I've had my Philips 890 electric shaver since 1996 and it still works very well. However, even after charging, the charge warning alarm comes on after only one shave. I presume that this is because the battery is reaching the end of its useful life. Has anybody dismantled one of these shavers and are replacement batteries obtainable. The casing is held together with recessed Torx screws, so I would need to buy a suitable driver to access them.
Terry D,
I've not done it with that model, but my wife's Philips Ladyshave had the same problem, I took it apart and it had just one NiCad AA battery soldered in. I purchased a new AA NiCad, removed the old battery, soldered in the new one, put it back together and it has been fine since. It is worth having a go because by the sounds of it you have nothing to loose.
-- David C
I'm sure once you get it open and see what type battery is in it, you'll be able to pick up new ones easily enough.
I had the same with an old Braun razor - prized it apart (no screws!) and replaced the single AA (with a higher capacity one!)
Sparks...
Rechargeable batteries don't last forever.
To be honest I stayed with my Philips rechargeable for some years before I gave it up as a bad job. Then I realised that new shavers cost maybe £20 or so new - so I treat these as disposables which maybe last a year or two.
PoP
Sending email to my published email address isn't guaranteed to reach me.
On 29/01/2004 Terry D opined:-
I don't know your model (nor my own), but my shaver has plodded on since around 1988 on the same cells. I would guess the cells will be standard Nicads, but with solder tags. You can buy these cells fitted with solder tags, but they are not that easy to find. Besides which, you can get much better capacity with NiMh cells.
You cannot simply solder wires onto cells with normal multicore solder, but I found you can make a reasonable job of it with that flux which comes in a small yellow pot.... Sorry I can't remember the name of the flux, but any builders/plumbers merchant will stock it.
The soldering must be done quickly and with a good sized hot iron, or the cells will suffer damage.
Thanks for the reply, but I'm puzzled by the fact that I can't see my original message on this newsgroup, only the copy above your reply. This also happens on other newsgroups and the only way I can see the complete threads is to use Google Groups. I'm using OE 6 and posting on text.news.ntlworld.com.
Terry D
Hi Terry, I sometimes get that too. Usually if I refresh to soon after posting. (OE6 with BT-Internet)
-- David C
And therein lies the problem.
You could try these alternates:
newscache.cable.ntlworld.com news.cache.cable.ntlworld.com newstest.ntli.net
They are currently running a trial but it has been on and off since November. Stopped again, this week they said: "This is due to network capacity issues on one of the existing ntl Newsgroups production servers that is providing a data-feed to the new architecture being used for the trial. We are aware of the issue and have a plan for resolution of the problem while continuing to work on any other issues you raised."
I'm sure I will, but the main problem is getting into it. I have a full set of Torx drivers (I think it's a T8), but none are long enough. I may order some longer drivers or otherwise have a go with the old bench grinder.
BTW, I can only see your response on Google Groups but not on uk d-i-y. I seem to constantly miss out on a lot of threads - I can't even see my original message - any ideas? This message was posted via Google Groups.
Terry D.
Or just give them up as a bad job and use a server which works of course.
is your friend.
Can't you buff down an old torx bit so it fits ?
Which software do you use to pick up usenet groups ? I've heard that some ISPs are having problems with filter design because of this new MyDoom Virus / Trojan thing that's going around, so they might be filtering or blocking the newsgroups for a while until the pressure goes off a bit.
Maplin stock them in all the common sizes.
But the charging arrangements are different.
I've not had a problem.
True. But safer just to get tagged types - especially if they're an industrial size which you'll need to get from an electronics supplier anyway.
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I have a 980 and a 990.
The 980 had NiCd cells which failed, I replaced them with a pair of AA NiCds (soldered directly to the PCB and held with a plastic clip). It's pretty straightforward as long as you can solder batteies. I didn't have a long thin T8 driver either, I used a small flat blade screwdriver.
The 990 - which is the same shaver one product generation later - has a pair of NiMH cells which are the same diameter as AA but look 6-7mm shorter (I think they're called 4/5AA?) There doesn't seem to be enough room to fit standard AAs in it so make sure you know what type of cells you need before you buy them.
I used to do this but found a £100 shaver lasting six or seven years was a better option.
cheers, Pete.
Hi,
To remove the Torx screws get a cheap jewellers screwdriver set, one of them will fit the screw head well enough.
A good source of tagged NiCd and NiMh cells is
I replaced the NiMh batteries in a Philishave 970 this summer with new tagged 2/3AA NiMh... then went and bought a new shaver.
Ebay is a good source of new Philishave shavers much cheaper than shop prices, bought an 8890 for £109 all in.
cheers, Pete.
Ahh thanks, it all becomes clear now. I wondered why a lot of people seemed affiliated to a German university.
They are quite probably NiCd and Philips used to use a cell size known as half sub-C. As the name suggests, this was the same diameter as a standard C cell. There was a cell slightly shorter than the C called a sub-C and the cells in the shaver were half the size of a sub-C. That was in about 1992. I know the next generation of chip that ran the battery management in the top of the range models was being developed around then and that was specifically designed for NiCds. I only found one place that sold them though (Verospeed) and they are now out of business but they were part of the RS group so RS may stock them.
Phil
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