Dark Sky Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 I have had the Scala Q2 system for about 2 years. Until recently, it worked very well, however, now the battery appears to be dying. A charge only lasts about 1 hour. It's not on warranty anymore so I can't send it back. I phoned Cardo and a guy on the phone told me that they were not set up to replace batteries and they would not sell me new batteries, because they're soldered in and the customer cannot open the unit. I'm pretty good with electronics, so I opened it anyway. It contains a 3.7volt lithium polymer battery with wires that are soldered in. The dimensions are 4.5mm x 21mm x 48mm. I have searched the internet, but have been unable to find a suitable replacement battery so far. Has anyone here solved this problem? Link to comment
Quinn Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Can you find numbers on the battery to try a google search of the internet? Also, is it possible that you've got two batteries inside the one wrapper? --- Link to comment
RedMac Posted March 24, 2011 Share Posted March 24, 2011 I have had the Scala Q2 system for about 2 years. Until recently, it worked very well, however, now the battery appears to be dying. A charge only lasts about 1 hour. It's not on warranty anymore so I can't send it back. I phoned Cardo and a guy on the phone told me that they were not set up to replace batteries and they would not sell me new batteries, because they're soldered in and the customer cannot open the unit. I'm pretty good with electronics, so I opened it anyway. It contains a 3.7volt lithium polymer battery with wires that are soldered in. The dimensions are 4.5mm x 21mm x 48mm. I have searched the internet, but have been unable to find a suitable replacement battery so far. Has anyone here solved this problem? So they sell you a product that when the battery dies, THEY can't replace it and YOU can't replace it???!!!! What the HECK! Talk about planned obsolescence. I won't be buying anything from them anytime soon. Link to comment
SuperG Posted March 25, 2011 Share Posted March 25, 2011 the scala Q2 has an encased slide-on type battery. They should have replacement batteries available, they still sell those sets. They may not sell you just a "solder in" battery, but you should be able to find the OEM encased replacement battery. Link to comment
mackerman Posted March 26, 2011 Share Posted March 26, 2011 So any chance you could post a picture of your battery? I've got the Q2's as well and would love to search for a set of replacement batteries. Just curious, but are you sure the batteries are 3.7 volts as opposed to 3.6? Most lithium batt's are rated in multiples of 1.2 volts. I've found a few that are close in size to what you listed and have solder tabs on them. Looking at your specs, I'm pretty sure the diameter is 21mm and the length is 48mm. What is the 4.5mm dimension in regards to? (Sorry it's late and I'm getting old....) Thanks! Link to comment
GSW Ron Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Did Scala change the design with the newer G4? Link to comment
mackerman Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Yes the G4 is a new design, but no, it doesn't have a user replaceable battery either. FWIW, here is a link to the webBikeworld.com review of all four currently available BT headsets with a comparison table at the end. http://goo.gl/EKkXq Link to comment
Dark Sky Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 So any chance you could post a picture of your battery? I've got the Q2's as well and would love to search for a set of replacement batteries. Just curious, but are you sure the batteries are 3.7 volts as opposed to 3.6? Most lithium batt's are rated in multiples of 1.2 volts. I've found a few that are close in size to what you listed and have solder tabs on them. Looking at your specs, I'm pretty sure the diameter is 21mm and the length is 48mm. What is the 4.5mm dimension in regards to? (Sorry it's late and I'm getting old....) Thanks! I found a cell that fits and works, but it is a little shorter. This is a lithium polymer battery, a single cell has a voltage of 3.7 volts (nominal). it is not cylindrical in shape. It has a rectangular cross section. Anyway, here is a link to a replacement that fits and works. Great Planes - GPMP0412 Li-Po 3.7v . be careful, apparently they can catch fire if they are abused. I slipped in an extra layer of (thin) plastic material between it and the circuit board to protect it from being punctured by the surface mount components on the circuit board. It may not be necessary, but I worry about these things. I don't know what the capacity of the original battery was, but I suspect that it was not much more than this one. The old one is longer, but a bit thinner than this replacement. The new one is 6.5 x 21 x 35 mm. Link to comment
mackerman Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Awesome find - thanks for posting the link. Mine haven't bit the dust yet, but we're having lots of problems staying connected which I'm attributing to low battery voltage. Link to comment
Dark Sky Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 FWIW, here is a link to the webBikeworld.com review of all four currently available BT headsets with a comparison table at the end. http://goo.gl/EKkXq The Sena SMH10 looks good. Does anyone know if it can be paired with a Scala Q2 and communicate? Link to comment
mackerman Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 No, unfortunately none of the players in the BT headset business have seen the advantage of producing a common communications protocol for their headset products - so a Sena can't communicate with a Scala or any other headset. FWIW, I've decided to jump onto the Sena bandwagon after years of using the Scala Q2. The Q2 just has too many quirks about reconnecting and I've never been happy with the battery life (best we ever get is about 5 hours..) Mine should be here in a few days - now if the weather will just cooperate a little bit. Link to comment
Matts_12GS Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 No, unfortunately none of the players in the BT headset business have seen the advantage of producing a common communications protocol for their headset products - so a Sena can't communicate with a Scala or any other headset. FWIW, I've decided to jump onto the Sena bandwagon after years of using the Scala Q2. The Q2 just has too many quirks about reconnecting and I've never been happy with the battery life (best we ever get is about 5 hours..) Mine should be here in a few days - now if the weather will just cooperate a little bit. That is exactly the reason I went back to an autocomm Link to comment
Lmar Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I purchased the Sena SMH 10 from Rocketmoto.com. Check with Adam, I'm sure he would know. Link to comment
Dark Sky Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 I just received this reply from Cardo. This is new, they did not originally have a battery replacement program. Thank you for contacting Cardo Systems Support Center regarding our products. Cardo Systems will issued a Battery Replacement program for customers in US and Canada with a Scala Rider Q2, Q2 PRO or G4 heasets only. The replacement program will cost $49.95USD per module. Customer pays shipping to us. Cost of return shipping (shipped USPS First Class International for Canada customers UPS ground for US customers) is included in cost of service. Battery is warranted for a period of 2 years after being replaced. We will need to get your name, shipping address, phone number and email and the quantity of items you wish to send in for evaluation. Once we have this information a Sales Representative call you for payment. Please feel free to contact us if we can assist you with any other questions. Best Regards, Robert Wargo Customer Service 1-800-488-0363 Fax: 412-788-0270 www.cardosystems.com Link to comment
Perlova Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 How difficult was it to open the unit without damage? Are you able to post a photo of the opened case? Link to comment
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