I recently got a used Ricoh sc2 for next to nothing. The lens was broken, thus the low cost. Figured I would try my hand at replacing it. However, I could not get the camera to boot up or charge. When I took the unit apart (saw signs that someone had taken it apart before) I found that there was no battery!
Any Idea where I can get a replacement battery for the sc2? I know officialy the battery is not replaceble, but it looks like the battery just plugs into a 4 or 5 pin connector on the circuit board. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on sending it into the factory since it still needs the lens replaced, and I don’t even know if the camera will work with a new battery. Any Ideas?
Does the size of the empty battery slot look the same as the battery in the picture in the article below.
For the V, I used an LI-92B from amazon. I don’t know if it is the same for the SC2.
This is the style of battery you require, i am have a problem where my unit dies if a power bank is not connected. I suspect the battery BMS. I may try source one but the power bank met my curiosity requirements. The unit was bought faulty for very little and is fully operational until i remove the power bank.
the unit in the picture may be an m15, not sc2.
You can get an inline power meter to see the current draw. You can try applying voltage directly to the pins.
modifications by other people on the S model
Hi the unit (My picture / Camera) is the SC2, it works perfectly like i said with a power bank, it charges etc etc but it would appear the battery BMS board is not reporting correctly. Or the battery is defective. I may try removing and using my bench PSU do some tests. I may also graph the results from my oscilloscope. I do however suspect the battery is the culprit.
On the lens swap, i have semi successfully swapped lenses easy enough, but be wary removing the metal outer ring as too much pressure will separate the lens housing from the sensor. Almost impossible to realign. I did manage on a sc model as i had 3 units to sacrifice.
if you take the battery out of the unit, does it hold a charge and output within the battery spec?
Is that whole gray rectangle the battery? Or, is it a covering for the DB-110 battery?
Hi, the battery is a lipo, the white sticker is a label on the battery. As you can see its quite a bit larger than the older style battery in previous units.
The unit has been left in a drawer for several months but had a little charge left in it, but I can’t be sure as I don’t trust the battery level because I suspect its faulty.
Finally managed to source a replacement battery for the SC2, i may record the replacement and findings if anyone is interested.
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I think people would be very interested in whatever information you have time to supply. Even a link to the replacement battery would be useful.
There are many SC2 units on the market and I suspect that many people will experience the end of life battery problem in the coming years.
After your success, you could even develop a side hobby of buying used SC2s with dead batteries, replacing the battery and reselling them.
I will record the process & see how it goes, the battery is currently in transit, expected soon. It may be of use to someone, once confirmed working i will provide a link to the battery.
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@HiStephenT Yes, please, if you test and get good information, please post here so it can help others in the community. 
So after what seemed like an eternity my new battery arrived, took about half an hour to install fully. Later on i will upload some installation shots.
oh, nice. wow, that does seem like a long time. when you have time, can you post the model number of the battery as well.
I will do, i assume it traveled by sea due to the Lipo? Anyway, i can confirm it has resolved all the camera issues. The unit now stays on when i attempt to use it, before the replacement it would shut down after 2 photos or if i tried video it would shut down instantly. The unit would however work with a power bank installed, The original battery is ever so slightly bloated.
So here is the shots as promised, its a picture heavy post… Its gonna take 5 posts due to 5 picture limit…
Step 1. Remove the plastic sticker carefully using needle tweezers. Then remove all the screws from the base 6off. Once these are removed pry the Theta apart with a plastic pry tool.
New Battery
Ricoh Theta SC2
This is after using the pry tool to separate the Theta SC2
Note the Cable colour at the connector. More on this next post……
Just a shot of the lens housing etc… Note the original battery is now removed.
The battery is held down with double sided sticky tape, the small rectangle battery connector can be seen here.
Battery Tray
Old battery removed
New battery in place but i made a huge mistake. Anyone notice?
New Battery ready t connect but THIS is where i messed up.
I didn’t look at my own removal photos! I placed the connector the wrong way and bent the pins badly… Microscope time….
As you can see from my microscope 2x pins are bent over.
I managed to easily straighten them out via the microscope an high quality tweezers. NOTE THE RED CABLE TO THE BASE IS THE CORRECT POSITION.
Pins now repaired……
All Working. I can write a more descriptive piece but the iPad is not the best choice for this tonight.
I will provide a link to where i bought the battery but please note is took around 50 days to arrive for me,
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Wow, congratulations! Big win for you. You could go on eBay and try and find old SC2s with a dead battery, replace the battery and resell it as a hobby.
There’s gotta be a lot of SC2s out there with a dying batter.
Man, what a win for you.
Thanks for sharing this.
I got this Pink unit from eBay for basically nothing, I only bought it to repair and fault find. Turns out the battery was very easy to diagnose. It’s in perfect condition TBH.
On a seperate note, since upgrading to iOS 18.01 the theta+ app will not render an animated photo? Video is fine so i assume a new permission or app update in general will be required…
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did you update the firmware inside the SC2?
You can use the basic desktop app or the mobile app.
What camera firmware version are you using?
I am not aware of any problems displaying the live preview, motionjpeg even with the newer version of iOS 18.
I can view all photos fine, from the editor it completes the render fine but can’t save the edit of an animated photo. It was working pre iOS 18.
I am on firmware 1.90 and all software updated. I may connect to the pc tomorrow.