I just took the wife's original Pinnacle Pro apart because it failed (blinky lights, no heat, then no lights).
I've read a lot of complaints from other users about failure, warranty headaches, etc. I've also found photos to
replace the cap on the top of the vape. Here's my 2c . . .
(I can't post a new thread because I'm a newbie here. This will have to do.)
First,
do NOT ever run the battery dead, or even nearly dead. This battery type (Li-Ion) will be destroyed by running it too low. Read this post before trying to change the battery.
To disassemble the Pinnacle Pro vape,
you do NOT need to remove the switch/lamp cover on the front. You will need a
small screwdriver (the kind used to fix eyeglass frames worked fine for me). A
small pair of pliers (needle-nosed pliers) will come in very handy. Obtain a spray can of
CRC brand "QD" Electronic Cleaner (red and white can, I found it at Home Depot with the auto supplies, or get it from Amazon) or similar. If you're using another product, spray some on your hand; it should not leave any residue.
It's clear my Pinnacle's failure was caused by corrosion on the printed circuit board. This is an incredibly lame reason for failure -- this much corrosion should not have occurred. It never got wet or exposed to weather, etc. This is just poor manufacturing process and chemistry.
To take it apart, find three slits on each side, near the top. Note that each center slit has a small block inside it. This is a simple locking tab that extends downward. There is enough room between the bottom of the tab and the bottom of the slit to insert your screwdriver or similar tool. Press on the tab (or just below it) hard enough to move the tab inward and it will clear the top of the slit. Twist the screwdriver just below the tab (against the bottom edge of the slit) and the cap will move upwards slightly on that side, just enough to lock the top of the tab under the top of the slit. Repeat on the other side and both tabs should be clear of their slits. The cap will be raised very slightly, almost too little to notice.
Use the pliers to pull gently on the rim of the cap. After the cap has lifted about 1 inch, mine stopped moving. Gently, gradually wiggle it with modest pulling force to pull the entire assembly out of the black body of the vape.
My model has a plastic sheet with imprinted conductors on it to attach the PC board to the black plastic cap/heater assembly. Photos I've seen on this forum show insulated wires used instead. If you're changing the cap, wires are far more durable. If you have the plastic sheet and want to change the cap, be VERY gentle with it. Repairing the conductor traces on the plastic sheet is impractical. The sheet solution is a cheap, quick foolproof method at the factory level, but is not repair-friendly.
The battery cell is an 18650 with welded tabs (18mm diameter, 65.0mm long). It is very commonly used in vapes, tobacco vapes, laptop battery packs, high power flashlights, Tesla automobiles, etc. Some 18650's are just slightly longer due to a safety circuit, and this package is a tight fit, and vendors rarely publish the exact length, so YMMV.
If you are replacing the battery, treat it with tremendous respect and recycle/dispose the old cell properly. This battery, if shorted out, can quickly start a chemical fire -- very hot, very difficult to extinguish.
Not a toy. Do not buy a $1 or $2 battery on eBay -- they're all fakes/counterfeits and you will be disappointed. Anything advertising over 3,200 mAH is a fake. Consider tearing open an old laptop battery pack to get a high-quality cell, but be very careful. Genuine batteries often have no logo, just strings of letters and numbers printed on them. Expect to spend $4 or more,
and make sure it has solder tabs already spot-welded on to each end (
not the "bare" terminals used for flashlights), and read some reviews online for 18650 brands and suppliers. The Samsung battery in my Pinnacle is a high-quality battery that should last 3 to 5 years or more if treated well (always around room temperature, never run it too low).
Upon disassembly,
I found a ridiculous amount of corrosion. Since it was all at the very top and the very bottom of the board, I expect, as she claims, that my wife did not get it wet (the center of the board was pristine). She does keep it in the bathroom, but it's not unfair to expect a properly manufactured modern appliance to tolerate that environment.
(The bottom right corner shows total destruction from corrosion. Those two resistors to the left look pretty ratty, too.) This part of the board is the power supply/charging circuit.
(Photo above is the bottom left corner. This sort of damage grows over time, thus the one-year warranty.)
(The yellow tape surround above that holds the battery in place has corrosion underneath it. The "J3" component is the pushbutton power switch. This area holds switching components. Oddly enough, the center with the logic pieces was untouched, shown in the next photo.)
Corrosion gradually eats away and moves the pieces of the metal conductors, causing open circuits (where metal should be) and short circuits (where conductors should not be). Remove enough to prevent shorts, but not so much that a needed conductor is eliminated.
If your vape has corrosion, hold it over the sink or trash can and spray it down with the CRC spray. Use a gentle brush to remove stubborn deposits. Let it dry for 10 minutes before powering it on. If it works, turn it off and return it to the black case. "If it ain't fix, don't broke it."
My reassembly was a little "sticky" when I reached the 1 inch mark again on the cap. Be gentle, wiggle it, don't force it, tolerances are quite tight.
If you're replacing the battery, you'll need a solder pencil, electronics solder and a damp folded paper towel to keep the tip clean. Carefully remove the paper insulators from each end. Make sure you have the correct polarity (button/positive/red wire at the bottom) and desolder each wire from the welded tab. Do some research and then practice on some scrap pieces if you've never soldered before. A colored plastic sheath around the battery insulates the end of the battery where the positive and negative (case) terminals are extremely close together -- a dangerous shorting hazard, so don't melt or break this plastic coating. Re-glue the paper insulators to each end. The clear tape surrounding the battery/PC board is fragile and will likely fail and need to be replaced, or use a small dab of hot-melt glue or silicone near the center to hold the battery in place. The weak tape (seen in the lower photos) suggests there isn't any strain on the battery, but it's good practice and holds everything in place during assembly.
The warranty on the Pinnacle Pro is one year and requires the receipt. Far too many complaints online suggest their customer service ranges from very poor to infuriating, but those may be older reviews. One poster was able to obtain the email address of the owner of the company and got rapid results (but didn't publicize the address), so maybe that's what it takes. Some suggest posting to the company's Facebook feed, but others note that unsavory comments are quickly removed. Their one-year timeframe suggests they expect you to buy another one every few years (my wife is on her third one, since she really likes this model's features).
I've seen a lot of broken stuff over the years, and this was, by far, the worst case of corrosion ever. The large component in the bottom left corner was so damaged that one pin was completely eaten away. This Pinnacle Pro worked again, just one time, during the cleaning process. By the time I'd finished brushing it off, enough metal had been lost that it never worked again. The technical term for this type of failure is "planned obsolescence."