I bought a 3-cell battery to replace the 4-cell one that bloated and had to be thrown away. The new 3-cell battery wouldn’t charge, however, so I went to Purism Support and they told me I need a mod and directed me to get another 0 Ohm resistor. Now, I just need to know where it needs to go. There are a couple places on the board where it might fit, but I rather not short out something that shouldn’t. There are also 2 existing 0 Ohm resistors of the same size next to the battery connector.
I wanted to ask someone in the community in hopes of getting a quicker answer than I would get from support, where should I put the third resistor? Alternatively, if anyone in the community has a 3-cell battery, could you give me a picture of the relevant section on your board? I am uploading a picture of the section on my board that I am looking at.
I sent my Librem 14 to Purism support a long time ago during the warranty period, so they handled whatever needed to be done. Part of that process involved adding a mounting bracket for the second NVMe drive in the first photograph where the fourth cell was originally.
@FranklyFlawless looks like Nova NV41 it is TOP Machine for Qubes on their certified. However i could never buy it this NV41 Clevo-OpenSource-Propietary-Computer.
I get very Nervous about OpenSource things, for sure as Open Source it is not Libre Software.
@walidmujahid I checked in with support to get the answer here for you.
For future readers, this is not needed on all Librem 14s, only specific board revisions. If you are switching your Librem 14 from a 4-cell battery to 3-cell, you can compare it with the photos below.
Devices that need the 0-ohm resistor look like the middle image. Between the battery connector (left) and the M.2 Wi-Fi socket (right), there is a single transistor marked Q37, and there’s no 0-ohm resistor across the left side leads. You need to install the 0-ohm there and solder it to the two leads on that side. (Orientation does not matter.)
The left image is a more recent revision, Q37 is not populated, instead R76 is placed across two pads. This device doesn’t need the change. (Note that there is another transistor in a similar location marked Q26 in this revision, don’t confuse it for Q37.)
The right image is a device with the 0-ohm resistor installed. Either battery can be used, this change has no effect on the 4-cell battery.
@jonathon.hall as you can see on @FranklyFlawless picture that Q37 looks different or place than ur 3 photo examples…
Also the Resistor that do not support 3 cell what ohm it is?
Yes, that’s another board revision. That one does not have Q37 at all and doesn’t need any change.
You’re right, I probably should’ve included that one too, guess I was focused on identifying Q37 (and the fact that the revision on the left has an easily-confused Q26).
This change isn’t replacing a resistor, it’s adding a 0-ohm resistor across those two leads of Q37.
Thank you all for your help. Sorry for not replying sooner. Tommorow I am going get my brother to help who has access to a fine tipped tool solder. I’ll update you guys as to the success.
Alright. Thank you everyone for your discussion and help. The resistor is installed and the battery is finally charging. It’s at 8% now and has 16:48 left to go. I marked @jonathon.hall answer as the solution.
