My iPod got drenched in the rain and it would not respond to any interaction with the wheel. The only thing it would do is light up the screen with a dull white light and shriek this really high pitch frequently endlessly, but that was only if it was plugged in to the computer.

I had no idea what to do other than blame the whole Steve Jobs wants you to buy an iPod once a year thing. I mean, seriously, shouldn’t the iPod be waterproof?

I figured the only possible things I could do were:

Naturally, I decided to open it up.

A quick search on del.icio.us led me to iFixIt.com Repair Guides for iPods, which is a pretty rad site that is dedicated to helping you repair your iPods and other Apple stuff. It was by using their site that I was able to resurrect my iPod.

DISCLAIMER: First, you need to understand that opening up your iPod will most definitely void the warranty. So, if you don’t want to void your warranty do not do any of this. Instead, just ship your damaged item to Apple for repairs.

The first thing I tried to do was open up the iPod and let it dry out for a few days.

How to open up an iPod.

iPod Repair: How to Open an iPodTo open the iPod, I used two “tools.” An exacto knife and one of those fake Credit Cards that are delivered almost weekly via unsolicited junk mail. You can probably use a regular credit/atm card, but I opted for the fake one because I had it handy. I also read about people using guitar picks.

Before you start prying apart the iPod, be sure to put the player on “Hold” because you will inevitably be tapping the wheel along the way.

iPod Repair: Opened EdgesTo start the opening, I put the exacto knife blade between the top of the iPod and the back casing and pried it open just enough to slide the credit card in between the front and back casing. Once you get the credit card snugly in place, slide the card around the iPod, loosening the edges.

With the edges separated you can now slowly (and I do want to stress SLOWLY) take the two main pieces apart. Take your time in doing this because there is a ribbon that you’ll need to disconnect and you don’t want to run the risk of tearing it.

Using the exacto knife, I slid up the fastener that holds the battery ribbon in place. The fastener is located on the circuit board at the bottom of the pod. Mine was brown in color, but yours may be different.

iPod Repair: The GutsOnce the ribbon was disconnected from the circuit board, I could lay the two pieces side by side and get a better feel for what I was dealing with. I feel a little surprised to say that the makeup of an iPod really isn’t all that fascinating. I’m not too sure why, but I thought I was going to be more impressed/confused with the internal workings. They are nothing more than a hard drive + motherboard + screen with 3 wired connections. Cake.

iPod Repair: Hard Drive connectionI disconnected the HD and headphone ribbons by using the techniques from the iFixItGuide. Basically, you disconnect the HD by sliding the ribbon fastener down and the headphone ribbon by sliding the fastener up.

With all of the parts separated from each other, I let them sit in a dry area for about 5 days.

Resurrecting the iPod.

After waiting for the parts to air out, I started by reconnecting the headphone ribbon to the circuit board and then the hard drive to the circuit board. Before connecting the battery ribbon, I decided to try and power up the iPod by connecting it to the computer just to see what would happen.

There was no shrieking and the screen was actually trying to communicate something! Score!

I don’t remember exactly what it was (because it vanished so quickly) but it was something along the lines of:

Battery dangerously low! DO NOT DISCONNECT.

Naturally, the pod thought the battery was low because it wasn’t connected. But the fact that the screen was working gave me hope. I connected the battery ribbon and then reconnected the iPod to the computer. And like a shot to the gut, the high pitch noise returned and nothing displayed on the screen.

So this is what I know at this point:

  • Screen – working
  • HD – unknown
  • Battery – dead

I decide to check on prices for iPod batteries and they are nowhere near as expensive as I thought they were going to be. I picked one up (plus free iPod opening tools) for about $15 at iFixIt’s store. I picked the 4-7 shipping but the battery got here in 3 days. Sweet.

How to remove and replace an iPod battery.

iPod Repair: HD-ectomyThe free tools came in pretty handy for removing the old battery. Apparently the battery is held in place by two lines of some pretty good adhesive.

So, I took the iPod tool from iFixIt and slowly rocked the battery back and forth around the edges until it was loose enough to grab with my fingers and pull out. Do this slowly and gently because there other ribbons running behind the battery that you don’t want to tear.

iPod Repair: Battery AdhesiveOnce the old battery was out of the way, I popped the new one in and began connecting the ribbon. As I’m attempting to connect the ribbon, I hear pops and see the screen start to glow bright white off and on again as the ribbon pins make their connection. Yes! It’s alive! (but does it have a brain?)

Fingers crossed, I plugged in the iPod to the computer and hit the Menu on the wheel. It works! Yes, yes, yes! I figured I didn’t want to push my luck, so I turn the iPod off to give it time to charge. The screen now shows:

DO NOT DISCONNECT and the big red “No” symbol.

iPod Repair: It Lives!I’ll let it charge, methinks. The only thing is, 9 hours later, the screen still looks the same. “Do not disconnect.” Well, crap. I decided to go and disconnect and see if the brain was in tact. I turn it on and after a few seconds of whirring and grinding there sits my entire music library. Booyuh!

I am so pumped that it was just the battery but now, I guess I’ll have to get back to that whole running thing. I’ll just make sure to avoid any pre-hurricane like weather.

Oh, happy day! The iPod is back!