In a previous post, I lamented the fact that I accidentally dropped my Kenwood TH-D72a in the river, which caused some damage. The radio actually continued to work throughout the rest of the day, but when I plugged it in to charge, it wouldn't turn on the next morning when powered by the battery. It would however, function normally when powered by the charger.
One suggestion I received was to open up the radio and use contact cleaner on the power connector/switch. I performed this with no success. Fortunately, the national Kenwood service center is right around the block from my work location, so I dropped it off last week for repair.
$75 later, I can now report how to fix this problem in case it happens to you.
Fixing this problem is actually pretty easy once you know how. You have to disassemble the radio, removing every board. The hardest part of the procedure is removing and reinstalling the various ribbon cables. The part that fails is actually the power plug switch. You just need to replace this part.
Here is a close-up of the part that needs to be replaced:
The Kenwood part number is E03-0190-05 and costs $1.45. It is easily removed with a good fine point soldering station. The only parts required to disassemble the radio are a few different sizes of small phillips screwdrivers. If you decide that you can't fix this yourself, the cost is one hour of labor ($75) plus the price of the part. The service center will also align and check the radio as part of the service.
By the way, if you do damage the radio by dropping it in water, your warranty is now void.
One suggestion I received was to open up the radio and use contact cleaner on the power connector/switch. I performed this with no success. Fortunately, the national Kenwood service center is right around the block from my work location, so I dropped it off last week for repair.
$75 later, I can now report how to fix this problem in case it happens to you.
Fixing this problem is actually pretty easy once you know how. You have to disassemble the radio, removing every board. The hardest part of the procedure is removing and reinstalling the various ribbon cables. The part that fails is actually the power plug switch. You just need to replace this part.
Here is a close-up of the part that needs to be replaced:
The Kenwood part number is E03-0190-05 and costs $1.45. It is easily removed with a good fine point soldering station. The only parts required to disassemble the radio are a few different sizes of small phillips screwdrivers. If you decide that you can't fix this yourself, the cost is one hour of labor ($75) plus the price of the part. The service center will also align and check the radio as part of the service.
By the way, if you do damage the radio by dropping it in water, your warranty is now void.