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Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement

Introduction

The spring contacts, AKA pogo pins, are a common point of failure in the charging base for the Ember Mug. Replacement requires a spot of soldering.

What you need

  1. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, The Charging Base: step 1, image 1 of 1

    • The charging base has two spring contacts, also called pogo pins, that transfer power from the charging base to the mug.

    • Over time or due to liquid exposure, the contacts can oxidize or lose their ability to spring back up, resulting in a loss of contact and thus failure to charge the mug.

    Edit

  2. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Remove the Retaining Screw: step 2, image 1 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Remove the Retaining Screw: step 2, image 2 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Remove the Retaining Screw: step 2, image 3 of 3

    • The rubber base on the bottom of the charging plate covers a Torx screw that must be removed to open up the plate.

    • Peel back the base far enough to expose the Torx screw.

    • Using a T8 Torx driver, remove the single retaining screw.

    Edit

  3. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Open the Base: step 3, image 1 of 2 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Open the Base: step 3, image 2 of 2

    • Use a metal pry tool such as the iSesamo inserted into the seam between the metal top and the plastic base to open it up.

    Edit

  4. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Dismount the Circuit Board: step 4, image 1 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Dismount the Circuit Board: step 4, image 2 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Dismount the Circuit Board: step 4, image 3 of 3

    • Here we see the two halves separated, but connected by wiring.

    • The circuit board is held on with adhesive. Use your pry tool to gently separate the circuit board from the plastic mounting block it sits on.

    • During reassembly, make sure the cutout in the plastic base sits correctly over the circuit board.

    Edit

  6. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, About the Pins: step 5, image 1 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, About the Pins: step 5, image 2 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, About the Pins: step 5, image 3 of 3

    • Here you can see a closeup of the pin with the failed spring on the right vs. the functional pin on the left

    • The pins are approximately 4.5 mm in height on this particular model.

    • Here is the replacement pin placed next to the originals. So far, so good.

    Edit

  7. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Remove the Old Pin(s): step 6, image 1 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Remove the Old Pin(s): step 6, image 2 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Remove the Old Pin(s): step 6, image 3 of 3

    • Apply flux and unsolder the defective pin or pins.

    Edit

  8. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Solder in the Replacement Pin(s): step 7, image 1 of 2 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Solder in the Replacement Pin(s): step 7, image 2 of 2

    • Tin the replacement pin.

    Edit

  9. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement: step 8, image 1 of 2 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement: step 8, image 2 of 2

    • Using the minimum amount of solder, solder the new pin in place.

    Edit

  10. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Add Adhesive: step 9, image 1 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Add Adhesive: step 9, image 2 of 3 Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Add Adhesive: step 9, image 3 of 3

    • The adhesive keeps the parts together, but also provides a modicum of waterproofing.

    • I chose iPhone battery adhesive as it appears to be very similar to the original adhesive found on the charging plate.

    Edit

  11. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Reassemble: step 10, image 1 of 1

    • Stick the circuit board onto the black plastic mounting pad.

    Edit

  12. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement: step 11, image 1 of 1

    • Reassembled with the new pin in place.

    Edit

  13. Ember Mug Charging Base Pogo Pins Replacement, Test: step 12, image 1 of 1

    • Final step, place the mug on the charging base.

    • Success, we have a charging light once again!

    Edit
Conclusion

While the replacement pin from AliExpress wasn't a 100% exact match, it was certainly close enough to be fully functional so all in all, the repair was an unqualified success!

Note that I've added an eBay listing that purports to contain the correct pins for this charger, but I have not seen the kit so I cannot verify that information.

10 other people completed this guide.

Author

with 1 other contributor

Jerry Wheeler

Member since: 03/21/22

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5 Comments

Great guide Jerry! The only suggestion is that while the base is opened up and I have a bag of 10 new pogo pins (on their way from AliExpress), I will be replacing them both. It will only will take me another 2 minutes and also ensure the new pins are both protruding the exact same amount. The question is whether I will hang onto that "good" one that I didn't need to replace in the bag of 8 spare pogo pins. If you are a big DIY repair person, you will know this moral dilemma oh too well. ;-)

Chris Sosnowski - Reply

Entirely sound reasoning in my opinion; if one has failed, how far behind will the second one be? And as you say, you've got 10 of them, so it's not like you have to be stingy with them.

As someone who tends to hold onto things for too long (I finally donated the perfectly good iPhone 4's and 5's I had sitting in a box since Verizon will no longer allow 3G devices to be added to their network), I understand the temptation, but then again, you've got 8 brand new ones if you ever need another one, so what's the advantage to hanging on to a used one? Like that commercial about turning into your parents: When will you need it? Never - throw it away. :D

Jerry Wheeler -

Excellent guide thanks for the roadmap to the fix.

I carried out the steps as described, but I used a hole punch to slice a permanent hole over the screw, so I never had to peel back the base rubber. I thought it might not stick back on nicely if I peeled it back. I also used some very thin foam trim tape instead of the IPhone battery adhesive tape. Worked very well

I also ordered my pogo pins from Digikey, and got them overnight. I ordered Mill-Max pogo pins which are rated for 50-100 thousand cycles. That's quite a bit of coffee. Digikey part number ED9001-ND. Mill-Max part number 0900-1-15-20-75-14-11-0. It's a perfect replacement size. 10 of them cost me about $6 CAD, and I got free shipping because I had other stuff to order.

blairtoblan - Reply

Thanks for the feedback. The rubber on the base has not shown any signs of coming off so far, but yours is a perfectly valid alternative.

I do appreciate the information on replacement parts; the more choices we can offer, the better. I'll add them to the parts list when I get a few minutes.

Jerry Wheeler -

Thanks for the guide. I did the resoldering of the pins a couple of times now. Since this is very difficult for me to align the pins correctly when soldering, i just designed a pcb with the pins ontop and ordered this pcb with the pins already assembled 5 times. now i can easily swap it when the pins break XD

Stefan - Reply

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