I set an m505 in its cradle and plugged in its power supply, but the charging indicator stayed dark. I removed it from the cradle, and it lit up. Put it back in, went dark.
Then I noticed that instead of the 5v power supply that came with it, I had plugged in the power supply to a laptop and have the poor thing 16vdc. Well, I tried plugging in the normal supply and letting it sit a while, but it just got really warm.
Now it makes no sign that it works at all. Soft reset, hard reset and cradle reset all appear to have no effect. Palm wants $125 to fix the thing, which is crazy since I can buy a used one for $50 or so.
Since it's now a paperweight, and I'm pretty darned handy with a soldering iron, is there anything I can do to repair the thing if I should get some spare time? What parts would I need? How do I find out how to test what failed? I would plan on buying broken machines to get parts. What else should I consider?
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I'm looking for a difficult answer, like order the schematics and service manual here: www.palmblah blah blah.
Or, "Just replace the power regulator with Analog Devices 5-volt regulator XYZ23"
Palm plainly posts their $125 fee that fixes anything, and the device simply isn't worth that much money, but it is worth a little of my time and effort.
Who does phone repair nowadays besides factory warranty shops?
I'm no electircian but LiOn batteries are very sensitive.
It's unlikely to be the charger. It's more than likely busted something inside the device itself
If it's out of warantee I'd be inclined to poke around it and see if theres any obvious damage. If it's in warantee I'd send it back as they could end up charging you more for damaging it further.
One word of caution before you do anything... the battery WILL explode if you overcharge it so be very carefull (Seen them scald a area 4' square before!). I'd open the casing carefully as lithium is really nasty to the skin. If it's leaking I'd just lob it as it's probably done damage to the boards inside.
There should be a power regulator for the battery (To prevent the device from being overcharged or discharging). This is probably the culprit. Look for split capacitors and burned ICs.
HTH
Jay
At best you need to replace the battery at worse you need to replace the motherboard.
How-To dissassemble the M505 instructuons go here:
http://www.gethightech.com
You will need Torx Driver - T5 & T6 Driver $9.99 from them as well part#XX1127
Go to http://www.pdaparts.com
Replacement battery is 29.99 part#PA1371
They don't show a motherboard replacement part, but if you e-mail or call them they may be able to help you.
Also, they will tell you exactly what is wrong for $20.00 plus shipping.
"The $20 General Diagnosis fee allows you to send in your unit and GetHighTech will have one of our repair experts diagnose your unit. Once we have determined the cause of your units problem we will email you a quote with the cost to repair the unit. The $20 per unit diagnosis fee is Non-Refundable and is not applied towards the part(s) cost. "
Units Repaired: Palm M505
*Digitizer/GlassTop Repair: N/A
*Complete Screen Replacement : $75.00
*Battery Replacement: $45.00
General Diagnosis: $20.00
*Prices include parts and labor.
Good luck.
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by: Mikal613Posted on 2004-09-24 at 11:18:52ID: 12146074
a) Perhaps send it back to palm and see what they can do with it.
b) Your wireless provider perhaps can do something with it.
c) any phone repair people maybe it will be cheaper and its probably just the power supply.