Hardware Bloated/Inflated Battery

[Calico]

Hi, I'm new to this whole forums thing but I was wondering if someone here can help me..

Just today the back case of my original Aqua Blue 3DS which i bought some time 3 years ago was "popping" out. The screws were all normal and intact, so I decided to open the back case and viola! The Li-ion battery seems to be twice its size. Now I read up on bloated Li-ion batteries, and apparently it's something like a leakage of "gel" which explains its harden state. I can't send this back to Nintendo since warranty is only 1 year, irrc. I'd rather not spend too much money on a replacement, which I can't seem to be able to find online anyways (Walmart, Futureshop, Best Buy, etc.), because I've always wanted a Gateway 3DS... but the price is still way too high for me to afford. I'm also from Canada if that helps (Toronto)

Any advice, fixes, or solutions are appreciated. Thank you for reading.

 

[ground]

Can't you just buy a new battery?

 

[bannana2]

I think you may want to have your 3DS looked at as well. It could be causing the battery to go bad, which kinda sucks for ya

 

[Calico]

Yes, I'm looking to buy a new one. But like I said, I can't find any legitimate looking ones where I live (Canada)

 

[Joe88]

Did it damage the area around it?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

The same thing happened to my PSP, the first time I plugged it in to use it after it had been sitting unused for a couple years at least. Couldn't find an original replacement anywhere, one eBay seller claimed to sell them but it turned out to be fake so I got a refund.

However in the case of the 3DS I believe you can buy replacement batteries directly from Nintendo.
Edit: here's the link https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/p...false&productId=prod10336&categoryId=cat10039

 

[Calico]

No damage was done to anything other than the battery far as I can tell.
I forgot to mention that the battery has been on really low life for a few months. I believe it's because I consistently left my 3DS connected to the outlet, overloading the battery.
So obviously don't do this if you're lucky enough to not have this happen to you yet. If I take out charger, the 3DS will remain at 4 bars for 5 minutes and in seconds it'll go
down to 1 and automatically turn off. I just thought my battery was dying, so I left it plugged in 24/7, which probably resulted in the bloated battery.
So don't do that if you already do.

Any idea where I can get a replacement in Canada? Under 40$ would be nice.

 

[zoogie]

You can go the cheapy route at your own peril
http://www.amazon.ca/Hyperkin-81304...F8&qid=1428020753&sr=8-1&keywords=3ds+battery
not a much worse idea than sporting that ticking bomb inside your 3ds right now

 

[Calico]

LOL, well. Thank you guys for all your help! But The Real Jdbye's advice was really helpful!
Looks like the cost of replacement is $20 where I live; wonder if they charge for shipping.

 

[Syphos]

Bloated Batteries are highly dangerous.
You should get rid of it asap. Exploding Batteries are fun to watch, but not in your own home.

 

[Deleted User]

Yes, I'm looking to buy a new one. But like I said, I can't find any legitimate looking ones where I live (Canada)

You might have to buy from outside of Canada.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

LOL, well. Thank you guys for all your help! But The Real Jdbye's advice was really helpful!
Looks like the cost of replacement is $20 where I live; wonder if they charge for shipping.

Where are you looking? The price on Nintendo Store is $15.

Bloated Batteries are highly dangerous.
You should get rid of it asap. Exploding Batteries are fun to watch, but not in your own home.

Modern, quality batteries should never explode or catch fire, it happens sometimes in a specific batch because of a factory defect, which ends up in all the batteries from that batch being recalled. I wouldn't worry too much about it exploding, the chances are probably low, but he should still get rid of it, I know I would. I just think your claim is a bit exaggerated.
It should work fine running from the charger without a battery plugged in, and since the battery's dead anyway, there's nothing to lose from doing that.

You might have to buy from outside of Canada.

Nintendo ships to Canada Not sure if they ship from within Canada or if they ship from US, probably doesn't matter much.

 

[Deleted User]

Where are you looking? The price on Nintendo Store is $15.

CAD is worth less than USD, so naturally, the Canadian price would appear to be higher than the American price.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

CAD is worth less than USD, so naturally, the Canadian price would appear to be higher than the American price.

I see, I thought the difference was smaller. Nevermind then

 

[HEX1GON]

Order from Nintendo!

 

[sandytf]

Damaged Li-ion batteries are extremely dangerous. With regards to safety, the cause of the damage doesn't really matter. Take the battery out of your system and place it in a box right away, ideally recycling it.

 

[Lucifer666]

I don't know where you can get an affordable replacement but here's a useful tip if you didn't already know: the wii u pro controller uses the same battery so you could just shop for those instead?

 

[Foxi4]

Yeah, you should immediately dispose of that battery - they're a huge fire hazard. It's entirely Nintendo's fault that your battery was not protected from overcharging, it's clearly a factory defect and I would demand a new one because it literally put you in danger. Ever saw a lithium fire? Yeah. Get a new one.

 

[Avalynn]

I agree with everyone else that the battery should be disposed of immediately, safely, and properly.

So I don't think it's Nintendo's fault no. Nor do I believe this is a factory defect, the battery is about three years old, and am not sure how many cycles it's been though. But I don't think the battery was over charged, however leaving it constantly connected to a charger, depending how the charging circuit is designed or made, can cause the battery to die earlier then expected. This is because most lithium based batteries are under the greatest stress while charging rapidly and when left fully charged. This is a common issue with laptops, and other hand-held devices as well, since we live in an always on the go world were we want to squeeze out the maximum battery life from our portable electronics. So almost all chagrining circuits in consumer electronics are designed to charge the battery to full usually based on CC/CV techniques to provide the maximum run time.

If you are going to store any type of lithium battery for an extended period of time, you normally want them at around 70% of their current maximum capacity. So if you fully charge your system, go ahead and use it a bit before storing it off the charger. This will ensure that the have enough charge to not self discharge too rapidly and cause them to fail and make sure there isn't too great of a stress on them they they will be fine in moderately changing environments.

Also here is something fun to read and is no ways scientific research but good information none the less on The Charging of Lithum Based Batteries.

 

[Foxi4]

A lithium battery will not bloat unless it's overcharged or charged with a voltage higher than expected, I've never encountered this issue popping up naturally or from overuse and I've dealt with laptops connected to the charger 24/7 for years on end. This is classic circuit failure unless the battery was physically damadged, I'd RMA that in a heartbeat. I can't even think of a legal way to dispose of a bloated lithium battery, that shit's dangerous and doesn't belong in a bin.