Monday, June 16, 2008

Replacing battery BL-8N on Nokia 7380

The Nokia 7380 is a fashion cell phone that is not very practical. The Battery is not removable by normal mean and it's very difficult to find in the US. You can try eBay or search web sites in Europe.

Tools required:
- An old credit card with one corner sharpened
- Some tacky tape to protect the surfaces while you work on the phone.

Before starting:
- Power down the phone.
- Remove SIM card.
- Cover all shiny parts of the phone with some tacky clear Scott tape to protect it while you work on it.
- Find an old credit card and sharpen one corner a little.


To the left is the 7380.

The back cover part (B-Cover) is only snapped in.

It can be popped out using the sharpened corner of an old credit card. Use it to get between the seam running along the B-Cover. A good point to start at is the Nokia logo tag. Push the credit card corner into seam of B-Cover part then run it up and down to separate it from the hooks inside. Be careful not to put too much pressure on B-Part or you will break it.






Here is the back cover partially opened.

Note the little metal hooks on the "C-Cover" part. These are the places to work the credit card corner in to pop the B-Cover out.  Note:  The bottom where the charger plug in has no hook but some spring snap points so try to work this part out first.








B-Cover part removed.
Note the hook receptacle and snap-in points that help secure it to the body.










Inside the B-Cover












With B-Cover removed, the battery can be gently pulled out. Watch out for the Flash part.










Here is the battery removed.













Replace with a new battery and assemble in reversed order.

Reference: where to find repair manual and parts.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Replacing BMW E60 Microfilter (cabin air filter)

The cabin micro-filter is normally replaced some time around every oil service. Once your car is out of the free maintenance period, you will have to do this yourself. This is easily done on the new BMW E60 (5 series) model. There are two filters and they are both located near the windshield under the hood.



Remove the filter covers. Each is held in place with a snap bar spring and a hex lock. Use a 13mm hex socket to unlock it with a half turn hand twist.


The passenger side cover has a hood switch that need to be disconnected first.












When replacing the filter, make sure you fit it snugly inside the housing. Here, the previous dealer service did a sloppy job fitting it so air leaks around the circled area.

Here is a good fitted filter.















Reassemble in reversed order.

Follow this link to reset the service interval. This is the most "difficult" part of this entire procedure!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Waterpik WP 360W disassembly


My Waterpik started to go down hill a few months ago but it was still usable. Now it's making horrible grinding noises that I just can't stand anymore. It's time for it to go under the knife...

As you can see, on the left is the fully assembled Waterpik. To begin the disassembly, remove the tip then detach the water reservoir from the main body.


Gently squeeze the reservoir cap and the top of the body to snap out the blue part.










The reservoir as shown separated from the body.













Remove the swivel cap using a flat head screw driver blade. It will pop out with a little prying all around.











Here is the end without the swivel cap.












Remove the two screws on the bottom of the body and slide the gut of this thing out.












Here is the gut separated from the body's shell!













I found out that the pump gear was just a little worn down and needed to have something that push it to the motor main gear. I added a little bit of tape and hot-glue to serve as a backing to the pump bracing arm. This will help push it against the motor main gear when assembled.


Here is the closeup of my fix! It works fine once assembled. Before assembly however, I put some Vaseline on the gears for extra lubricant and some on the motor housing and electrical area for extra insulation against moisture.