My iPod started to die quite a while ago. It's a 3rd Gen 20G iPod. I've taken really good care of it but the battery started losing life quite a while ago now so I stopped using it. Basically, unless I just pushed play on all my songs without using any options or playing with the iPod while it was playing I'd get less than an hour's worth of music. With the backlight I'd get about 30 mins if that.

Options as I saw it:
Buy a new iPod ~$300
Send current iPod back to Apple and get a replacement battery or replacement iPod (no guarantee what would happen) ~$100
Replace the battery myself ~$30

iPod battery replacement kits are available all over the net for most models and are very reasonably priced (compared to what Apple charge). As an added bonus, most of the batteries for sale have significantly longer lives than the originals.

I bought a replacement kit from Jaycar for $30 which includes a couple of tools to open the iPod as well as the new battery, and instructions that aren't great, but decent enough (instruction on the net are only just as clear). Below are the photos of my progress with the task.

My iPod, clearly in good condition:
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2595.JPG
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2596.JPG
^I just wanted to show some more detail of the condition of my iPod. Any muck on the screen is just muck and there are no visible scratches. Same goes for the silver casing except for some very minor scratches that are typical of the iPods.

The tools and battery. I was surprised at how small the battery was! Why don't they use much larger batteries?!?! Maybe the new ones do but this one weighs NOTHING and I'm sure people wouldn't mind sacrificing a few grams for better playtime.
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2600.JPG
Here is another photo of the iPod and battery that is a bit blurry. I was trying to show where I had to attack the iPod from with the tools --> http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2601.JPG

After trying and trying here's how both tools ended up (they were meant to have a sharp, straight edge to pry the halves of the iPod open):
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2606.JPG
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2607.JPG

I decided to use a fork (taking precautions to cover my hand holding the iPod) and scratched the iPod like this, and yes the scratches are as small as they seem:
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2604.JPG
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2605.JPG

Finally when that didn't work I found a mini, sharp screwdriver and tried it. Worked pretty much straight away and I carefully pulled the iPod apart to reveal the HDD wrapped in a rubber cover:
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2608.JPG
It says to be really careful of the ribbon that holds the two pieces together, because this is the headphone jack's connection to the main board. Apparently it's fragile *paranoia*.

I had to carefully remove one half of the rubber from the HDD and then gently slide it off the plug - the rubber holder was attached to the board inside the iPod:
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2609.JPG

The offending battery!#$!!#
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2610.JPG

The replacement battery in position<3 Changing them over was as easy as taking the old one out and unplugging it and then switching it. Had to be careful of the new battery's thicker wires that they were in a position to get pinched when I put the case back on:
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2611.JPG

Then after I put the HDD back in place ( http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2600.JPG ) I had to just make sure to line up the hold switch on the case with the actual switch on the board (see below). I simply put the end of the case on first and then pushed it down from there.
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2615.JPG
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2616.JPG

I then had to charge the thing for AT LEAST 3 hours to make sure I didn't damage the battery. I'm just testing it now and it seems to be running SWEETLY. I've been f***in' around with it and had the back light on and off as well as the EQ. Seems to be working but I'll keep you posted when I play with it more.

It would have taken me about 10 - 15 minutes if I didn't f*** around with the tools included in the pack first. The key was to press right on the join of the two halves - the instructions led me to believe I need to press down one half of it and then stick the tool underneath the other bit, kinda like a hook. If you have a mini screwdriver at home I would suggest looking into just buying the battery if possible because it might be a bit cheaper, and just get instructions off the net.

