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Today I removed phone's battery (that not user removable) for replace lcd. When I removed it, There was a tiny spark and after that bad smell (but low). Is it safe to put it back and continue to use it or I have to buy a new battery?

Here you can show a hole where was the tiny spark and smell enter image description here

Dubon
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    Impossible to answer. Where was the little glitter? What produced the bad smell? I'm tempted to say "pics or it didn't happen", but more seriously, your description gives us nothing to work with. – Dampmaskin Jun 27 '16 at 13:05
  • A little glitter and a bad smell don't give us much to think about. – Electrical Architect Jun 27 '16 at 13:06
  • There is something I can do that you can answer it? @ElectricalArchitect – Dubon Jun 27 '16 at 13:09
  • I'm pretty sure little glitter means a tiny spark. But that still means we don't know what happened. – Passerby Jun 27 '16 at 13:14
  • I decided to type out an "official" answer, hopefully on the safe side. – Dampmaskin Jun 27 '16 at 13:15
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    Buy a new battery. Don't reuse this one, you can't trust it anymore, and those batteries can be [pretty dangerous](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/230155/why-is-there-so-much-fear-surrounding-lipo-batteries) when not trustable. – dim Jun 27 '16 at 13:27
  • Please see addition to my answer. If the spark was inside a battery cavity or at its edge as appears to be the case then the dangers from damage are even higher than if it had had external wiring shorted. | Your photo is useful but focus point in several cm behind the point of interest. A photo focused on the point of sparking and a comment on how it actually occurred would be useful **BUT** it is certain that you are in unknown territory and that future "melt down" is a risk. – Russell McMahon Jun 27 '16 at 23:49

2 Answers2

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You probably shorted the battery terminals momentarily. This can easily lead to overcurrent. Overcurrent can damage the battery.

It is therefore safest to buy a new battery, and to take care not to short it out when you install it.

Update: Looking at the picture, it seems like the damage is not directly on the battery terminals, but on the middle of the pack. This suggests that the battery has actually partially vented, either because of overcurrent or because mechanical stress caused an internal short when you pulled on the double sided tape.

Please recycle this battery. Do not use it.

Dampmaskin
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  • And if I use it there is a risk to the whole device? – Dubon Jun 27 '16 at 13:17
  • Shouldn't there be some means of current limitation inside the battery pack itself though? – Lundin Jun 27 '16 at 13:21
  • Worst case scenario is the battery exploding, causing a house fire. Lithium ion batteries can be volatile and potentially deadly. @Lundin: It depends on the battery. – Dampmaskin Jun 27 '16 at 13:22
  • @Dubon lithium batteries are beasts. I mean: They do explode from things like overcurrent. – yo' Jun 27 '16 at 13:22
  • @Dampmaskin But surely there must be some sort of safety standards dictating that there must be internal current limitation? Or do they just use raw battery cells? That sounds very dangerous. Then any kid with a piece of metal wire could go blow up their phones. – Lundin Jun 27 '16 at 13:26
  • If there are any universal safety standards for internal, non-user-replacable Lithium batteries, I am not aware of them. Technicians are expected to be aware of the dangers, and in many cases (such as this), the end users are not expected to be handling their own batteries. – Dampmaskin Jun 27 '16 at 13:28
  • Thanks for answer. I will buy a new one. Just for know: why partially vented battery is not usable? – Dubon Jun 27 '16 at 13:31
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    @Dubon: It is not usable because it is unstable, unpredictable, and unsafe. – Dampmaskin Jun 27 '16 at 13:33
  • The internal protection device will be between the actual cell and the terminals. If the battery shorts internally the protection can't do anything. – Transistor Jun 27 '16 at 16:06
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It's somewhat risky.
You almost certainly shorted the battery out briefly.
Causing a bad smell - even a small one - indicates that a substantial amount of energy was dissipated in 'something'.

If you cannot see a burned component or track anywhere it MAY be OK.
But you may have damaged charging protection, discharge protection, gas-gauge sensing or the battery itself. If it still runs OK when reinserted all MAY be well. But it MAY reduce your phone to a flaming pyre in minutes hours days months or more due to damage.

If the phone is cheap and your life is worthless and you are willing to endanger the safety of others you could try using it and see what happens.
If you are concerned that the phone MAY burn at any time then replacement "may be wise".

_______________________________

Added: A photo has now been added by the OP. I had assumed that the "spark" occurred when external connections were shored. It appears from the photos that the spark occurred in a hole in the battery casing due to mechanical stress during removal. If the spark occurred internally to the battery in this manner then my comments and warnings above re possible damage and dangers are MORE applicable, not less.

Russell McMahon
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