15 min. 

[ChrisC]

It has now occurred to me how stupid I was to put 2 swollen lipo batteries straight in the bin a while ago. ”lipo bags” is what I want.

 

I intended to do an experiment with the kids some years ago. Unroll some lithium Duracell aa batteries and pop them in a bucket of soapy water. Then set alight to the foam. I should probably leave that as a thought experiment.

[ChrisC]

They are a different technology to lipo iirc,

https://www.batterystation.co.uk/content/datasheets_MSDS/energizer/Energizer Ultimate Lithium AA L91.pdf

[Tortuga]

On 10/18/2019 at 5:32 PM, Friends just call me Ross said:

This is the battery and 'Do-it-yourself' kit I received and used...myself.  

I recently ordered a battery for my S7 and I received a similar kit to remove the glass back. I've tried several times to heat up the back and remove it but it doesn't budge. I have been using a hair dryer but apparently it doesn't get hot enough or I'm doing it wrong. Any suggestions?

[Friends just call me Ross]

I did not have to remove any glass back on my Motorola Droid MaxxII.

Just had to remove 18 or so itty bitty screws from the plastic back cover

to expose the battery.  

I would suggest typing your phone model into the YouTube search engine

and watching videos, like I did.  

 

Also Googled some sites that show

you how to do it yourself, step by step.

 

Hope this helps...

[Tortuga]

Thanks. I did that and the only way to remove the back of the S7 is to heat it up to loosen the glue. The hair dryer isn't working yet....

[Miss Bea]

6 hours ago, Bro Richard said:

Thanks. I did that and the only way to remove the back of the S7 is to heat it up to loosen the glue. The hair dryer isn't working yet....

I’d trot into one of those phone repair places, and see if they could kindly suggest a way to get it unassembled, without heating it. There has to be a way to pop that back off. 
I have a tool set that I thought was dandy. In reality, it is to work on cell phones. And you cannot believe the doo-dads that set has. I suspect they all have secrets, that are being kept from me. 
But, if you ever need a set of teeny tiny tools, I have them! 

[tekmantwo]

6 hours ago, Bro Richard said:

Thanks. I did that and the only way to remove the back of the S7 is to heat it up to loosen the glue. The hair dryer isn't working yet....

I have a heatgun, if you want to use it.

 

It goes to 400F if I remember correctly. It will definitely crisp hair, it gets plenty hot.

 

I got it when I was into R/C Aircraft building, it's used to heatshrink the monokote surface coverings.

 

Meet ya half way?..

 

[Tortuga]

6 hours ago, Miss Bea said:

I’d trot into one of those phone repair places, and see if they could kindly suggest a way to get it unassembled, without heating it.

It has to be heated and they charge to do it...

5 hours ago, tekmantwo said:

Meet ya half way?..

If I don't buy one before the next family dinner then I might borrow yours. Thx.

[Old]

3 hours ago, Bro Richard said:

It has to be heated and they charge to do it...

If I don't buy one before the next family dinner then I might borrow yours. Thx.

$9.97 at harbor Freight

[Tortuga]

45 minutes ago, Old said:

$9.97 at harbor Freight

I saw that, I plan to check it out. Thx.

[Miss Bea]

Want to use my hair blowing dryer?

[Tortuga]

19 minutes ago, Miss Bea said:

Want to use my hair blowing dryer?

😆👍 I used my wife's dryer and I wasn't able to loosen the adhesive...

[Friends just call me Ross]

3 hours ago, Bro Richard said:

😆👍 I used my wife's dryer and I wasn't able to loosen the adhesive...

I wonder what would happen if you rolled the phone up in an electric heating pad with high setting 

and just let it warm up for a few hours?

Nice, constant, non-damaging heat source.  

 

Plus, your phone may never suffer from an aching back again.  

[Old Guy]

When I did my tablet, I put it on my car dash and left to there for an hour. Probably won't work in a cold climate.

[Tortuga]

Several sites have warned about how susceptible the screen and internal parts are to heat and they have warned that only the glass back of the device should be heated.

[Tortuga]

On 2/9/2020 at 9:43 AM, Old said:

$9.97 at harbor Freight

I bought the Harbor Freight  heat gun and I was able to carefully get the back off the phone, replaced the battery and I'm using it now. 

[Friends just call me Ross]

1 hour ago, Bro Richard said:

I bought the Harbor Freight  heat gun and I was able to carefully get the back off the phone, replaced the battery and I'm using it now. 

 

Well done, sir!

 

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by Friends just call me Ross