Replacement battery
Answered
Dear HH,
I see a lot of battery problems around. Will you offer replacement batteries for the unit in the future? I know that you handle it during warranty period, but what happens after that? I think that a good customer support includes parts supply as well to ensure a long lifetime.
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Official comment
Hi Zoltan,
We pay close attention to Karoo’s battery life and anything that can affect it - whether that’s software updates, side-loaded apps, or extensive use. We know that long and reliable battery life is hugely important to Karoo users (and cyclists in general!).
We don’t currently have any plans to offer replacement batteries. However, we will always continue to provide the customer support that we’re so famous for and will always strive to give Karoo users the best possible experience, whether they’re within their warranty period or not. Feel free to write to us at support@hammerhead.io if you are ever facing any issues with your Karoo.Comment actions -
Batteries age and loose capacity over time. Therefore a replaceable battery would be a sustainable solution, would make full use of the smartphone platform and be a unique selling point compared with Garmin and Wahoo. I don't understand why you guys don't offer replacement batteries and even use this for your marketing!
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Mine is pretty much to the point where it only lasts 2-3 hours now. It's very disappointing. I've been in constant contact with support and factory resets and battery recalibration hasn't helped. I'm pretty much done with hammerhead... Just ordered a Garmin 830 as a replacement unit today.
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Please, If you don't want to sell new batteries that's fine, but can you just tell us who made the units so we can try and source new batteries?
Encouraging after market repair for the karoo 1 would be an excellent long term support option.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with most people's karoo 1 other than fading battery and as it's a non standard physical size knowing the source so somebody can get a production run done would really help a lot of people, especially as many of are struggling financially due to covid.
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Try the FCC license application if you are curious to see its innards
https://fccid.io/2ADMX-HK1/Internal-Photos/Int-Photos-3742670
I do believe that there is a battery in thar
An also
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hammerheadkaroo/permalink/3728028043908195/?app=fbl
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I have a source for a battery with the same physical and electrical properties as the original. Unfortunately I can't get it with the original B2B connector, so I will order a couple of prototypes and graft an old cable from one of our dead K1's on to it to test. If it works I will likely offer a battery replacement service. I'll keep everyone posted.
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Below is the original batt with the Hammerhead logo. At the bottom is a link to the same batt but minus the logo from the same manufacturer in China.
Batt link - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001587619053.html
I have purchased from Aliexpress before and got my order but expect it to take 3 weeks or so.
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I don't know about the differences between K1 and 2 battery wise. The picture came from an ebay listing and when i messaged the seller and asked if it fits a Karoo 1 he said yes. If they share the same connector it may just be the capacity that differs. Which even if less than oem may still be better than a bad original battery.
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Colin, Does the battery you found have the BMS and plug ? looks pretty similar, they don't say and back side of plug is not shown.
The incredible John80 has a battery re-calibration procedure in the FB group. I have not found HH comments of affirmation of this, but it sounds reasonable. More transparency is needed on the power management front.
It is ridiculous for HH not to have a plan for battery replacement, even mandating that they do it themselves, would be a good move.
If you go back and read the blog where Laurence lays out the parameters for initial engineering , you can understand why battery mfr choice for shock resistance is at least a consideration as LiPos are shock sensitive, making cheap Chinese bats from unknown lowbiders a risky deal. I get about a 10% failure rate on no name bats.
I build ebikes with a community that considers LiPo's firebombs that store energy. I mean, what could go wrong?
They need proper care ,setup, charging, and maintenance just to be adequate. It's not an easy task.
Branding your own bats is a strong move, implying at least some QC. Look how long it took Sony and Samsung to get things right.
The FCC filing has good teardown pics and specs. My prior post (above) has been updated by FCC for the K2.
This eBay listing had the HH logo on it. ?Third shift or rejects from QC or bootlegged? Of course not.
For the K1:
LP655365 on https://www.lipo-battery.com/3000mah-lipo-battery/ also appears similar but with no BMS -
I have followed a battery re-cal procedure of running it down to total dead and charging while off etc, with minor improvements to performance after a few charge cycles.. Sunday I managed a 63min record of a 145 min ride. I have a K2 on order - but quite worried about the battery for the new device. Rode this morning without the unit and used my phone instead.
