Introduction: Oral B Vitality - Replacing the Battery.
Dismantling the Oral B Vitality.
Unlike many other models in the Oral B range the vitality's body tapers down to the base. Therefore whilst the other models need the base removing in order to access the battery this model requires the top removing. To do this you will need to grip the plastic spigot that the brush head fits onto and rotate the top anticlockwise. In order to minimise the possibility of damage to the spigot it is best to shape two small pieces of MDF or softwood match its contours, which can then be held in a vice. When rotated the top will be forced out of the body by the oblique angle of the joint.
Step 1: Oral B Vitality - Dismantling.
Once you have loosened the top the brush mechanism can be drawn out from the case. You can then see the battery, which is attached to a circuit board. The three metal tabs which connect the motor and switch to the circuit board have the to be un-soldered in order to remove the board and battery from white plastic inner housing. This can be done with a solder removing tool or de-soldering braid.
Step 2: Oral B Vitality - Removing the Battery.
When the battery and circuit board have been removed from the white plastic inner housing, the battery can be removed from the circuit board by de soldering the tags.
Step 3: Oral B Vitality - Replacing the Battery and Reassembly.
The battery in this model is the same size as a standard AA cell (50mm long x 14mm diameter.) so you have a wide choice of replacement cells. In this case I have used a NiMh cell and soldered copper tags on to it to enable connection to the circuit board.
The board and battery are then relocated in the white plastic inner housing and the connections to the motor re-soldered. The spring is then placed inside the charging coil and the outer case aligned and slid down on to the inverted inner mechanism. Once the top and base are correctly aligned they can be pressed together by hand.
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9 Comments
5 years ago
Ive had this vitality cming close to just a year, all was working well when it suddenly stopped working.
Buttons are unresponsive, and it sometimes switches on all by itself. Not sure what the problem is, will replacing the battery help solve this?
im guessing any rechargeable AA battery would still work with the included base charger?
9 years ago on Introduction
Worth noting that the charging base station on the vitality model I have has a hole in the back of it that perfectly fits the plastic spigot, and can be used as a tool to remove the top, instead of using pliers and risking damage to the unit.
Reply 5 years ago
Or just attach an old brush head and use pliers on that. I did that as my brush head was getting old. I actually did not do much damage to the brush head so continued to use it for a month
Reply 5 years ago
Excellent tip!
Reply 9 years ago on Introduction
Definitely worth noting! thanks for that timesaver.
5 years ago
I've just replaced two batteries and it can be done much easier. Only
remove solder with copper-mesh and soldering fluid (S-39) and the
battery connection (lip) at the end of the board facing the motor. For
the visual impared, that's the fourth lip after the three lips grouped
together. Wen I removed the soldering from that lip, I made sure the lip
was lose with thin tweezers. Then I warmed up the soldering of the thin
wires, and detached them from the hot solder with the same tweezers.
Then I loosened the last battery lip. The battery is now removable from
the board. But first removed the black plastic with the copper coil and
the thin wires. Replace the battery with a new one (with attached lips
on it) and you're done in 5 minutes.
6 years ago
It is the first time I have soldered, but managed to change the battery. My problem is that I cannot get the thing back into the toothbrush. I lined everything up and pushed and pushed, but I just can't get it to close. HELP!
9 years ago on Introduction
Hey, thanks for this. I just successfully replaced the battery of my 6 year-old Vitality! Few suggestions. I didn't have a pump for the un-soldering, so I just melted the solder and... blew it off the PCB. Then, I didn't want to replace the tags attached to the battery so I just pulled them off the old battery with some pliers and re-soldered them onto the new battery. Saved €20 and some electro-waste :)
9 years ago on Introduction
This is good info thanks. Some Vitality's have a longer PCB which extends further up the handle. These are type 3709 according to the number on the base. Anyway, I found another guide for these with more detailed photos here:
http://toothbrushbattery.com/guides/braun-oral-b-vitality-battery-replacement/