DIY ACR EPIRB Battery replacement

Sailvayu · May 8, 2015

It's one thing to do risky things another to recommend to others that they do the same risky thing. Oh well this is a old battle. When you send your unit in for service they do more than just replace the batteries. They check all components, upgrade the software replace the seals and test the units on equipment that really checks output and frequency.
Personally I would not jump out of an airplane with a parachute I figured out how to repack myself with no training. But if you are comfortable with that go ahead and jump.....Geronimooooooooo
Me, if I am floating in the ocean alone hoping for help I will feel better knowing my equipment was professionally serviced but hey, that is just me.

Chief RA · May 8, 2015

I personally think you did great! An inoperable EPIRB or no EPIRB is far worse than the one you carefully serviced and TESTED. Chief

nhirsch · Sep 12, 2015

mz4wheeler said:
Photos (RLB-35B):
http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/album.php?albumid=3600

NOTES: The RLB-35B batteries were tricky. They are wired with diodes and a fuse (that is why those diagonal strips appear). My solution was simple: Snip off the leads going to the old battery as close as possible to the old battery, and solder THAT end to the new battery. All the diodes and fuses where never un-soldered!
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Good Job. I was in the process of doing the same. Just waiting for the batteries to arrive.
Agree. Four screws, one seal that seems to be in great shape (will put a little silicone grease on it to be sure). A simple connector and a bit of soldering. Bottom line is you can test the unit when you're done. BTW, mine had 3 amp 250V fuses and 1N5400 diodes but I plan to do as you did and just resolder and test. I did buy a bit of 70mm shrink wrap tubing to re-shrink over the batteries and new filament tape. I also plant to re-attach the label and re-date it so I'll remember.

nhirsch · Sep 13, 2015

mz4wheeler said:
When you cut the tabs as close as possible to the old batteries, take a pair of needle nose pliers and crimp the original tabs to the new replacement battery tabs, then solder. I did this back in May the the unit still checks out perfect. Good luck.

good idea. will keep them together while soldering.

nhirsch · Sep 24, 2015

nhirsch said:
good idea. will keep them together while soldering.

Successfully replaced the batteries in my ACR EPIRB and shrink wrapped them with 70mm shrink wrap just like the original. Went on to 406link.com and registered for 2 day free trial, ran the self test and got e-mail back from satellite:

I'm OK - Beacon ID 2DCC442D5AFFBFF was detected on 24 Sep 2015 14:23:35 Z

Please do not reply to this email

so all is good! IMO, any DIY'er can replace batteries for fraction of cost AND test it afterward to confirm working.

gfrazzle · Aug 23, 2016

Good stuff! Thanks mz4wheeler

alexco38 · Aug 23, 2016

I was told by the carrier it'll cost $150 to replace my Android smartphone battery. Found a youtube video to DIY. Parts $14.00 delivered to the door. Took a total 15 minutes. Phone is like new.
I am going to do the ACR next year.

Capt jgw · Aug 23, 2016

If you can find a battery for it. Phone batteries are readily available and knock offs (which is probably what you got) abound. Not so much with marine stuff, too small a market.

gfrazzle · Aug 23, 2016

Just ordered Panasonic CR123A batteries from Amazon- 12 for $20 with 2026 expiration. Thanks again for the tip.

gfrazzle · Aug 23, 2016

That's OK, I'll make my own tabs

Bnystrom · Nov 25, 2016

I'll add another data point to the discussion. I have a pair of ACS PLB-200s that are new in the box, but the battery expiration is 2013. The cheapest priced I found to have the batteries replaced is $125 per unit at several sources. Since I had nothing to lose, I opened the case of one of them to see what the batteries were. There are two, four-cell packs made up of GE/Sanyo CR123A batteries. (see photos)

I don't have the equipment for spot welding leads to CR123A cell, so I checked online for CR123A-T cells with tabs. I found GE/Sanyo cells for $3.25 each, for a total cost of $52.00 for the 16 I need, plus shipping: http://www.energexbatteries.com/products.php?product=CR123A%2dT. The tabs are long enough that I should be able to solder them directly together (with lots of surface area at the joints) and easily prevent any significant heat from reaching the cells. BTW, BatteryMart was over twice as expensive, at $6.75 each for the exact same cells.

Examining this unit, there is only one seal on the case and it's a pretty robust H-track. I don't see how it could be reassembled improperly and unless someone ham-fisted the screws and cracked the case, it's not going to leak after reassembly. So the bottom line is that I can spend $250 to have the batteries changed by someone (probably taking all of five minutes) or less than $65 for parts (with shipping) and a few minutes of labor to build new battery packs. The choice seems pretty straightforward to me.

Ken Cross · Nov 29, 2016

If you can solder, there is very little risk. From my experience I'm continually amazed at how many people think they can solder but can't. If it doesn't look perfect, stop.

Ken

Bnystrom · Nov 29, 2016

mz4wheeler said:
Awesome. Nice shrink wrap for that professional touch.

Those are the original factory battery packs, so I can't take credit for the construction. However, I fully intend to build new packs that look - and function - just as good. Fortunately, I do know how to solder, so this will be a piece of cake.

mawrob · Feb 13, 2017

I found this post incredibly useful and it inspired me to replace the batteries on my ACR RLB-37 to use as a backup. My EPIRB was slightly different and so I documented the replacement step by step with photos. The link is here: http://www.mawrey.com/diy-epirb-battery-replacement/

DIY ACR EPIRB Battery replacement

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