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An 85 simply will not fit, there is very little clearance between the main board and the internals of the Garmin mount on the back casing. The one I have open has swollen with heat from charging and has an impression of the garmin mount in it. The 65mm x 53mm x 6.5mm is where it's at I'm afraid, though if you cut the garmin mount out of the case and went for an extrenal quadlock or something that would give you a little more space but it's not a particularly elegant solution......
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The idea of replacing the Garmin mount with a quadlock is intriguing, independent of the battery issue. I'll have to spec it.
I had a Type #2 mount failure. The K2 has had a mount failure already with the Garmin adapter already. Weird failure, but it shouldn't have happened. (ED: Later post by involved party attributed the damage to excessive force as described by Franklin. below)
Franklin is a great guy, but the lack of follow up of his non answer to the OP does not serve them well. In effect he said the device is disposable, to a community committed to repair.
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Hey everyone. Sorry that we have not been following up on this thread.
Some of the discussion happening here is something that we cannot support officially as we don't recommend opening up the unit and replacing critical internal companents outside of the factory. We are still exploring options of a repair program but, we cannot promise or confirm anything for now.
The damage on the Karoo 2 shown on Facebook, appear as a user error with excessive force. But we are working on a solid solution for all. The new design is stronger than any other mounting system right now, and other Karoo 2 users have confirmed this.
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Hi Franklin, this is all very well and good, but hundreds of loyal users now have units that are bricked simply because of battery wear. Almost any other device now has any range of aftermarket batteries available but the Karoo is an exception. I really don't see the problem with getting a run of 1000 or do batteries manufactured and offering a replacement service.
The batteries are not expensive to buy from a manufacturer, it's only the karoo specific cable that makes them unique.
You could easily offer an aftermarket kit with a new battery spudger, a couple of cheap philips screwdrivers and maybe a gasket for the back casing or a tube of mobile phone glue. It's really not a difficult job and anyone with even a slim technical knowledge can easily do it themselves.
The bulk of these units are now out of warranty and as I say are bricked. So official support from HH is a bit of a moot point really don't you think? These devices are currently useless anyway and destined for landfill or recycling with nothing actually wrong with them
You really need to throw people some sort of bone here, do we hang on to these devices or scrap them?
I personally am out of a job because of covid, so won't be buying a K2 anytime soon and being able to cheaply get the unit running again is the only option.
I appreciate HH has other priorities with the K2 right now, but HH are losing a lot of loyal users here and creating quite a bad feeling among those of us who were early adopters and karoo boosters from the earliest days.
I personally have always found HH support excellent, but this one glaring issue is really tainting the experience for a lot of users and put them off buying a k2 if theyre going to dealing with the same crap in a couple of years time.
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European commission plans to implement legal obligations for manufacturers anyway: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/11/eu-brings-in-right-to-repair-rules-for-phones-and-tablets. So Hammerhead would be better of to stay ahead of the development and implement new standards early, if they wants to stay in the European market.
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Thanks , Franklin.
I appreciate that offering the part or service with the necessary quality and control is a big deal with several concerns. HH has a focus on quality. Batteries and power management is a big issue in the whole field, not just HH. All of the features, radios and that big beautiful screen uses a lot of juice.
As the above thread shows, it is a concern and the Karoo has in its user base folks who are very involved with maintenance, design and try to understand the process. We all appreciate the work that goes into it. As you know, many are electronics techs, engineers and programmers, all are problem solvers.
Keep this active, as there are many folks interested.
Phones and laptops often have ways to monitor battery health and power management and if there Android apps that would help, it would be a good resource.
Thanks again
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Dear Hammerhead people,
You sell devices for cyclists, cyclists are less polluting but Hammerhead forces us to buy a new device instead of another durable solution, how can you match this in your companies philosophy?
I will replace my Karoo 1 but it will not be replaced with a HH device for sure.
Nic
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