KGO Battery Positive Post Connection Issue - halp plz!

[ShogaNinja]

Long story short, I've lost my EGO Twist for the time being, and I have only 2 KGOs as backup. So I was stupid and during the cleaning of my KGO battery's juice well I noticed that as I was taking a paperclip to clean out some crusties I had spun the battery post. Now I am getting the typical "pull the post" problems where the battery lights up but won't charge or vape. That effectively puts me down to 1 battery for the next few days at a minimum while I await another order to arrive. I took my KGO apart and here's what I saw:



You should be able to click this picture and zoom in on imageshack to see it better, if that will help.

I think I can see past the PCB to where the positive connection is supposed to connect to the post but it seems to be floating free (can't tell for sure though).

My problem is, does anyone know how to get this PCB out of the way, or pull the post completely out to re-solder it in such a way that I can get it back in and get this baby working again? It appears that the PCB is hot glued around the slots (at least on the component side of the board) where the positive and negative connections meet the board. That glue is also connecting it to the top connector (where you screw in your atomizer). There's no way to grip it with anything that I can think of that won't ruin the circuitboard or sever the etchings on it. My only other idea is to take a soldering iron and melt the hot glue and try and get it off that way. If I can't use a soldering iron to fit in there I could take a candle and a small screw driver and melt it a little bit at a time that way, but that's pretty extreme.

Has anyone ever taken one of these KGOs apart who can help me get this figured out? Is there a way to pop the battery post out so that I can still get it back in and re-solder the connection? HALP PLEASE! Thanks in advance.

P.S. For scientific analysis (in case anyone who came here is interested in KGO guts) the battery appears to have no brand name, it's a GN 13700 with 3.7Wh. It has what appears to be a UPC barcode and the following numbers: C827111216 as well as the positive and negative symbols. The overcharge protection circuit appears to be soldered on the bottom and then hot glued in as well and then a foam spacer to protect it. You can see the negative (black) wire running up the side in the picture to the negative connection on the PCB and the Ground. It's grounded on the ego connection itself, polar opposite of the button. You can almost make it out in the picture. There are also what appear to be 2 flat metal strips that run the length of both sides covered by tape (you can see the one on the left in the picture.

 

[Iffy]

Sorry, I wish I could discern a repairable issue, but I can't.

But your pic and labels are absolutely outstanding!

Good luck! Ya may have to bite da bullet and ration your vaping. How 'bout a cheap 7/11 toss-away for the interim?

 

[gimmieshelter31]

I only have a suggestion that might work. If I were facing this dilemma, I'd take side cutters and sever the neg and positive wires to have room to work. Run a hobby knife around hot glue . Pull out circuit board. I had an ego knock-off once and the culprit was the soldering of the pos. wire to the center post had severed. I imagine this is your issue.

Pull the pin and solder a new wire to it .Be sure to remove all rubber before soldering.There is a rubber grommet on the backside of the pin that can be a b**ch to get back on.It insulates the center post on the inside from the ground.. to reinstall, place the o-ring/grommet that you can see from looking at the connector from the outside on post. Now place that through the hole from outside (top)and slide that in.
At this point it is best to screw a carto or atty on to hold it in place. Now feed the inside insulator over your newly soldered center post wire and use a small pair of tweezers to slide it over the indent of center post . Reassemble and resolder the severed wires. Insulate your resoldered wires that you clipped at the beginning with electrical tape or use that liquid rubber stuff sold for coating grips on hand tools.

You have nothing to lose here .

Note -- This is a frustrating repair. If you get aggravated ,step away for awhile .Thats my two pennies worth.

 

[gimmieshelter31]

You could also just pull out center post from the get and use an awl or something to push out the board from the top side. The rubber button is just a cover (is was on mine) pull it out to make removal easier.
Good luck .I would n't be comfortable with just one battery either.
You can use wire from and old corded mouse if you need to . Just strip the insulation off there are a few fine wires inside. Dont know about a USB cable .That might work too.

 

[ShogaNinja]

I'm really not an electronics wizard or anything. I fix computers, that's what I do. When something's broke, I replace the broken part with a new one.

Ok while I was typing this post I took the battery post out and I can see that there is a blue wire in there that connects the top of the PCB to the bottom of the battery post. It was severed. Now my challenge is to get the PCB out as there is NO WAY that I am EVER going to get this reconnected as is.

UPDATE: You are a freaking genius! I was able to take a star bit (torx) and push it out through the top. It took no small effort too I might add. I pushed the button and it's still firing the led light so I know at least the battery is connected to the PCB but obviously not the top post, so that means I didn't damage anything taking it apart. Now the hard part will be getting it back together! I'll try and post some pics of the pcb and wires tomorrow.

I have to get a soldering iron now. My old one is worthless.

 

[gimmieshelter31]

You can do it . It is just a bit tedious. I'm no electronics wizard either , I just had a similar problem once and thought I could help. Let us know how you make out in the end. I truly do hope my post was helpful.

 

[ShogaNinja]

You can do it . It is just a bit tedious. I'm no electronics wizard either , I just had a similar problem once and thought I could help. Let us know how you make out in the end. I truly do hope my post was helpful.

Let there be no doubt. My Plan A was melting that hot glue out of there (would have been a nightmare). My Plan B (which we never discussed) was when I took the rubber cap off the button I exposed a possibility of taking a small screwdriver and prying it down that way. I know now that would never have worked and I would've likely bent a good screwdriver trying. So it was Plan C, your plan, that worked. That's why you are a problem solving genius. Thanks again. I'll be posting the pics ASAP.

 

[ShogaNinja]

Just for posterity I posted the entire process that I took for reference only in my blog the Vaper's Handbook, a guide of vaping A-Z for beginners and experts. You can find the link to it below in my signature. Thank you GimmieShelter31. Without your help I could never have even dreamed of getting this done. I salute you, sir.

 

[ShogaNinja]

So now I've gone and gotten a replacement EGO Twist battery and the dang thing's potentiometer on the bottom is so tight it takes a rubber jar lid gripper to turn it....

Oh the humanity!