Just bought a cell phone off e-bay - is the battery dead?

[MikeHunt79]

The cell in question is a Siemens SX1.

The battery is your normal li-ion type (3.7v).

The phone will not turn on, even with the charger plugged in...

I hooked the batt up to a DMM, and it says 2.56v...

I'm guessing it's dead, or could I revive it if i hooked it up to a DSD charger with croc clips?

 

[Marduke]

The cell in question is a Siemens SX1.

The battery is your normal li-ion type (3.7v).

The phone will not turn on, even with the charger plugged in...

I hooked the batt up to a DMM, and it says 2.56v...

I'm guessing it's dead, or could I revive it if i hooked it up to a DSD charger with croc clips?

Could try charging it in the phone...

But this is one reason to not buy cellphone batteries off Ebay. Good chance they went through the washing machine and will never work again...

 

[ACMarina]

Most phones (that I've tried it with, anyway) will run without the battery in them, if they're plugged in. They may not work properly, but they'll at least turn on..

 

[macforsale]

...

 

[MikeHunt79]

Well the thing is the battery won't charge if it's in the phone, and the phone won't turn on without the battery.... I plug the phone in and nothing shows on the screen, no sign of it charging at all...

The phone itself is fine, as I managed to temporarily wire a 18650 to the phone, and it runs from that fine.

 

[shadowjk]

According to nearly all phone manuals, if the battery is "very" discharged, nothing will appear on the screen when you try to charge, but you should leave the charger in for half an hour or more anyway. It might be charging without turning on the display.

Having owned 4 different Siemens models in the past, though all of them were older than the SX1, my personal opinion is that siemens build quality is crap. 2 of the phones had severe problems (M35) and 2 major (CF62) problems with charging.

 

[MikeHunt79]

According to nearly all phone manuals, if the battery is "very" discharged, nothing will appear on the screen when you try to charge, but you should leave the charger in for half an hour or more anyway. It might be charging without turning on the display.

Having owned 4 different Siemens models in the past, though all of them were older than the SX1, my personal opinion is that siemens build quality is crap. 2 of the phones had severe problems (M35) and 2 major (CF62) problems with charging.

I've foudn the SX1 do be pretty bad as well... which is why I'm tempted to try a DSD charger instead. I cannot find any croc clips tho...

I've got the battery in now, I'm not sure if it's charging or not, but it can't hurt to try...

EDIT: After an hour or so, it's gone from 2.6v to 2.8v, so it does appear to be charging! I've found some croc clips also, but I'm gonna use the DSD as a last resort.

 

[dulridge]

I've foudn the SX1 do be pretty bad as well... which is why I'm tempted to try a DSD charger instead. I cannot find any croc clips tho...

Maplin. If you can't get any, I'll send you some.