Mars

Because I couldn't charge my Clie anymore, I bought a new battery. I managed to remove the old one with a little work, but I think I did something wrong, when I tried to slide in the new one. Since then the display stays blank. When I start the PDA it has a dark blue colour which then gradually shifts to white. When I tap anywhere on the screen, I hear beeps (which is strange, isn't it?), but I can't see anything. When I had the battery connected but still outside the device, everything worked fine.

I would guess that I have damaged the data connection to the screen. Is that likely? Could I fix that?

On the other hand, reconnecting the battery would be the same thing as a hard reset, so the OS should run its intro -- I don't hear these sounds. Or does that only start a bit later? I can't remember...

Can anybody give me directions?

Or am I best of throwing all of it away together with the newly acquired battery.

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lhogan

I got mine off of ebay because someone tried to replace the battery and it didn't work. I fixed it. This is what you do:

Take the back off. Gently gently slip the battery in between the three tapes and the circuit board. The three tapes go to jacks on the circuit board, and an additional one goes to the main comm plug on the bottom of the unit. Make sure the tapes are plugged in. The narrow two tapes work by gently levering the black part of the jack outwards, slipping the tape in, and popping the black part back in. The wide tape works by rocking the brown part up like a hinge, slipping the tape in straight, and snapping the hinge part back down. The tapes are delicate - do not tear them! I have a pair of needle-nosed forceps I use to work things that are that small. If you're not sure, get a good tech to do it for you. The battery was never intended to be replaced without removing the back of the case. I'm still trying to figure out why they put a little door there...

Mars

Thanks for your comment. I actually had the back side opened to replace the battery. I even tried fitting in the old one again before I had the new one to check if I was able to do it and it worked.

But when I then tried to put in the new battery I must have done something wrong. Maybe I lifted up the left side of the device to far or scratched something with the battery -- I have no idea. Is there any information available on which ribbon cable is used for what?

Your guide on how to plug in and out the ribbons was very helpful. I'm going to remove the whole circuit board to check out the back side. It's very hard to peek in or work on it now.

But I'm still afraid that I destroyed too much.

I think that's meant to allow proper recycling. It should be possible to pull out the battery throught the door before throwing away the device.

How much did you pay for the defect PDA? Maybe it would be more reasonable to sell the thing as spare parts, although I fear it wasn't that popular around here.

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This posting is a natural product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.

lhogan

I would avoid taking the whole motherboard off, because the more you handle the ribbon cables, the more you're asking for a bad scene. I paid $37 for my TG50. If you can't repair yours, let's talk. I could use the spare parts...

Errol

Hi ! I live in South Africa where TG50's were never sold. My son in the US gave it to me. I need a new battery. Where can I get one - will pay by Mastercard. I will need step by step instructions to install it when I do get one ! Would be very greatful for help.

Many thanks, Errol Greer. errol.greer@pixie.co.za

lhogan

Buy a new battery on eBay. About $20. Take back off TG50. Carefully remove old battery, noting how it comes out. Install new one exactly the same way as the old one was. If you're not good with tiny little things, get someone who is to do it for you. DO NOT TRY TO REPLACE THE BATTERY THROUGH THE SILLY LITTLE DOOR.

NOTE! I found that the power switch on my TG50 had become dirty. It made the PDA lose its mind on a regular basis. (BTW, when the switch was causing trouble, it looked exactly like a weak battery, except the battery charge indicator would get better and worse all the time.) With the back of the PDA off, I cleaned the switch with a *TINY* spritz of DeOxIT R-2 spray, and it became good as new! I can tell the cleaning worked, because I was running a music file while I had the back off, so I would be able to tell when I touched the part of the motherboard that caused the failure, because the music would stop. I spritzed the switch, and the music suddenly got louder, and better sounding (less distortion). Don't tell anybody! This is our secret, okay...
Oh shucks, I just posted this in a public location, didn't I?

bjomama

Been reading the posted info on how to change the Clie TG-50 battery and am wanting to know how to get the back off. I've removed the screws, but the back still feels attached on the left side and top. I don't want to force it and break anything.

Also, I just purchased this Clie on eBay and it is having the dark screen problem. I didn't ask the seller, but am assuming that someone messed it up trying to change the battery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that is the only problem. It looks like a great PDA to use. It's replacing my old Clie N760C.

Bliss

in case someone else stumbles into this. This happened to me too while changing the battery. What happens is that several flexs cross the battery compartment, with the clie facing up, all cables travel thorough the bottom of the cavity.

The trouble is, that the cables (flexs, flat plastic cables with vias), are a little longer than needed (good practice), and when you remove the old battery they bend filling the lower part of the cavity (bad practice), so what happens is, that when you insert the new battery, it pulls on the flexes, and unsockets them from theyr connectors. Leaving you screenless.

If this happens to you, the bad news are that you will have to open the whole device, take it appart, reseat the flexes (reseat the biggest one to the left of the board, EVEN IF IT LOOKS OK.). I won't shoot into a detailed description of how to do this here, but you should be able to find several dissasembly instructions in this board or google.

I am too tired to make one now, but if you can't find them, email me, and maybe I'll be able to reopen it, and take some shots of the process.

Edit:

if you haven't changed the battery yet, but are about to, there is a simple way to avoid all this hazzle. After you remove the older battery get a piece of sturdy and thin paper (like crey paper, or plastified documents) almost as wide as the cavity, and most importantly, LONGER than the cavity is. You can insert it sticking it to the top of the cavity, since the cables are in the lower part.

Once it's in, lower the paper, and place the new battery OVER the paper, and then slide (more like push it) in. The paper will (should) work as a barrier between the battery and the cables, and avoid any snags.

Botrax

Kooky note: I changed the battery of my TG50 for a 1400mah battery that I got on Ebay. What is kooky is that the TG50 will still display 100% battery if the 1400mah battery is at least 2/3 full.

skccs

I can get a used tg50 and a new battery for free. What happened. While trying to replace the flat plastic cable you mentioned above broke or ripped apart somehow.

Do you know if it is possible to get a spare cable (where, how much)?

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Palm Pilot -> Palm III (Ericsson SH888) -> Palm m505 (Nokia 8210) -> Clie N770C/E with Bluetooth PEGA-BT700 (Ericsson T68) -> Clie NX70V (T68) -> Clie NZ90 and Wifi-Card (T610) -> Clie NX73 and Wifi-Card (T610) -> Toshiba e800 (Full VGA-Screen and Application, but terribly slow!)