CF18 Battery conector came off MBoard

Hey Gents,
GREAT forum by the way.
I have a CF-18 DHAZXKM that I pulled out of the trash at work. Yes the trash, "didn't work", and system was phased out..... lol so trash.

Well I asked the tech nicely for the Recovery Disks (he actually kept them) and a few hours later (a clean install and all the updates for XP Pro) I have it working off the AC.

The battery would not register so I thought I would take a look at the hardware. The battery terminal on the board was hanging off. It had glue all over the leads and on the board. Not a factory job..lol I’m betting that the nut case in the tech room tried to glue the batter terminal back on the board after someone broke it off sliding the battery back in too hard. That did not work so he shelved the unit.

Questions:
1) Looks like super glue, can I use acetone to clean off the glue on the board?
2) I cleaned the terminal and leads, can it be placed back on the board and does anyone have direction for the job? (re-glue or solder it back on)

 

No! you can't use that it may damage the pcb and its coating that may exposed the circuit lines on it perhaps its already been damaged. Can you take a better picture on the area alone of the battery terminal so that we can assist if it is soldereable or totally scrap.

BTW, welcome to the forum


ohlip

 

Ohlip,

Thanks for the quick reply. Ah sorry, was a bit of a joke regarding the glue and acetone . In line with the tech throwing a CF18 in the trash .

I’m hoping I don’t have to get a new MB. Willing to try and fix this one.

I’m thinking that if I solder it back on the solder will burn through the glue. ??

This is the best pic I could take.

 

That pic ain't the best, but by the looks of it it would appear that you could heat up the contacts that are there on the motherboard and then use a solder sucker to suck out the old crap then maybe order a new battery connector part (unless the old one is okay) and just re-solder it. You could use dual phase epoxy (the stuff you mix together on a piece of cardboard) (NOT super glue) after you solder it.

If all else fails and you're ready to give up you could always ship it to my computer shop and I can try soldering it and ship it back

 

GunHog... Welcome to the forum... Well you've bested all our, "I got a deal on ebay!" stories! Wow... What a find!

Yes.. You should be able to fix that easily... It will take some checking though. I believe that all the rugged Toughbooks have that as a separate item and it is screwed onto something inside. I'll have a check of the schematics and exploded views in the morning (Or someone else will) and will get back to you! If it is an interchangeable part... I may have one for you... But if it is special to the CF-18... You may have to order one from www.heartlandsi.com. You have to call with your model number and part number to get the part... I'll be making an order next week so I can order it for you and ship it out of you want... Otherwise you'll pay $20 shipping for a $5 part!

EDIT - Nevermind... I'm thinking of the CF-28... Yours may be ether screwed or spotwelded to a bracket. I don't think glue alone will handle that job. You'll need solder or screws.... Teo would know... But he needs a clear picture I'm sure.

Either way... I'm sure you can order just that assembly from Heartland. All the Toughbooks break down into parts like that. (Break down not break apart!)

 

Base on the photo it can be done not really as bad to what I think. Before soldering it back, clean both side. The connector and mbo. take out the old existing solder(lead) on it. Leave the glue on it as it may pull up the circuit lines when you try to take it out on which I think is totally stick on it. Check the circuit lines on the mbo all the way to the pin area if it has a damaged or broken one. Make sure the pin legs of the connector can be place straight without uneven spaces right position on the pin area of the mbo. Apply a bet of solder paste before you solder it totally. Good Luck. I am heading to bed now. See tommorow.



ohlip

 

Wow you guys are great!

I just DLed the Service manual and schematics and the part in question is the CN15 K1KA10B00213 CONNECTOR. It looks like the mounting points on the connector have broken off. The solder points on the board are in good shape and the connector (other than the damage from being broken off) is in good shape. I’m thinking I can solder it back on.

So the positioning will be the issue. The process in my mind is to place the connector back on the battery and mark it position. Then take the connector back off (so as not to short anything) and solder it back on. After it’s in place I could use some bubble gum…. eeeerr ahhh… epoxy and hold it in place….
Am I on the right track?

 

Thanks to all for the help. I love this lill CF18 more as I play with it. Can't wait to take her out in the field. Will be a big help taking care of my Marines.

