[DIY] Fiio E6 Battery Mod (image heavy)

[creatip123]

One of the biggest weakness of rechargeable battery powered portable devices is, well, the battery. They use built-in batteries that are next to impossible to find a replacement when it dies.

 

Of course the companies are hoping that when you reach the moment that the battery dies, it's time for you to buy a new device. It may not be so much about spending the extra money to get a new one when the old battery dies, but it's about throwing away a perfectly functional device just because of dead battery.

 

 

Partly inspired by this thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/318645-fiio-e06-portable-headphone-amplifier/, I happen to have a Fiio E6 with dead battery. I know it's still functional, because it functions when it's used while plugged in to a DC power source.

 

 

The easiest, simplest, and risk-free workaround this is of course by using a power bank as the PSU. That way, it's still functional, and still portable/mobile.

 

But, yeah, no fun in that simple solution, at least not for me

 

So, most of rechargeable Li-ion batteries in the market are 3,7V, with different capacities, naturally. Now, what kind of battery that's compact, got good capacity, and easy to obtain? Why, cell-phone batteries of course. 

 

 

I was thinking about using the Nokia BL-5C. I went to my friend's cell-phone store, and ask her, is there a battery that's smaller than BL-5C? She showed me the BP-6X, the one in the middle. You can see it's even smaller than the Fiio, making it ideal for this project. It's rated at 3,7V 700mAh. She also got the 'hi-power' version of that battery, at 2350mAh. I thought, I wanna use the original recharging mechanism of the Fiio, and I imagine recharging 2350mAh battery will give the unit excessive heat, so I got the regular version instead. 

 

So let's get started. As usual:

 

 

I'm not responsible for any damages you caused, should you try doing this mod

 

 

Pry open the casing with a small flathead screwdriver. Be careful when prying, don't use excessive force. This is how the inside looks. The orange thingy on the left corner is the built-in battery. 

 

 

A close up of the battery, after I peeled off the gold colored tape. It's rated at 3,7V 160mAh. So the Nokia BP-6X I'm using has ~4,4x the capacity of the original battery. In theory, after the mod, the E6 could run 4,4x longer. In reality, it might not last that long, but it's still good. Also take note of the polarities, red is (+), and black is (-). Because it's DC, you can't install wrong polarities later, or it may fry the internal circuits. 

 

 

Because it already got an adequate length of wires, I simply snipped them at the battery's end. If you deem the wires is not long enough, just solder a pair of new wires to the old ones. Unless you're very good with soldering gun, I wouldn't recommend you try de-soldering the original wires off the board. Something goes wrong, and you could wreck the PCB and/or the tiny components around it.

 

Now is the time to take a break, and think, how do you want the wires to come out of the case? You could:

 

1. Take off the silver triangle part on the corner permanently, or

2. Keep the silver triangle part, then you'll need a hole in the casing for the wires to pass through. 

 

 

If you opt to go with 2nd solution, just use a mini drill like this. That's a hobby/PCB drill, with 1mm bit. Find an ideal spot on the casing to pass through the wires, and drill a hole there. Pass the wires through the hole before advancing to the next step.

 

 

The BP-6X only got 2 metal plates for the + and - polarities (other types of batteries got 3, even 4 metal plates), so it's easy to know which one you'll be working with. Strip the ends of the red and black wires, and solder them to the metal plates according to the right polarities. Remember, you can't have the polarities reversed, or you risk of frying the E06.

 

 

Also remember, the metal plates are connected directly to the fragile battery cell inside, so watch the temperature when soldering. Don't stick your soldering iron too long, or you'd risk damaging the battery cell.

 

The mod's actually all done here, but before closing up the casing, test it to see if it's functioning as expected. 

 

 

First, test it for power on + recharging. I took a darker image to show the 2 color LEDs lighting. The blue indicates power on, the red indicates it's charging. 

 

 

Next, test for the function. plug it with the input signal, and a headphone/earbud accordingly. Might want to use cheap earbuds for initial testing, in case something went wrong.

 

 

Passed all tests, cover the metal plates on the battery with electrical tape. Put the casing and the buttons back together. I didn't drill any holes, so I ditched the silver triangle, and use the hole to pass through the wires. If you drilled a hole and passed through the wires earlier, you can keep the silver triangle, of course.

 

 

I taped the hole in the corner with a clear tape, so I can still see the power light (the blue LED). I only used a cheap clear tape for the mean time, as that's the only thing I got with me. You can leave the hole as it is, but it's better to cover it up, to prevent dirt and dusts inside.

 

 

 

All done. You can see the battery's size is smaller than the unit, so it won't hinder any plugs and/or operating the buttons. Last step is to find a way to stick the battery to the casing. You can use a rubber band strap, velcro, or more permanent solutions, like double tape, or even glue. 

 

The whole process took me about 1 hour, but I moved 1 step, took a picture, moved 1 step, and so on. Might be able to do it in 30 minutes or less.

 

Congrats, you got yourself a buffed up E6

 

Edit: Almost forgot:

 

 

The original battery got a small circuit on it. I'm guessing it's some sort of overcharging protection. If you're not using this, then just use consideration when charging, i.e. don't charge too long, or stop charging when it's warmer than usual.

 

Edit 2: Actually after seeing the end result for a while, the big gaping hole where the silver triangle used to be, looked awfully shitty. So I drilled a hole on top for the wires, and re-installed the silver triangle.

 

[Lutkeveld]

Ghetto mod +1

[ShearMe]

ahahahahah yisssss

[Nup]

Noice! 

[Lutkeveld]

I thought, I wanna use the original recharging mechanism of the Fiio, and I imagine recharging 2350mAh battery will give the unit excessive heat, so I got the regular version instead. 

 

It's current limited, so it would just take longer. 

[creatip123]

It's current limited, so it would just take longer. 

 

Yeah, but longer is kinda hazardous. My still-working E6 gets warm when recharging, so I imagine it won't be good with all accumulated heat when the recharging process takes ~14x longer (2350mAh vs 160mAh)