APX XPR Battery Contacts Design Fail

[Rlahey]

Has anyone else had as much issue with the contacts on the XPR APX battery contacts? This is now my second radio that has had the contacts break in half. On both radios (APX 4000 and XPR 7550) using genuine Motorola batteries when the contacts snapped. I am very careful putting the batteries into the radio. I wonder if the cells swelled inside putting pressure on the contacts, which broke them in half during removal and insertion of the battery. I know this is a known issue at my workplace with other radios, has anyone else run into this? It’s frustrating because it renders the radio either a trip depot, or a trip to the garbage.

 

[MTS2000des]

Yep, had this happen on a couple of our APX4000 2-knobs. Requires board level repair to solder and replace. Piss poor design. We too, only use genuine MSI batteries.

 

[a417]

are these belt-clip worn radios? Holsters? Desk queens?

 

[PACNWDude]

Yes, experienced this with both APX4000 and some XPR7550/e radios and Motorola genuine batteries. (Also had and issue with Grainger knock off batteries that had the same serial number, and posted about that on here a while back). This used to happen even on some older XTS series Motorola batteries, but it seems to happen more on both APX/XPR series radios than it ever did on HT/MTX/XTS series radios.

Of course the ones that broke the most were those shared between shifts with a battery change (change the battery more often, more chances to break the contacts).

 

[ElroyJetson]

That looks like an issue with the contacts being improperly annealed. If the heat treating and annealing is done right, they should be extremely unlikely to just break like that.

But the contacts are probably made in China and who would expect the Chinese to conform exactly to a heat treating and annealing spec?

 

[Rlahey]

are these belt-clip worn radios? Holsters? Desk queens?

Belt clip, but the APX was rarely worn in that fashion, more desk queen or in a holster.

 

[Rlahey]

I will say that I believe I had a bad battery that was someone “catching” the contacts. On exam I can’t detect any irregularities in the battery, doesn’t look swollen- but it did catch when coming off