I just finished installing a new battery in my Karma. It was actually easier than I had anticipated. Upon final reassembly, it worked perfectly.

Except...

now the volume control button that raises the volume no longer does anything. I can lower the volume (in the process of testing this, I have reduced the volume to the level where I can't really use it anymore (volume setting = "8") and I cannot raise it back up.

I now have a brick with a shiny new battery in it. BTW, the old battery failed with the known swelling problem.

Mechanically there is nothing wrong with the button or switch. I can press the button, I can hear the switch click, but nothing happens. The switch itself is located in such a well protected position that it is virtually impossible that it received any physical damage during the disassembly or reassembly. I took the Karma apart again, manually operated the switch directly and it clicked, but did nothing.

Am I completely out of luck here? Is there any possibility of getting this thing repaired? Do I need to start shopping for a second-hand iPod?

Please help.

tanstaafl.

You've done the right thing and ruled out problems with the casing or the external part of the switch (the plastic button cap), and now we're down to problems with the switch, the circuit traces, the electronics, or software.

Just for the heck of it, see if a paperclip reset fixes the issue.

If I understand things correctly, isn't there a small amount of soldering required to replace the battery? Maybe something happened there like a tiny dropped solder blob or something, that now needs to be scraped off the circuit board.

Good idea on the reset, but no joy.

There is no chance of a dropped solder blob. I didn't feel competent to solder those tiny wires to the tiny connectors, so I cut the old wires close to the battery, and with the wires on the new battery was able to twist, solder and shrink-wrap the connections completely outside the Karma.

Since the backlight does not come on when I work the switch, I'm guessing that the switch itself has failed, rather than some circuitry that controls the volume.

Here's a hint for anybody else who needs to reassemble a Karma. To prevent breaking the lock switch, pop the slider out of the case before putting the case halves back together. Then, last thing you'll do, is line up the slider with the switch and pop it back in.

Looks like refurbished iPods can be had in the $100 range. Since the only thing I do with my Karma is listen to audiobooks while I'm walking the dog, an iPod would serve my needs.

tanstaafl.