Battery replacement for Norelco series 9000 shaver (S 9733)

[Ovfitbob]

My Norelco series 9000 shaver is not charging anymore.
I called Norelco and they said to change out the shaving heads so I did that this morning with new ones. But still won't charge. I get a chirping sound and then a red exclamation point flashing.
There's no information on Norelcos website or YouTube videos or a general search on how to change out the battery which I think it may be. But if not the battery, what else could it be?
The shaver is clean and the terminals are dry where the cable plugs into the unit. I tried the cable on another Phillips product and it works.
There's a small slot on the shaver that appears to be where you can open up the unit. I tried to gently pry it open but it doesn't open.

Thanks

 

[Ovfitbob]

I forgot to add the shaver is less than a year old and I alternate between that and my manual razor.

 

[StewB]

Most (if not all) modern rechargeable electric shavers do not have user-serviceable batteries. (You can verify this by checking if the manufacturer sells the batteries separately from the shavers.)

One of the reasons, as I understand it, is that they can't guarantee the device will be watertight if the user replaces a battery.

My guess is that your rechargeable battery inside the device has failed. In that case you are out of luck and your only option is to dispose of the entire device and buy a replacement.

 

[RayClem]

I had an older Norelco razor, probably 10 years old, it was one of the first to come with a rechargeable battery. I was planning on disposing of the razor; but you are not supposed to toss rechargeable batteries in the trash. I tried to remove the dead battery, but there was no way of opening the case to access it. My shaver was made well before the wet/dry shavers, so if I could not open mine, I would be shocked if you could open yours to replace the battery.

I recently purchased a 9000 Prestige which is rather expensive, so I hope I get more than a year from it. If you do purchase a new one, make sure you do some research on how to charge it properly. You might not want to charge it to 100% charge. Mine has a QiI charger, but I found the one I have for my phone works just fine. Norelco cautions never to use any charger other than the one that comes with the shaver. I do not know if this is just legal caution on the part of Phillips Norelco or whether there really is a difference in Qi chargers. I always thought that if a Qi charger is certified, it is the same as all other certified chargers.

 

[Ovfitbob]

This morning I plugged in my shaver and lo and behold it started to charge, however it stopped at 17% and then got the chirping sound and the red (!) flashing.
I suspect there might be some residual power left in the battery.

I don't usually let it go down to zero or charge to 100%. Usually to about 80%.
I'll check it periodically to see if it's charging beyond 17%.

 

[Ovfitbob]

Well my Norelco shaver now charges.
I thought my charging cable was the culprit, but it worked on my Phillips dual trimmer.
I also found the charging cable that came with the shaver and this cable worked. It's identical to the one that came with the dual trimmer.
So not sure why the one cable didn't work with the shaver, but worked with the dual trimmer.
Now I have two shavers; Arc 5 and the Norelco rotary. lol

 

[Brutus]

Somehow I feel this discussion really would find a more interested audience in the “Modern Shaving Systems” subforum.

 

[Brutus]

Thank you for moving the thread.

 

[Ovfitbob]

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum . Thank you for moving it.

 

[Scaramouche]

Glad you're up and running! Most modern wet/dry electrics have a sealed battery that wasn't meant to be replaced, but there are many YouTube videos doing just that - although you run a significant risk of losing the waterproof feature of your shaver, and of course void the warranty if it's still valid or you have an extended warranty. The Li-ion batteries of modern electrics are fairly reliable, but can fail just like any other part - usually the connectors or "smart" board rather than the actual battery. They are generally designed to last about 3-5 years - which doesn't seem like a lot if you're used to the old corded shavers from the 1950's, many of which are still going, but that's the price for portability and the modern era. Some shavers will still be going after 5 years but the battery may not take or hold a charge as well. Your titanium DE razor will still be new though when your great-great-great grandchildren pass it on to their children.

As far as care for your shaver and battery, it's a good idea to follow the manufacturer's instructions, but it's generally not a problem to consistently charge to "100%" - the battery has an internal buffer that actually prevents a 100% charge. The indicator may say 100%, but it's on the order of 80-90% when "full," and then cuts off energy to stay below the maximum. Li-ion batteries do hate to be kept at a true 100% state of charge (EV car batteries for example), as well as extremes of heat or cold, but what may kill them for good is running down to 0%, and the buffer can't prevent that. A battery can last a long time unused, but if you leave your shaver in the closet for 6 months or a year, it may in fact get to 0% and be unrecoverable. Otherwise you don't really need any special care for a modern Li-ion shaver battery - just charge it up and use it. You don't need to "form" or recondition Li-Ion batteries like older NiCd (nickel-cadmium) or NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) batteries. Li-ion battery life is peripherally dependent on the number of charge cycles (anywhere from 500 to 3,000 cycles), but not every charge is a full "cycle," so in general a shaver battery will fail because of the battery chemistry, not based on how many times you charge it.