My son has a sansa clip mp3 player, it went unoticed and in the wash. I can plug it in, my computer recognizes it, I can open it both as a file and in windows media player and it shows me the files, the problem is it won’t charge, when i plug it in it says connected but won’t show the charging display it should. I have tried resetting it, didn’t work. I cannot update filmware since it won’t turn on, tried it just on connected and it didnt help. I have washed previous mp3’s and they worked after they dried. I have washed gameboy games, memory cards, all worked afterwords. I am hoping theres a fix for this one. Does anyone have a solution or is it garbage?
i would let it dry out for several days before attempting to plug it in or turn it on. if it does not work after it is completely dry it is probably garbage since washing it most likely voids the warranty.
If it works when connected to the PC but won’t charge or turn on when not connected, it sounds like the battery may have been damaged. If you have a mini-USB charger you could test this theory, see if it works when plugged into the charger.
The general advice is, shake out as much water as you can and then let it dry out for numerous DAYS–put it in a warm place to dry out. (Some people also recommend washing the player out with distilled water as well, to get rid of any soap, etc. residue.) And then try it. This often does the trick.
It is recommended not to plug the player in at all until it has thoroughly dried out per the above.
Now what—it worked----plugged into car battery–it worked fine—how do i change / get another battery?
Do you see a compartment for a battery? There isn’t one–the battery is not intended to be replaced, and the case is not readily opened. You would need to buy a new Clip.
Yeah, replacing the battery on the clip isn’t that easy, because the clip snaps togther, instead of using screws, which means that you’ll probably break it trying to get it apart. I’d suggest just buying a new one, and using it, or trying to send it to sansa to have them replace the battery.
The Limited Warranty from SanDisk supports return and replacement of the player, not repair of the player.
Considering that it’s been through the wash I don’t think he was talking about warranty repair/replacement
I found my Clip faced down in a pool of condensation water from my glass of ice water. It wasn’t immersed but it was wet enough that it wouldn’t turn on and there was water behind the face.
I Googled and found an excellent web site where someone disassembled a Sansa Clip and also provided pictures. (Sorry, don’t have a bookmark but it didn’t take me long to find it.) Having the pictures helped me understand how to take my Clip apart with minimal damage.
The case is held together by pressure; I used a razor knife (Exacto knife) to carefully pry it apart at a point where there would be no internal damage.
I removed every piece that could be removed and put it all in a cup of rice (to absorb moisture) and put it on a sunny window sill to keep it warm. After two days, I re-assembled, and voila!, it worked.
A side benefit: I know what the inside looks like and where the case is susceptible to water–and sweat–infiltration. I use the Clip while doing tedious and hot yard work.
That said, a pool of condensation is not the same as a washtub of laundry water. I wouldn’t be surprisd if your battey is ruined. As others have said, it’s not easily replaced. In case there’s any latent moisture, you may still want to take it apart in the hope of being able to cure it. Good luck!
Summerlove;
I see your point.
However, I do not think anyone does repairs on Clips. Do you know of anyone? That is, other than doing it oneself.
Message Edited by Tweet on 06-03-2008 04:45 PM
Bump!
Mine went through the wash, and it still plays music, but the OLED is illuminated everywhere.
Any help?
Did you let the Clip dry out thoroughly? And I mean DAYS, until you are sure it is absolutely dry inside.
If not, do not turn it back on and let it do so. (It originally should be allowed to dry out without being turned on; turning it back on when it is not completely dry may irreversibly damage it.)
Hmm… actually, I didn’t let it dry (oops!) but I turned it on again recently, and it works fine. Sorry for wasting your time 
Yep–it fully dried out. Fortunately, turning it on earlier didn’t short anything–
Was it this website?
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2007/11/sandisk-sansa-clip-disassembled.php
My Clip fell into a glass of coke and it still work! The only problem is that it keeps turning on again and again after i turned it off. So the battery gets empty within 2 hours… i don’t know what to do since opening it might break the warranty. Maybe i should try to get it repaired first and if Sandisk doesn’t accept it i will open it up… i think it’s just the on/off button that’s still a bit wet or something. What do you think?
As stated above, DO NOT TURN IT ON IF IT IS STILL WET–LET IT DRY OUT THOROUGHLY BEOFRE TURNING IT ON. ELECTRICITY AND FLUIDS DO NOT MIX.
(Having yelled that. some people will flush the player out with distilled water after the player has gotten wet, to try to flush away any contaminants, such as the sugar from your Coke. If I were you, I probably would do that, but it’s up to you. Of course, you do this with the player OFF.)
As stated above, DO NOT TURN IT ON IF IT IS STILL WET–LET IT DRY OUT THOROUGHLY BEFORE TURNING IT ON. ELECTRICITY AND FLUIDS DO NOT MIX.
(Having yelled that. some people will flush the player out with distilled water after the player has gotten wet, to try to flush away any contaminants, such as the sugar from your Coke. If I were you, I probably would do that, but it’s up to you. Of course, you do this with the player OFF.)
Yep that’s what i should have done but it happened a week ago, and i’m a total newbie when it comes to repairing electronic products! Fortunately i went back to the shop and they reimbursed me the price i paid one year ago! So now i could buy the 4 Gb Clip instead of the 2 GB version… but i’m thinking of buying Sony.
Wow! As the saying goes, the luck of the Irish … 
