I'm sure everyone knows those Nicro solar-powered vents that run 24 hours a day. They are not actually solar-powered. They contain a NiCad rechargeable battery that the solar panel recharges every day so the fan can run off the battery day and night. Eventually the battery fails. The maker says you can't fix it but must ship it back to them for refurbishing at a cost of about half the original price. Well, you can fix them. Take the thing out of the casing that is secured to the deck. Turn it over. You will see four small screws at the corners that secure the solar panel to the body. Remove the screws then very, very gently pry the solar panel off the unit by inserting a thin blade around the edges. You will see a no-name size "C" 2000 mA NiCad battery soldered to the leads that come from the solar cell. There is a resistor or capacitor or two in the circuit as well. The space containing the battery is too small for a battery holder. Buy a C-cell holder from Radio Shack and break the ends off it. Remove the leads from the dead battery and solder them to the two ends of the battery holder. Carefully put the ends in the battery space. Buy a high capacity NiCad C-cell (2300 mA) and put it between the broken-off ends. Replace the solar panel using silicone sealant and the four screws. Put it back in the body on the deck. The thing will run again for at least another two years. You can use a standard capacity NiCad at 2000 mA but the larger one will keep the thing running when there is no sun for several days.
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Thanks
Thank you. I've got to print that out and save it. I'm sure I'll be needing to fix my nicro in about a year. Peter
Thank you. I've got to print that out and save it. I'm sure I'll be needing to fix my nicro in about a year. Peter
I had the same deal
I went through the same thing except that in mine, the battery was not soldered to the contacts and they had corroded badly. I cleaned it up, sealed it up, and it works great again.... See pictures of it on this page about half way down...http://www.teamseacats.com/hunter/update6.htm
I went through the same thing except that in mine, the battery was not soldered to the contacts and they had corroded badly. I cleaned it up, sealed it up, and it works great again.... See pictures of it on this page about half way down...http://www.teamseacats.com/hunter/update6.htm
Guess they changed it
My units are five or six years old and now on their third set of batteries. So I guess Nicro has chnaged them. Too many complaints from people who didn't want to buy them all over again just to change batteries? Who did they think they were -- EPIRB vendors?
My units are five or six years old and now on their third set of batteries. So I guess Nicro has chnaged them. Too many complaints from people who didn't want to buy them all over again just to change batteries? Who did they think they were -- EPIRB vendors?
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