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iPod Classic 6th Generation. Model A1238 / 80, 120, or 160 GB hard drive / black or silver metal front

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Area near battery connector overheating

I have a strange situation with my IPOD Classic 5. I noticed that the unit became very hot to the touch around the wheel area.

I took the unit apart and took off all the cable connections, and the hard drive from the unit. Then connected back the battery alone and connected to power source. I also monitored the current flow during the charge process and it was around 0.35 for a while then eventually tapered down to 0. The heat on the board measured with a laser meter was around 73F, which was consistent with the readings at the start of the charging step.

Once the battery was fully charged, I connected the hard drive to the unit, connected the hold cable. The device booted up and was usable. When I plugged the unit to a charge source, the thing started to heat. The battery drained very quickly as well. The unit then started to go into a reboot cycle.

In the picture I have posted, the two chips that are boxed in red are overheating. Temperature jumps to over 99F.

I checked the battery connector. It is soldered tight. Battery is new. The drive was working fine.

With a battery on full charge, the unit boots up and is able to go into diagnostics mode where things check out. I can put the unit in disk mode or go into the device menu.

The moment I connect to a power source or plug into a computer the heating problem starts and the unit starts to die.

Any suggestions as to what may be going on?

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@krams those are your power management and charging IC. It appears you have a short somewhere within your charging circuit. There are no schematics available for the logic board. You'll have to test the components individually and see if you find some that are not working. My first choice would be the diode adjacent to the IC or one of the coils. Post some clearer images so we can try and help you with that.

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Thank you. It was indeed a short.

You may not believe this.. but a small piece of cotton fiber can create a short! I found a couple of strands of fiber stuck on one corner of the bigger chip. It took some work to get it dislodged as it was stuck between the pins. Once I got this out, the charging circuit returned to normal. I still don't know why the heating issue did not show when the drive was disconnected from the ipod, and only appeared when the drive was put back.

I also did not realize that fiber can conduct electricity. I thought they were more of the dielectric family.

Thank you for the timely tip.

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Kannan Ramaswamy will be eternally grateful.
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