How much to change a Suunto D9 battery?

[AnakChan]

Hi all,

My Suunto D9 battery's flat (and presumably the transmitter too). Taking it to the local dive shop (Suunto authorised), they were going to charge me approx USD$160 (Y12,600) for the D9 and USD$90 (Y7,000) for the transmitter! I know they will need to be pressure tested after the battery/o-ring change but is that somewhat steep!? What do you all pay to have your batteries of your dive computers replaced?

Cheeers

[Scared Silly]

Just buy the kits and do it yourself. It is not hard. I pay about $20 for a kit. For what they are charging you could send them to Suunto for less. I think my local shop charges $15 plus the kit. The $15 covers their time and if they pooch the job.

[mselenaous]

You can change your own battery in the transmitter fairly easity. The kit comes with a replacement cover, o-ring, & battery. Expect to pay >$30 US. However many LDS will not sell these kits...liability issues, warranty issues, etc.

The D9 must be sent into Suunto or one of their authorized service centers. I last paid about $75 + shipping both ways. Additionally, the service center will inspect and replace such parts as watch bands or scratched lenses once evaluated. This does add up.

[RickyF]

I found the parts for my D6 on Ebay and changed them myself.

[Rhone Man]

+1 on do it yourself. I have changed my D9 multiple times now. Be careful, obviously, but it is really not hard. Leisurepro Brett posted a very good "how to" thread, which I will try and find and link to.

Also: you will probably find that your transmitter battery lasts a lot longer than the battery in the D9. I change my D9 battery about every 24-30 months, but the transmitter battery usually lasts me several years. The transmitter battery is very, very easy to change though - you just need a small phillips screwdriver.

---------- Post added ----------

Here is the link to Brett's excellent "how to" guide on doing the battery change.

D9 Battery change "How To"



---------- Post added ----------

Last, last comment: remember that when you get a "full service" (for which they charge that large amount) they should also change all of the little o-rings in the buttons etc. No need to do that for every single battery change, but I figure every 5 years or so it is a good precaution to pay for a "full service" and get those little o-rings replaced.

[AnakChan]

Cheers to all for your responses. I'm probably pretty comfortable in changing the battery and o-rings myself - actually @Rhone Man, thx for the link and I did come across those instructions before. The only thing I wasn't comfortable with was the pressure test as I obviously can't do that myself. I thought the pressure test had to be done -everytime- the battery/o-ring is changed? If not, then that's great! I can change the battery/o-ring myself.

[j2s]

Harbor Freight {They're on the 'net if you don't have one near you} sells a nice tool specially made for changing watch batteries....For $5.00...Buy the D9-D6 kits and you'll save all that money and turn-around time.......

[bluenose616]

I just replaced my D9 battery last week for the first time. It took less than 10 minutes. The thread on how to replace your D9 battery on SB was awesome. It's really wasn't that hard.

[AnakChan]

Thx all. I'm just about to place my order for the D9 tool & battery/o-ring replacement. From the sounds of it, I guess most of you don't do the pressure test after the battery replacement. I like @Rhone Man's approach of getting an overhaul after every few battery self-changes and I guess that's the time to do the pressure test too.

[vladimir]

I am not a do-it-yourself-er, so I paid to have mine changed by the Suunto dealer here in Hong Kong about 18 months ago. It cost me $116 for both the computer and transmitter. I don't see why it should cost so much more in Tokyo. Your dealer is gouging you, I'm afraid.