Battery for Starkey Surflink Remote Control?

Question and Answer
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#1

I am trying to find out what the part number is for the battery that is inside a Starkey Surflink Remote.

The factory does not want the consumer to be able to change the battery but I have a degree in Electronic Technology and I am very comfortable working on circuit boards etc.

The Battery has to have a generic part # and is probably used in several other types of devices outside the Starkey environment.

I prefer to have the freedom of not having to be obligated to Starkey to have a battery replaced and to not have to pay big time for such a simple procedure.

Thanks for your help.

Ron

#2

If it is in the warranty period, it should be a free repair. If not, one of the battery outlets on the internet can likely tell you the replacement.

#3

Ken,
Thx for the courtesy of your reply. It is not under warranty.
My challenge is… I’ve never seen this type of battery before and I don’t know how to search for it.
A Google search for replacement battery for the Starkey Surflink Remote does not bring up anything currently.
Ron

#4

It uses a CF234044. But I don’t think there are any suppliers in the U.S. that you can purchase it from.

#5

Thank you so much for your help, and most appreciated information.:wink:

Ron ♫

#6

I havejust successfully replaced the battery in my Surflink, the original battery wasnot as per the link in a previous post. The battery referred toin that post wasonly a 600ma/h unit and also had just a two pin connector.
Minoriginal battery was a 900ma/h unit with a 3 pin connector.
Perhaps adifferent model of Surlink? The ID labelon the rear of mine commences “E1427…” underneath of which is “3D172A”
I replacedthe battery with a 1,250ma/h battery and now can stream audio for almost 6hours whereas before, with my aging battery, I was down to around 2 hours.
Thebattery I fitted I bought here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262000904567?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
It islarger than the original at 59 mm : 37mm : 5 mm whereas the originalwas at 60mm : 36mm : 3.75mm. But theoriginal also had a foam packing on one side which brought the thickness up to4.8mm in addition to which there was some adhesive packing underneath it on theinside of the rear cover.
The new battery came with a 3 pin connector alreadyattached but the wiring was different to the Starkey one and the connector alarger size. I thought about cutting offthe existing connector and re-using it. I decided against this in case there were any other incompatibilities,that way I could always re-install the original battery.
Both are Lipo (Lithium Polymer) batteries and bothhave the standard NTC thermistor connected between the negative terminal andthe third, i.e. none battery, pin.
The connector Starkey uses is a JST – GH style, 1.25mmpin spacing. The wiring is different inthat the Starkey unit has the thermistor connection on the centre pin whereasthe new battery had the negative connection on the centre pin.

The procedure I followed is:
· Using a hairdryer warm up the label on the rear coverto soften the glue and then peel it off. The serial number label is actually on the unit itself and not on thelabel, this having a small clear window.
· Unscrew the two torx screws holding the back coveron. The size is T9.
· The bottom edge of the rear cover will now easily comefree and a slight upwards push on the back cover will release the two tangsholding the top in place.
· The battery can now be simply unplugged and the rearcover detached complete with the battery.
· The small JST connectors are notoriously difficult tocrimp the pins on without a special tool so I purchased a new connector withflying leads already attached. Just asimple case then of cutting off the connector on the new battery and solderingthe new plug’s flying leads to the battery remembering to swap over thenegative and thermistor wires.
· Reassembly was straight forward and the battery is anice snug fit.
WARNING – Lipo batteries are notoriously fussy and canoverheat. Do not allow the wires to touch each other. If the battery is completely flat then itsscrap, Lipos cannot be recharged from flat.

I have attached a few pictures.
You can see on the underside of the original batterythat it was by Autec with a model number LP403759-LPD.

Good luck if you try it.

1 Like
#7

Awesome! Thanks for the valuable information.

#8

My unit also failed and I investigated it. This is a model 100 for remote control. (It is not for streaming as discussed by Gekko above.)

It is correct that the label is held on by heat sensitive glue. Warming it up will allow you to peal it off without losing the serial number tag. The two parts are NOT held together by screws but tabs/slots both top and bottom since there is some flexibility with the plastic as they snap together. Unfortunately at both the exposed and unexposed ends they are fouled with glue and can not be disassembled without damage.

Once the unit is opened, the battery is easily replaced it you can get one. It is Lithium-Battery CF234044, 3V-/0.6Ah as shown above with a connector. Easy to change. The hard part is to get the replacement. Searching yields four places on the web – all of which were on Ebay. One in the states where it was about $25 and the others resolving to one in Germany (Lithium-Batterie CF234044 online kaufen | Pollin.de) for €0.35. Shipping in Europe is reasonable but to the USA was outrageous (€72.) unless you can convince them to ship as a small packet. This may change, of course.

Actually my unit was flaky which is not how a battery dies and I saw it was the power switch. The operating toggle fell out and was lost. Also, I would have had to tape or glue the unit closed after replacing the battery. Since I was due another unit (with a warranty) as I recently got a new set of hearing aids, I dropped the project.

My personal experience with StarKey is that they replace rather than repair units returned under warrantee. Out of warrantee they give a credit for the broken unit which is effectively a price reduction.

I note that there are units for sale on the web for much less. Of course, you need to be able to get your hearing aids re-set to the new remote id to work.

#9

Hi Ron,

I just became a member and i wanted to comment on your post. The battery that your looking at is CF234044 and it is a Lithium “soft pack” and can be perched on e-bay for $14.99 plus $3.50 shipping. And you are correct. The factory does not want the consumer to be able to change the battery. As prof of such the case is very difficult to open especially towards the top of the case. So you need to work very carefully.
I am glad that you posted on here. I am also sort of in your field. I am an Electrical Engineer and am now retired so i have a lot of time on my hands and still like to do things as i see that you also like some challenges. I will be trying something new. I plan to try and substitute the CF234044 using a CR2032 because of the space in the case. May I suggest to try and buy them with tabs. They are only about a dollar or less on E-bay or Amazon. Just snip the wires and reconnect them to the end with the little molex connector onto the tabs of the battery. I have yet to check the current draw for each of these battery’s so once i do then perhaps i could spend a fraction of the original price. Good luck
Marty

#10

I just removed the battery from a model 100 remote. I did not need to completely disassemble the unit to remove the battery. Simply releasing the tabs at the bottom end and prying the thing open about 1/4 inch I was able to unplug the battery cable and work the battery out. With the cable’s connector positioned at the bottom end made it a chore not so bad.

#11

The CR2032 is only 240mAH, the original is 600mAH. But with the cost differential, it’s a toss up whether to replace the CR2032 more often, or spend the money to get a longer lasting original.

#12

I was just browsing this forum and thought for those folks who want to replace their batter you might find this link helpful. I have a 2.4GHZ remote model 610. The link was obtained by using the FCC ID number on the remote. The pictures show the battery and connections.
Hope this helps.
https://fccid.io/EOA-24WR/Internal-Photos/Internal-Photos-3368904