I am a biomedical engineer and a user of the medtronic paradigm 522 insulin pump. I have recently ran into the dreaded button error that many people have with this specific pump. I have devised a work-around to make the pump usable again (until a replacement is sent.)
If you peel back the adhesive cover for the buttons, you will see the circuit and metallic part for the buttons…
The button error is caused by moisture getting in between the silver metal and gold contact. Use a blow dryer to drive out any moisture and test out the pump by turning it on
Hopes this helps somebody out there…
I can repair (or try to repair) your pump if you have NO OTHER OPTIONS and have NO INSURANCE. Leave me a message.
Shame on you Medtronic for not being able to repair such a simple problem…
This is interesting info , the button error ; thanks for sharing Mr. Engineer !!..I have had the 522 , well beyond warrenty time …this never happened to me …I will remember your posting with my new Veo .
Did you take the battery out as well ??
The pump is out of warranty and medtronic doesn’t want to fix it. Its a shame that this company is like this and charges $6500 for a piece of equipment that costs no more than $1 to manufacture.
The freezer trick works too but I figured I would explore a more permanent solution. I thought the problem was more internal but its rather very simple and im sure someone can perform this operation if they are out of warranty and have no insurance.
Dude,
My wife just got her CGM this week and has been using it for a couple days now and LOVES it. Unfortunately, she got the dreaded Button Error today. Being a Saturday, it’ll be Monday before the new one arrives. What a pain in the ■■■. But, with a brief Google search, I found your blog with your suggested remedy. I’m an engineer too, so I like to take on challenges like this.
I pulled the cover off the buttons, cleaned everything out and made sure it was all dry and clear and that there wasn’t anything that could close the circuit inadvertently on any of the buttons. Put it back together (not quite in the same shape as it was before I started hacking into it…), and after a couple tries, got the error to clear!
Hopefully this will allow my wife to limp along with her pump until the new one gets here and not have to deal with shots for a couple days. Ever notice how this crap always seems to happen on the weekends?
Anyway, I just wanted to extend my gratitude to you for posting this. I’ve found some solutions to problems through blogs like yours that have made huge differences by saving me time, money, and most importantly, my sanity. So - THANKS KRISPYKRIS!!!
Glad to hear things worked out. It’s kind of ridiculous that a $7000 piece of equipment has a simple issue such as glue failing to keep moisture out. My ipod cost $150 and it can survive way more destruction than the medtronic pumps.
Thank you thank you thank you. Found this via a Google search after yet another button error. Did this. It worked and I am hopeful it will be good until our new pump arrives
