Battery fluctuates between Charged to Dead!

I apologies if there is already a thread about this, a google search does not find my exact problem so I decided to register to ask my question.

I have had a Sansa Clip + 8g for about 16 months, all has been fine until recently when I began to notice that the battery life appeared to reduce very quickly. At first I thought the battery was starting to fail and although annoying I accepted it as bad luck. I am getting roughly 20-30 minutes from full charge before it powered down due to low battery level.

I then noticed that if I left it for a short period (About 20 minutes) I was able to power it up again and the Battery indicator would indicate a level equal to how it should be. It then plays for another 20-30 minutes before it powers down once again. I then repeat this until it once again requires a full charge.

It is as if there is a bug somewhere that makes the battery think there is no charge left in it.

I noticed that if I skip through tracks this will visibly reduce the battery level on the indicator.

I searched the forums and was able to update the Firmware, hoping this might work. I am currently on V01.02.18F. This has not fixed the problem!

Is my MP3 Player dead?

Obviously, the charge level reporting circuitry is not working properly. And if re-installing the firmware has not corrected the issue, soory to say it is a goner. Too bad this happened after the warranty has run out, but on the plus side, these things are very reasonably priced so replacing it is not usually that big a hardship.

I was worried that was the case, it’s the first MP3 player I have owned other than my Smart phone and I really liked it. Is it worth buyig another Sansa though? My experience is not a postive one so far!

There are millions of satisfied owners out there. I’ve been around this forum for a while now, and I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve heard of such a problem.

When you actually start looking around for a replacement and see how few there actually are out there now, and the price of them, I think you’ll agree the Sansa Clips (+ & Zip models) are a real bang for the buck.

The guage is merely an indicator. If one leaves the device on charge for 4 hours or so, and it quits after a short play time then it’s likely the battery. The apparent recovery is strange. I don’t know enough about Li batteries, but if it developed an increasingly higher internal resistance as it runs, possibley due to heating,  that would be a possible explanation. Regardless of this guess work, you’re probably not likely to fix it.

Having shopped at Meritline at times, I get their email flyer. They had a Phillips player that looked good for around $35. One would have to compare specs but battery life was longer than the clip. Physically, it looks more like the larger Sansa fuze models. But like Tapeworm I do like the clip line for both specs and size so personally I would stick with a clip.