Well I’ll stop by the hobby store in the morning and get some things. Then see if I can fix this. I do need some parts, list will follow. Suggestions on whom I should purchase from would be awesome.

Parts needed
MAIN PCB: E1 DL3U11395AAA PCB, MAIN (Would like to get a price on this just in case)

This is what I do need right now to seal her back up.
Seals:
K7 DFHG1630ZA-0 AUDIO LID RUBBER,
K8 DFHG1632XA-0 DC IN LID RUBBER,
K9 DFHG1638ZA-0 MODEM/LAN LID RUBBER,
K10 DFHG1639ZA-0 USB LID RUBBER QTY-2,
K11 DFHG1641ZB-0 RGB LID RUBBER,
K13 DFHG1660ZA-0 LAN LID RUBBER,
K500 DFHG1633ZB-0 RUBBER, SERIAL LID

Screws: [missing 4 but I bet I have to get them all..]
K409 DRHM0061ZA QTY-13,

 

gun...So, Hows it going and did you fixed it?


ohlip

 

Heartlandsi.com is the only authorized seller of Panasonic parts in the US. You will have to call them though, their online store has been under construction for over 5 years now as I understand it. They are real good about quoting prices for you as long as you have the part numbers, which you do, and will give you estimated shipping costs (duck and cover cause it will smart). OORAH Marine and let us know how it goes.

 

Whoooo….It’s been some time since I have done board level work. I will not show a picture of the finished produce. Would hate for my former Navy Electronics Tech instructors to see them. Lol Not the best soldering job I have ever done. The best I could do with what I have. I will take a field pic and post it when I get her dirty

It now sees a battery and I have a steady glowing ORANGE led light. I’m running the Battery Recalibration now. After it’s done I’ll pull the back off ….again…. and run a bead of epoxy down the front of the connector just to make sure it does not come off again. Sorry Rob you don’t get your hands on my 18 this week…lol

Thanks to everyone that lent a hand and gave information so freely. I hope I can return the favor to the group when I can.

 

GunHog... Good job! Hope it lasts... If it doesn't... I was just working on mine and had the bottom off... I looked at the battery connector and you should be able to order just THAT assembly if you need to make it like new. Chances are that your fix will work over the long haul unless you are constantly taking out and putting in the battery or you keep it on top of a jackhammer.

Glad to see you dig right in... Great score... And great story!

 

Arrrrgggggg! Red flashing light on bat LED.

 

Well... The bright side is that your fix is working!

 

Yep I think so. The TS matrix said it's a bad battery or the charging circuit. Crossing my fingers its the battery. To bad none of you are close or I would drive over and stick a good battery in to find out. Slackers.

 

JD... It IS the battery... Flashing red is the kiss of death on these. You can't really even rebuild them if you want to retain all the safety and info features of them. Do yourself a favor after you play with it and decide it is worth keeping... Buy a new Panasonic battery and not aftermarket. You may also want to search for a thread about rebuilt batteries we had here about a year ago. There was a place in CA that rebuilt them for $85 shipped (I think) with you returning your bad one as a core....

Not bad for dumpster diving, eh?

 

Jorge

If it was orange and now its red, as toughbook said
"not bad for dumpster diving"
It will work if you find a good used battery (lots on Ebay)
And a Rep to you for fixing the connecter yourself

Alex

 

Thanks Alex,
I'm already looking at mods. I would really like to have on-board Blue-Tooth and GPS. Both will have to wait as I'm running out of money on this round.

Need a battery (local store has one for 125 new) and the above mentioned parts minus the Motherboard.

I was looking on ebay and saw a 160G HD for $57.00. Said it was for a CF-18... That would be nice, 40G is a bit small. The 1GB RAM upgrade should be in Tuesday so it'll be able to open aps and windows with out coughing up blood.

I will write an account of the fix and append it to the first post so some one reading this will get to the fix first.. Very much want to get this girl out of the house and working.! THIS THING IS COOL!!!

 

Here is a link to the model that I recomend all the time
Its a single platter 5400rpm drive that has great performance

http://cgi.ebay.com/Samsung-HM160HC...3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:3|39:1|240:1318


Alex

 

haha... I don't want it anyways! ... Good work though! Glad you got it going!