Replacing the top cap on the Buzz

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heavymetalhero

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Jul 8, 2011
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How would this process be different for an I Pro? I have one, and I went to unscrew the atty one day and the whole top cap came off. I was forced to carefully stumble my way through putting it back together, and now, every once in awhile, it shorts out and I have to unscrew the atty a little bit to get it to work again.

The main thing I noticed was that the top screw doesn't come out when I unscrew it, and it doesn't prevent the screw from spinning like you said it would on the buzz. It just ends up loosening the screw inside, which connects the wire to the cap, so if I unscrew it too much, the screw on the inside just falls out. Also, screwing the top cap back on is tricky, I'm not sure how tight to make the inside screw.

How do I properly rebuilt this I Pro end cap so that I don't have the short circuit problem? I really don't want to ruin this PV, I love this thing and I'm worried that the shorting out will damage something. Please help me save my baby. :)
 

Ma'am

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How would this process be different for an I Pro? I have one, and I went to unscrew the atty one day and the whole top cap came off. I was forced to carefully stumble my way through putting it back together, and now, every once in awhile, it shorts out and I have to unscrew the atty a little bit to get it to work again.

The main thing I noticed was that the top screw doesn't come out when I unscrew it, and it doesn't prevent the screw from spinning like you said it would on the buzz. It just ends up loosening the screw inside, which connects the wire to the cap, so if I unscrew it too much, the screw on the inside just falls out. Also, screwing the top cap back on is tricky, I'm not sure how tight to make the inside screw.

How do I properly rebuilt this I Pro end cap so that I don't have the short circuit problem? I really don't want to ruin this PV, I love this thing and I'm worried that the shorting out will damage something. Please help me save my baby. :)

I had a similar issue with my IPro, may be what's happening with yours. I'll tell you what I did, it might be something you can try.

Recently I've changed to using 801 type cartos in my tanks and instead of using an adapter, I decided to change out top caps. When I tried to change out the IPro cap, the screw that sits just under my atty/carto would loosen but not come out. The screw that held the wire to the cap was unscrewing instead.

I loosened the top screw as much as I could, then carefully unscrewed the cap itself and sure enough, the wire screw was half way out. I went ahead and removed the wire screw (carefully, without touching the wire itself) and took the top off. Once the top was completely off, I finally got the the screw out by holding the top cap and unscrewing it. It was hard to unscrew, I had to be careful to not strip it, it was like trying to unscrew a rusty screw.

It wasn't in there wonky, however, it was gunked up with juice to the point of being sticky........and I'm always careful and clean my IPro regular, but juice had gotten inbetween the screw head and the little rubber washer and caused the problem with the top screw not unscrewing.

I cleaned the screw and washer by running under hot water and reassembled everything. Now the top screw loosens like it should, no problems.
 

heavymetalhero

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Jul 8, 2011
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Thank you Ma'am, for your response. That was exactly what was happening to me, the top screw ends up unscrewing the inside screw. However, the wire ended up breaking. I was being super careful with it, and I was trying to add some electrical tape so that the wire would have some support and it wouldn't break so easily. I should have just left it alone, but since the mod kept shorting out, I wanted to add the electrical tape to prevent that problem, and the wire just broke. It broke really easily as I tried to add the electrical tape. Oh, I really wish it wasn't broken...

What do I do now, Buzz? Do I have to send it back in? Can I have someone resolder the wire for me, or would this void the warranty?
 

Ruppy

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Mikes pretty good about warranty. Its really simple soldering the ring back on. If you have someone handy with a soldering iron Id have them pop it back on for ya. Make sure to redo the shrink wrap or tape it up afer soldering it on.

Mikes off today (most likely hung over from his birthday :) ) Prolly wont see him around here till tomorrow.
 

heavymetalhero

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Jul 8, 2011
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Thanks, yea I was told by Notcigs to mail it in, but I don't want to be without it for any amount of time, if I can avoid it :) . I know a couple people that are very good with soldering; my dad could do it, my girlfriends dad, and my other friend's dad all could do a professional job on it. I could probably do it myself but I want to make sure it's done right, so I'll get someone to do it perfectly.

I also don't want to void the warranty. Mike, if my only option is to send it in, let me know. I will send it, just as soon as some backup eGo batteries come in the mail. If I can get it soldered here, and still keep the warranty, let me know and I'll do that instead.

Thanks for the replies! I'll feel so much less stressed out when I finally get this thing fixed, however that ends up happening. I'm hoping that when it gets fixed, it will be a little more sturdy, maybe cover more of the wire with the black shrink tube/wrap?
 

heavymetalhero

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Jul 8, 2011
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I already did, all they said was send it in... Maybe I'll just order a second IPro?? oh man.. need to save my cash but... so tempting...

Edit:

Just bought another Ipro... I feel guilty and excited all at the same time.

Well, at least I know how the top cap of the Ipro works now, so if it ever comes off on me again, I'll know how to get it back on WITHOUT the wire spinning on the inside as I screw the top cap on...
 
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heavymetalhero

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Jul 8, 2011
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Thanks Buzz, I appreciate that, I haven't attempted to solder it yet, because I actually used a piece of copper wire to basically "staple" the wire to the metal loop tag (kind of wrapped it around the two, squeezing them together), and then wrapped it up with a very thin piece of electrical tape. It works great, and I will probably wait until this temporary solution falls apart before I attempt to solder it. When/if that happens, I'll get it soldered by one of those experienced persons I mentioned earlier. Just from looking at it, I'm sure it will be very easy to solder the wire back into the tag, I even have a new tag to use if I need it. I will make sure that it's a clean job, so that if it ever does need to be sent back in for repairs, you won't have to dig thru a mess or void the warranty.

And, since my 2nd IPro came in, I will take very good care of this new one; it's special to me! I should have posted in this thread instead of starting a new one, but I started a new thread because I just had to tell ecf how awesome it is. S/N is 666!
 

evilfrog

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Going to try replacing my cap (got a replacement and a 501 cap (just in case)). After a spill I saw some loose shavings when I took off an adapter, and it's been occasionally more difficult to get cartos on there (though this might just be the cartos fault).

I had to get a new charger anyway. The original's powercord is falling apart :(
 
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