h140 - unfried but no recharge - help!

[bresson]

Hi,

I've had an H140 since late 2004 but sadly it's no longer working properly. When I plug in the original charger (the only one I've ever used) the green light no longer comes on. The player is still fine and turned on after I realised it wasn't charging (though now whenever I turn it on it just says "low battery" and turns off as I've used up all remaining power). Any idea what the problem is?

The charger stopped working when I was in New Zealand (using a travel adapter on the charger), but I'm not sure if this is a coincidence.

Does the fact the player still turned on mean it's not fried? I've tried, once in the last week, a 4.5V charger but that had no effect (and the player still turned on after I tried this, so presumably is not "fried").

Could it be an adapter problem, still - and if so, I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions on a replacement.

Many many thanks to anyone who can advise as I'm tearing my hair out!

[Karashata]

Sounds like it may be a battery issue, I'd look into replacing that first and seeing if it makes a difference. While you're at it, you could get a higher capacity battery even and increase the amount of time you can run the player between charges. There are plenty of topics about H1xx and H3xx battery replacement if you search the forums, and a couple helpful guides as well.

[videohot]

If by chance you decide to retire the unit, maybe be fashionable and go Ipod, I'm looking for a H140 that's rebuildable.

Thanks

Larry

[Dunno]

before plugging a third party charger into your H1xx, ensure that the polarity is Center pin positive, and 5v.

I would suspect that your charger is U\S, get a multimeter to measure the voltage output of your present charger, or take it to a electronics shop and get them to verify its operation. no point in throwing away a good charger and you would have established beyond doubt what the status of your charger is and wheter it is to blame.

If the charger the you tried briefly didnt have the correct polarity, then your player is sadly fried even if the voltage was correct.

below is a link to the sticky relating to chargers.

Alternative Chargers for the H100's

once you have established the status of your charger, and if the charger is to blame, I would then suspect that the battery is U\S, replacing it is easy, there are guidelines and how-to's here at mistic.

[clarebear3]

Hi, i have the same problem as the original poster. Can anyone tell me how i can check the polarity of my charger? If anyone can find this out from the link to my charger, that would be great:

F A M E A R T - One Stop Power Solution

I'm pretty sure that the polarity is correct, which would mean that the problem is with my iriver. In that case, how would i tell if the problem is with the battery or the charging mechanism/jack?I don't want to buy a new battery if that is not the problem. I'd be very grateful if someone could help me out or point me to a relevent thread!

thanks!
Clare

[Dunno]

Originally Posted by clarebear3

Hi, i have the same problem as the original poster. Can anyone tell me how i can check the polarity of my charger? If anyone can find this out from the link to my charger, that would be great:

F A M E A R T - One Stop Power Solution

I'm pretty sure that the polarity is correct, which would mean that the problem is with my iriver. In that case, how would i tell if the problem is with the battery or the charging mechanism/jack?I don't want to buy a new battery if that is not the problem. I'd be very grateful if someone could help me out or point me to a relevent thread!

thanks!
Clare

a search for "Charger polarity" returned this

MisticRiver :: For iriver Enthusiasts - Search Results

and the very first post in the thread below has the specs
Alternative Chargers for the H100's

[shadesbass]

Originally Posted by clarebear3

Hi, i have the same problem as the original poster. Can anyone tell me how i can check the polarity of my charger? If anyone can find this out from the link to my charger, that would be great:

F A M E A R T - One Stop Power Solution

I'm pretty sure that the polarity is correct, which would mean that the problem is with my iriver. In that case, how would i tell if the problem is with the battery or the charging mechanism/jack?I don't want to buy a new battery if that is not the problem. I'd be very grateful if someone could help me out or point me to a relevent thread!

thanks!
Clare

The charger you linked to has tips that can be inserted one of two ways. Re-inserting the tip the other way around (rotated 180 degrees) will invert the polarity. Use the sticky that Dunno linked to above to ascertain which way round the tips should go. You should also ensure the voltage is set to 5V.

If the polarity or voltage is incorrect and you have already attempted to charge your iRiver, then you will have probably fried at least one component on the mainboard.
If your iRiver has broken after successful charges using that charger, then my presumption would be that it is the battery (or one of the components in the charging circuitry) that is at fault.

[clarebear3]

Thanks for both your help. I can't believe i made such a tiny yet fatal error-I had the wrong polarity. I am now the owner of a fried H140. Next step is to surf the forums to find out what to do next. Sniff.