Hello.

My 1st post here...

I have a very hard to describe problem which may be relevant to many iPod owners [old & new versions]... and which may "possibly" explain "short" battery life, and maybe also various other issues.

My problem and my theory:

I have never seen anyone on any ipod forum mention the internal ground tab. Those of you who have removed the back of your iPods may have noticed that there is a thin metal strip which protrudes from the main circuit board [near the firewire port], and which is [not so!!] apparently "designed" to come in contact with the metal back of the case when it is securely on the iPod.

I have a 1st gen 5GB pod that seems to always get the low battery symbol, even though it had been recently fully charged. But I found that if I got the iPod to start up, I could play the entire 125 song list which was 11 full hours, on one charge. But this was only achieved if I did not move the iPod at all.

To try and solve my problem, I was constantly opening up the iPod to unplug the battery contact [as described in various iPod forums... to rejuvinate the battery]. I never really considered that the metal strip must make secure and constant [the key word here is "constant"]contact with the metal case back to maintain the correct continuity. It seems that unless this ground tab is always in perfect contact with the metal back, the "logic" in the battery circuit will be interupted.

Because most people carry their iPods around with them, put them in backpacks, throw them [lightly] on car seats, etc., the ground tab could lose contact with the metal case. Also when you press the buttons on the iPod, you also can exert pressure on the case, which could also cause a loss of contact.

I would like to know if anyone else could verify my theory, or correct me. I am not in any way an "electrical engineer".

Thanks for reading!!