So basically I spent $30 restoring my 3 year old iPod and this was the worst damage I did to it:
http://trog.qgl.org/up/IMG_2618.JPG

The end.

hmmm im thinking about this as well but am not sure if its the battery that my ipod is whinging about .... it just keeps flashing to a www.apple.com/support/ipod :( ive opened it up but the battery is non-standard (obviously] so not sure waht to do with it

nice carpet.
thread does not need dragons

It's pretty obvious when it's a battery problem. I wouldn't replace the battery unless you are certain that's it and I think it's actually RARE for the battery to become such a problem that it needs to be fixed - yes, a lot of people have issues, but they are only a small proportion of the iPod-owning population. If it's not under warranty consider replacing whatever is busted yourself... unless you want an excuse to buy a new, snazzy iPod!

lol - it's a towel! I put it over the surface of the table I was using. See how much care I take of my iPod?

oh, i didn't think it was your floor, was wondering wear the various stains were.

yeah I replaced my mum's iPod mini (1st-2nd gen) and it's scratched to hell because the tool form Jaycar wasn't a nice plastic one like yours. But it once the battery is replaced, it worked fantastically - even better than new because the new battery is actually a higher capacity than the original one!.

Well done for hax0r your own iPod doode. :)

so whats next, bigger hdd ? :)

Well had I thought about it a little harder I could have replaced the HDD at the same time. I did a quick google and the drive in it goes for about $90 - you can see the Toshiba model in the photo.

Thinking about it again though, I'm going to leave that job for further down the track. I exercise with my iPod which apparently isn't the best thing for them, so I'll wait till I kill it first, then replace it with something similar.

Although the plastic tool I used is all busted and bent in those photos, I'm sure if I aimed correctly the first few times I could have done it with zero damage. A lesson for the future.

So what is battery life like now?

My 3G iPod's battery has shat itself so I haven't touched it in ages but I didn't realise jaycar sold replacement kits.

Maybe you could go into business for yourself swapping batteries over for people at a cheaper rate than what Applewould charge.

So what is battery life like now?

My 3G iPod's battery has shat itself so I haven't touched it in ages but I didn't realise jaycar sold replacement kits.

Well I've been using it non-stop for over two hours now with the back light and EQ switched on, navigating through menus and changing playlists now and then. The battery icon shows just over a third of the battery used which I'm pretty happy about. I need to get into the habit during the day and not use the backlight - it just looks sooo pretty! I'll keep you informed about how well the battery holds up in the next day or two.

The one thing I didn't mention before was that it took less than three hours for a full charge! I was quite impressed. I can't remember my old battery ever being that quick even when it was new.

I think if you want to be sure that your iPod will have a long life, buy one of the new ones, especially a Nano which allegedly have up to 24 hours of playback time. Considering that will drop to about 80% in a couple of years, it's still pretty decent.

Maybe you could go into business for yourself swapping batteries over for people at a cheaper rate than what Applewould charge.

Crossed my mind but now I've revealed all the secrets!!! In all seriousness I'd be happy to do it for people for $50 which would include the battery, but I can't guarantee that I wouldn't stuff it up, as easy as it is.

They need to bring the lit up red button text touch buttons back. CLick wheel is boring.

i give you mad props for making a great informative thread for ipod owners, i give you even mader props for including pics.

not that my approval means anything.

Nice work

Oh yeh... the best part is I don't have to worry about all those AAC files I encoded!@!#!#@

hmmm sounds like an idea i guess ... the ipiod is out of warranty so maybe time for a nano?

Get a job.

Can you get tools and a replacement screen for a 30 gig ipod? Long story but my sister smashed the LCD screen :'( So I just play my library on it.

Any links would be helpful.

Cheers

hmmm im thinking about this as well but am not sure if its the battery that my ipod is whinging about .... it just keeps flashing to a www.apple.com/support/ipod :( ive opened it up but the battery is non-standard (obviously] so not sure waht to do with it

Captain America check out this site: http://www.notpopular.com/blog/comments.php?blogID=63

Apparently just slapping your iPod can get it to work again:O

Can you get tools and a replacement screen for a 30 gig ipod? Long story but my sister smashed the LCD screen :'( So I just play my library on it.

Google replacement iPod parts or soemthign in Australia. There's a place in Sydney that is decently priced that can fix all those things.

That's awesome

You've inspired me to do this myself.

My 3rd G iPod gets around 1 hour of playback, and thats only if i fully charge it right before i use it. I was contemplating sending it in to Apple but yeah a bit uncertain and too expensive etc., so now I'm heading down to Jaycar :)

oh my god that is so retarded ;/ thanks bill lol, saved me 380 bucks, the slap worked