Hey guys, thanks to all your suggestions, I was able to mod my keon. Thought I’d share the pics. I added two adapter ports to the top of the unit (only place they would fit). One is connected to the circuit board, the other to the battery. Now I can connect the power supply for non-stop power, or I can connect the two ports together (to reconnect the original circuit), and can still use the device wirelessly without the wall adapter. I thought this was a good option because it allows the best of both worlds. Just finished modding it, and haven’t put it through its paces yet but everything seems to be working perfectly. I am using a 15v 1.5a wall adapter. It was not easy to get through the plastic at the top of the device (it is very thick), but aside from a few scratches and a little crack, I am happy with the result. Maybe this will help someone in the future. Thanks again to everyone here for their help and advice!
keon runs with 14.8v and runs about 1,6A max - so i think your adapter cannot provide enough amps the volt should be ok. any other problem would be the motors fault. i did not had a good look at this, i dont know if if is brushless or not, maybe someone else had a better look at the motor
Following up, for example. Couldn’t you just cut the wires from the battery side instead of the PCB side and run those wires to a female DC Barrel Jack?
sorry brother i cannot follow you. if you cut the cable between battery and pcb, and and run wires from the pcb to a external powersupply is exactly that whats in the tutorial…
Again, I’m not trying to rewrite your tutorial, just looking for options for people without soldering experience or an iron to use. Do we know what AWG wire the Keon uses for the battery?
Not really, hardest part was creating a hole for the barrel plug (which is optional, you can always just have the wires come out and connect outside but I think the jack looks better)
Had to drill with my smallest bit and work my way up to my largest to ensure I didn’t crack the plate, and then used a dremel tool (though you could use a file) to finish widening the hole.
you can definitely use the Wago terminals in my opinion, I just like to have it soldered firmly.
unfortunately i don’t know the dimensions of the cables, but it feels like 2quad wires, i don’t know what AWG is in your american units of measurement.
when disconnecting the battery, remember to disconnect the cables one after the other.
I used a barel jack and a small switch on mine to still be able to use the battery if I want to.
Both fit at the top of the device, but it is a tight fit.
For wiring I used spare speaker Wire and soldered them to the Power port on the main PCB.
The Switch toggles between the positive terminals of the battery and the external power supply.
The battery still has to be charged with the micro USB Port but is still working if wanted.
The glue and drill job aren’t pretty but can be done better with more patience.
There seems to be a slow battery drain, even when switched to use the external power supply. Could be due to passive current draw of the PCB? Not sure, but also don’t care enough to measure it.
Just posting this in case people are searching for ideas on how where to install the plug.
Considering the low power the device draws, there is basically no wrong switch for as long as it has 3 pins and isn’t too long or wide.
I can’t remember where I bought mine, but these seem to have the same size.
They are just cheap chinese switches and you can find them in a lot of places. Just make sure they aren’t much bigger as there is really not much room in the Keon to work with unless you are willing to mount it to the removable part of the Keon. Repositioning the battery itself may also be an option, but I haven’t looked into that. https://www.amazon.com/DIYhz-50Pcs-Solder-Position-Switch/dp/B0799R529Z/ref=sr_1_67?sr=8-67
Some more Tips and explanation about this:
You connect one of the outer pins to the battery and the other outer pin to the Power Supply Jack and the middle pin you connect to the power input on the main PCB of the Keon, where the battery pack would usually connect to.
When probing there should always only be one of the outer sides connected to the middle pin. When switching from one to the other mode, make sure that there isn’t a point where all 3 pins are connected to each other.
When you are done soldering or however you want to connect them, i would recommend to use hot glue or electrical tape to make sure the wires stay where they are supposed to be and insulating them, as there is only a tiny airgap between pins and wires.
Both negative wires are connected together and connect directly to the negative pin of the Keon PCB.
There seems to be a passive battery draw from the battery somewhere. I still have not looked into it because I have only used the battery twice since modding my Keon.
I had an issue with the Keon that made the battery not charge to full. If charged from empty, it charged for exactly 4 hours and showed a green light, but if you unplugged it and plugged it in again it could charge for another hour or so before showing full. This also showed in battery life.
Anyway, tonight I charged it for 4 hours from empty and it showed green. When i re-plugged it, there was no lights showing and now it even refuses to turn on. It is stone dead with no lights turning on.
I was going to change it from battery to ac adapter using this guide anyway, since battery life is awful. My question is therefore if it is possible to make this change now? Is it safe? Anyone have experience with modding a dead Keon?
I could just try, but it would be nice to know a little more before investing in the extra parts if possible.
If it is just the battery that is dead, you can of course try.
But if it is properly dead, and you still have waranty, then go through that first. Maybe Kiiroo fixes it or replaces the battery or board depending on what is broken.
Instead of trying to probe every contact point and fuse on the board, to figure out what is broken. I would check if the device turns on, if you give it 15 Volt DC, using an external power supply to the 2 pins where the battery connects to the primary board.
If it turns on, great! Then you can start properly modding it. If not, then it probably is something else that broke.
If you are unsure what contacts you would have to connect the power supply to, I can take a photo in a couple of hours.
Of course, disconnect the battery before plugging in an external powersupply.
