Modding the Flea?

[Buck91]

I have a Blackburn Flea tail light which has died on me. I suspect the battery was over discharged or the like. What I'm wondering is if anybody have been able top open one of these up without destroying it and if so, what was the trick? It appears to be a clamshell design glued or epoxied together, but thats hard to say from the outside, and it aonly appears to have a millimeter or two of overlap.

It was such a nice little light, I hate for 1 dead cell to be the end of it!

 

[BrianMc]

They redesigned them in 2010 and it is less than $30 on Amazon. So maybe a new one is the way to go.

OTOH, you don't have a lot to lose in prying/cutting it open and it might not be the battery, maybe a simple broken lead/bad solder joint. That would be nice! With 810 postings, you have the 'bug', and if you get no guidance here, you KNOW you've got to. Good luck. Hope someone knows the best way in. Please post with pics!

 

[Buck91]

Dang Brian, you must be psychic. Pried it open without much trouble (two little tabs on the top plus a small flathead screw driver make it rather easy) and sure as anything there is a wire disconnected from the charging ports. Now, I still expect the button cell to require replacing, but at least this means it may be feasible!

Speaking of which, can anybody recommend a source for LIR2477 rechargable li-ion cells?

 

[BrianMc]

No 'All Seeing Eye' here, just know that that sort of thing happens all too often and rear blinkies get dropped or leaned against trees etc.

Google got this Ether-bay seller:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-PC-Li-Ion-3-6V-200mAh-Button-Cell-LIR2477-New-BuySAFE-/250717016214

I assume your cell shows less than 2.45 V the lowest they recommend trying to recover? They will do 500 cycles if not run below 3 V often according to specs. If trying to recharge at 2.45 V, put the light in a can, flower pot, away from combustibles and have some sand on hand in case. A good practice in any case.

I have noticed I get much braver when the unit is dead in the water unless I can be successful in surgery. No pressure that way.

 

[Buck91]

Battery is reading 0.04vdc on my DMM, and thats not a typo! I saw the ebay auction and will most likely go that route just for the satisfaction of fixing the lil guy, but I can pro purchase an entire unit for that price from BB. Oh well, I'll see if any of hte usuals can help like AW but I'm not expecting much.

 

[bbaker22]

Found some 2477's here. No experience with the seller.

http://www.powerstream.com/licoin.htm