The lid safety switch failed, in the on position!
I had to disassemble the whole thing, without touching its touch sensitive activator thing or the electrodes, to desolder the negative battery wire.
Yes the thing was live the whole time, I got damn lucky I didn’t electrocute and burn the shit out of myself in the process!
I’ll be keeping the metal case and screws and pins in a separate bag and keep everything put up in a box for a rainy day repair, when/if ever I find a proper replacement button.
My mom had bought this for me as a 2023 Christmas present. I’ve already had to do maintenance, cleaning and repairs on it over 20 times since I got it, and they highly recommend you don’t ever open them up, exactly because of the risk of electrocution.
Generally it is actually safe to disassemble, as long as you don’t open the lid while servicing. But this was different, the lid safety switch got stuck on…
Sigh, it’s been a good run, it’s lasted me about 21 months, but I guess I’ll be going back to good old fashioned Bic lighters. ☹️
Why didn’t you just let it run out of juice to reduce the risks?
You can’t run those things continuously, it’ll get way too hot and melt the electrode wires.
Now that it’s safe and disabled, later on I might try soaking the board in rubbing alcohol, cleaning it, and agitating the button a bit.
It’s probably just as simple as nicotine residue buildup inside the button.