The thing shown on the flying lead over the keyboard in the first pic looks to me like a microphone rather than a battery cell. Are you sure is is a battery?

The connections on the PCB being labeled M- and M+ might indicate mic as well.

There may be a battery underneath the PCB in the upper part of the last photo.

The dangly thing looks more like an Electret Microphone than a battery. The latter are usually a slim button cell held by a clip on the board. Maybe on the other side, or possibly the other black red wired thing marked F201…

I don't believe it's a battery problem though.

With LCDs I always suspect the connector, which is often a Zebra type. One edge of the LCD is just pressed against a kind of foam strip. They work well except for damp, dirt or being physically displaced. As no real power is needed to drive the display, a press fit is more than good enough and they're not brilliantly secured or water-proof. The backlight uses power and is probably wired. So it's possible to have a backlit LCD showing nothing because the zebra needs attention.

Find the LCD and lift or slide it off the connector. Often secured with plastic hooks liable to break, but could be an easy job. Make sure the LCD edge and spongy strip are both dry and clean. No guarantees, but I've used meths on them without doing any damage! Reassemble, cross-fingers, sacrifice a virgin and all will be well…

Dave

I've repaired and modified several different trailcam's and although none identical to yours I would say 100% that it does not have a battery for the memory that retains the settings.

Like you I dont like to accept that some devices are throw away but probably even the manufacturer (or the factory making the PCB) would scrap it if it failed tests before it was even assembled into the product. It would only be re-worked if the fault was minor or the component cost warranted it.

One think worth trying (if the zebra strip solutions above dont work) is to minutely examine every component and soldered joint to see if the fault is visible. Surprising as in may seem the fault may not be electronic (as in a failed IC or faulty resistor) but may be 'mechanical'.

By mechanical I mean dry joints, cracked track, oxidised contact surface, connector contacts not making good contact because the plastic housing has distorted. A few minutes work examining a faulty piece of equipment can point to the likely fault even without connecting it to a power supply, traces of leaked electrolyte or even slightly discoloured resistors can be big giveaways. Not likely to be anything overheated in a battery trailcam but high humidity or dampness has killed several that I have seen.

Ian P

The battery mentioned earlier was was for memory retention. the trap itself has a bunch of AA cells (not visible in the pictures)

Ian P

The pod that you thought was a small battery may be as already suggested be a mic but also could be a photo sensitive cell for day and night filming IE normal colour during the daylight hours and some sort of infra red for the hours of darkness

Edited By Derek Lane on 16/11/2020 16:11:48

Edited By Derek Lane on 16/11/2020 16:12:13

Edited By Derek Lane on 16/11/2020 16:13:02

https://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/threads/bushnell-trail-cam-problem-repairs.62689/

Good luck, Bear..