[SOLVED] The "fixed" screw was damaged


vinipsmaker

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After I opened my Pandora, one of the screws became damaged. I cannot use any tool to spin it anymore. Is it possible to replace it without buying another case part? If it's not possible to replace the screw, I'll try to permanently remove the screw and get the correct replacement part later.

I cannot use the battery anymore, because there is now a gap between the circuits and the batter, like in the image below:

Foto0022.jpg

Foto0022.jpg
 
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you can use a not that harsh glue, like that white glue for wood or glue that becomes rubbery. put it in the hole where the screw has to go (do not use too much, the bedding of the screw at the bottom is very small), wait a few hours until it gets a little hard, then, now that the hole is smaller (you can let it get hard with a small nail in it, keep the nail perpendicular with some chewing gum), screw the screw in again. If you are a perfectionist, then you need to take the top case (the one that holds te battery) off first.

edit: Oh, its the screw itself... yeah, in that case, remove the other 3 screws, and hopefully the casing lets loose. Then, use a pincer to pinch the point of the screw *(the "wrong" side) and unscrew it, so your plastic still retains the groove.

Try to find a replacement screw, as creating a new hole on the head requires some tooling and skill *(you can clamp it down, then use a file).

if all else fails, use ducktape on the outside :)
 
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you can use a not that harsh glue, like that white glue for wood or glue that becomes rubbery. put it in the hole where the screw has to go (do not use too much, the bedding of the screw at the bottom is very small), wait a few hours until it gets a little hard, then, now that the hole is smaller (you can let it get hard with a small nail in it, keep the nail perpendicular with some chewing gum), screw the screw in again. If you are a perfectionist, then you need to take the top case (the one that holds te battery) off first.

edit: Oh, its the screw itself... yeah, in that case, remove the other 3 screws, and hopefully the casing lets loose. Then, use a pincer to pinch the point of the screw *(the "wrong" side) and unscrew it, so your plastic still retains the groove.

Try to find a replacement screw, as creating a new hole on the head requires some tooling and skill *(you can clamp it down, then use a file).

if all else fails, use ducktape on the outside :)
It's an interesting solution.

Just to be sure, you mean to "damage" the case removing permanently the screw and then fixing the "damaged hole" with this technique. Did I get it right?
 
edit: Oh, its the screw itself... yeah, in that case, remove the other 3 screws, and hopefully the casing lets loose. Then, use a pincer to pinch the point of the screw *(the "wrong" side) and unscrew it, so your plastic still retains the groove.


Try to find a replacement screw, as creating a new hole on the head requires some tooling and skill *(you can clamp it down, then use a file).
This solution looks safer. I'll try this one and report here later.
 
Yeah, I couldn't remove the bottom two screws in my Pandora (though I'd not heard of this affecting anyone else before).  I had to drill both of them out (handily, because the screws are cross headed, when the head partly stripped it left a handy hollow to guide the drill bit to the exact centre of the screw).  I used a mechanical hand drill rather than a power drill, partly so I could stop drilling just when the head loosened from the rest of the screw, and partly because I don't own a power drill.

I then replaced them both (m2.5x8mm machine screws commonly used in laptops, so easy to get) and widened the hollow they sit in using an appropriately sized drill bit (4mm I think) freehand - a quick twizzle and then my new screws dropped in and out easily - try them upside down first to check the head doesn't get stuck.  Now they screw in and out as easily as the rest of them.
 
When mine did this I just drilled out the screw head and replaced it. It's not an elegant solution and if you go too far you'll drill through the plastic and there won't be anything to screw back into. Also assumes you have a suitable replacement, which I did only because I've got three other cases.
 
The quickest and easiest way to remove a stripped screw is with the right screwdriver bit and an elastic band. Cut a small amount of the band off, place over the screw and insert and turn the screwdriver. You'll be amazed how effective this is at removing the formerly immovable.
 
edit: Oh, its the screw itself... yeah, in that case, remove the other 3 screws, and hopefully the casing lets loose. Then, use a pincer to pinch the point of the screw *(the "wrong" side) and unscrew it, so your plastic still retains the groove.


