Chosen Solution
When replacing the battery on my iPod the battery was so stuck with the adhesive, that when it finally came loose, I severed the orange ribbon cable that goes to the hold switch. As such the iPod thinks it’s eternally on hold. Can I fix it?
The ribbon cables are so small and delicate that repairing the ribbon itself isn’t really an option. However, replacing the headphone jack/hold switch assembly (30 GB or 60/80 GB) is an inexpensive and easy repair. (If you successfully replaced the battery, this will be easy as well for you). Good luck!
You could snip the cable to add a finer cut, but this would not let the ipod go into hold, just turn on, and stay on
