Replacing Sunnto Vyper battery

Hi folks,

Just wondering has anyone done this before???

I did mine recently- as per the following video:

The only thing I did different from this procedure was that I didn't remove the strap.

Took my sunnto for a shallow dive, and hey presto- the battery compartment flooded.

Just wondering should I have removed the strap maybe??

Or would I be better off getting my dive shop to do it.

Tanx in advance

D

Hi Damo,

sorry to hear it flooded on you, as it is a simple procedure. Did you replace the o-ring at the same time?

Cheers,

Jim.

Hi Jim,

I did indeed- did everything by the book.

I even checked the computer in a tank of fresh water beforehand- and all looked fine. (you know how we photographers are paranoid about seals and leaks!!)

Then took it on a dive to 7 meters.

Had a look at some other forums, and it seems it can be a wee bit 'hit and miss'.

Some folks have no problem- others have bad luck it seems.

Now I managed to minimise the damage (I think) and I believe if you flood a Vyper, the main electronics are isolated from the battery compartment- so I've just lost a battery really (I hope)

Just wondering if others have had a similar experience

Tanx

I've changed loads for guests and never had a problems. The thing you have to be careful with is make sure you press down hard on the plastic circular cover, to make sure the o-ring and cover are fully in place as you then put the retaining band in place. I always take the strap off, as it makes it a lot easier to make sure the black retaining band goes on properly.

Brilliant

Thank u LiquidGuru!

I changed also several Suunto Eon, Vyper and Cobra batteries and never changed the o-ring as

i could not find the original repair kit from Suunto, BUT don't do this, get the Suunto kit to be safer.

Anyway, as LiquidGuru already said, thake the straps off to have full, free access to the back and

it needs a bit of practice to hold pressed down the black ring while inserting the small black piece (retaining band?)

and turn to lock.

The important thing is to double check that the transparent cap is not pinching the o-ring while keep it pressed

and then put the ring and the retaining band on without releasing the pressure or rotate the cap.

The best way to do it - and different as shown at 1.20 in the video - is to slide the ring over your finger,

press then the transparent cap down and check carefully that the o-ring sit in its place and then just let the ring slip

down your finger in order to NOT release the pressure on the cap and twist the ring.

If you have a divider around use it to twist the ring instead of pushing only on one hole with a screw driver or similar,

this will help to turn the ring even and avoid that he don't lock well in place.

Chris

We change loads of these at work, but always pressure test them. They are renowned for leaking!

One other worry is that if they flood, despite the battery compartment being sealed, it can short out the battery contacts and fry the unit.

Personally, and with due deference to Nick and other's experiences, I would avoid changing one of these without a pressure tester.

Adam

@adam- thank you-I removed the battery as soon as I noticed the leak- and how I noticed the leak was post dive- topside- when the display started to dim- and the battery indicator was flashing low. Maybe my computer is fragged after all- but will get a new battery and see. :-(

V. interested to see you pressure test the computer after you replace a battery.

@chris -thank you for those valuable insights- prt. the dividers!

I have to say- i dont think much of sunnto's vyper design re: battery replacement- I mean- the battery compartment should be easily replaced by any user.

Thats one of the reasons I bought mine in the first place.

I do feel that for a user like myself- the replacement procedure is actually very fiddly- and I hope I have not made a costly mistake.

I'll let you know how I get on with the new battery. Maybe other vyper users will benefit from all this info. too.

Those use a very similar battery cover design to my old Oceanic Veo 2...and I managed to flood one of those myself. Seems like others have a lot more hand strength than I did, as far as holding down the center cover while rotating the outer ring back into place. I really don't understand the separate cover-and-retainer ring, aside from I guess they're trying to prevent anything 'rotating' against the o-ring itself. But if the o-ring is seated properly and has a tiny bit of lube, rotating against it by just a small amount like that shouldn't be an issue.

I'm much more a fan of the whole cover either screwing or quarter-turning down against an oring as in my newer Oceanic Geo 2, which has a side-channel in the back cover that captivates the o-ring, although I do notice a little tiny scrim of 'salt scum' when I open it that I've been careful to clean out so it doesn't score the o-ring on battery replacement. Plus, having the 2-pin spanner tool (what Chrigel called a 'divider' above) also gives much more leverage for the rotation.