Try to find a replacement screw, as creating a new hole on the head requires some tooling and skill *(you can clamp it down, then use a file).
This solution looks safer. I'll try this one and report here later.
It doesn't help.

The "unfortunate" screw is the one "stuck" in the case.

Metal glue on the point of a screwdriver or somehow grooving in the screw with a small file could work.
The solution from the other guy didn't work. I'll try this one.
 
Bear in mind you likely won't be able to file a slot in the screw if it's recessed in the hole.  Glue might work but I'd try the rubber band trick before risking gluing the screw more solidly in the hole if I were you.
 
I removed the screw and the gap between the two case parts disappeared, but the Pandora still cannot be turned on without the charging cable. This means that the very small gap was not the reason why it didn't recoginized the battery.

This is the second thread and I don't want to create a third thread, then I'll reuse this thread: Do you guys have any idea what can I do to track the problem down? I can use the Pandora through the charging cable, then any possible useful software can be used i this task.

I tried a second battery (I bought a second battery with the Pandora) and it changes nothing.

EDIT:

By "the problem", I refer to the not-recoginized (or similar problem description) battery.
 
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Hmm, odd. With the bottom of the case on, do the battery prongs poke above the surface of the battery compartment. If they make contact with the tabs on the battery everything should work.


Note that a lot of pandoras need a bit of battery compartment fine tuning. If you hold the battery in with your fingers (with the battery lid off) and flick the power switch, do you get anything? Personally I need a few folds of paper on top of the battery under the battery lid to keep it in contact reliably, and a few more around the edge to stop it shifting when I put it in my bag.


A word of warning: don't put the battery in while the system's powered from the mains. That can apparently do bad things to your battery, certainly if left charging for any length of time.
 
I changed my mind. There is still a small gap between the case and the battery. I didn't put the battery withtout the case because I'm afraid of doing any damage to the device.

Is it safe to put the battery without the case? I'm pretty sure that I would miss the correct position at the first time and the three battery contact would not touch the three contacts on the Pandora correctly.

Also, you guys are too smart for me. Do you suggest any wiki/book/tutorial, then I can learn a bit of electronics and understand you better? I can always bother my friends around here, but this option always take time.

Then I bought a case replacement on DragonBox.

Getting any voltage on the pins when charging?
I didn't check. I'll borrow a voltmeter and ask for help.
 
Hmm, odd. With the bottom of the case on, do the battery prongs poke above the surface of the battery compartment. If they make contact with the tabs on the battery everything should work.
Yes, they do, but only slightly. Maybe the gap in the case is not that small after all.

Note that a lot of pandoras need a bit of battery compartment fine tuning. If you hold the battery in with your fingers (with the battery lid off) and flick the power switch, do you get anything? Personally I need a few folds of paper on top of the battery under the battery lid to keep it in contact reliably, and a few more around the edge to stop it shifting when I put it in my bag.
I initially put a very thin paper "just in case". I'll try to add more.

A word of warning: don't put the battery in while the system's powered from the mains. That can apparently do bad things to your battery, certainly if left charging for any length of time.
Yes, I read about that on the wiki.
 
It depends what you mean by the battery case. I would not put a battery in without the bottom slice of the case, which I think is what you were suggesting - there are a lot of delicate electronics on there. But you can run it without the battery flap thing that holds the battery in, although it's not easy to shut the system down properly before removing the battery when doing that, but it should be safe enough for a quick test (and you can always reflash if anything software-wise does break).
 
It depends what you mean by the battery case. I would not put a battery in without the bottom slice of the case, which I think is what you were suggesting - there are a lot of delicate electronics on there. But you can run it without the battery flap thing that holds the battery in, although it's not easy to shut the system down properly before removing the battery when doing that, but it should be safe enough for a quick test (and you can always reflash if anything software-wise does break).
That is what I thought also. Not a good idea.

=)

Long way waiting for the replacement part. At least I still can use the Pandora with the charging cable plugged.
 
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