Issues with a Sanyo DMC-2020

[pentium]

The other day I was given from a friend a Sanyo DMC-2020 2GB mp3/video player that was acting weird.
When I first got it. the only way to get a response from it was when you pressed the power button, Pressing it with hold on or off just gave you a baclkit dark screen and releasing the power button turned it off. I could not find a way to keep it on without holding the power button and no matter how long you held the power button you would never get anything on the screen.
I brought the thing home yesterday and after a bit more time holing the power button the screen began to slowly dim and now I don't know if it's even responding to the power button.
I then plug it in to my laptop and the screen lights back up but the computer does not see the player. Unplugging the player immediately extinguishes the backlight. I don't know if it is charging too but I was told that it was fully charged when it was given to me.
I opened it up and couldn't see anything loose but something tells me there is a cold joint. I also can't seem to download the owners manual so if there is a method to completely clear the unit (could be caused by corruption) I can't do it. Anybody have ideas on what the problem could be?

[kikkoman]

Re: Issues with a Sanyo DMC-2020

Can you measure the voltage of the built-in battery?
Fully charged it should give 4.1 to 4.2 V. If it's way below 3.5V, it could be a problem related to the charging circuit and/or the battery itself.

[Tom41]

Re: Issues with a Sanyo DMC-2020

My sister had an original iPod that had this problem. While connected to mains or to the computer, it would play as normal. Disconnect it from the computer or mains charger, and within 30 seconds the battery was flat and it cut off. This even happened if the iPod was left to charge overnight!

We decided that the Li-Ion battery inside had reached the end of its useful life, and decided it was too expensive to repair - so got one of the new iPods. Besides, she wanted to put more music and videos on it

If the Sanyo MP3 player has a built in Li-Ion battery, it may well have reached the end of its useful service life and needs replacing. Is it possible to change the battery yourself, or is it sealed inside?
I had a PC laptop that had a dead Li-Ion battery. It only gave power for 30 seconds on a full (overnight) charge before it cut off!

[pentium]

Re: Issues with a Sanyo DMC-2020

The battery is fine. It's holding a good charge but the player refuses to work with it. I checked the leads and they were okay too.
Looks like it's on the board.

[pentium]

Re: Issues with a Sanyo DMC-2020

Correction. That battery has gone far south. I tried to get to work again today (breaking the hold switch off in the process ) and first thing I did was remove the battery after I left it to charge for a night. Even after a whole night it was still not holding a whole volt so it looks very dead. It's a 3.7V cell and thus I tried the battery in my Razr (it too is a 3.7V battery) and got the same problem. Backlight goes on when power button is pressed but only stays on if you keep holding the power button and nothing else happens. I have also noticed that in both cases (using a battery or connected to a usb port) that the backlight randomly flickers not so much that it's on and off but dimming and brightening). I checked the screen ribbon cable and there is no problems there.

Macro time!