That darned Dreamcast battery!

[liveinabin]

I'm thinking of giving the Dreamcast an airing again. Problem is, and the reason that it's not active at the moment, is the battery. Dead as a dead thing I'm afraid. Won't charge up at all.

 

I thought that, like the Saturn, that you could remove the battery but - oh no, it's a permanent fixture. I'm sure battery death has happened to other DCers on this board, how did you change it?

[figgler]

I guess I'm green, but what the hell's the battery for?

[joeybastard]

I'd assume for the clock/date settings but I always just reset them if the DC has been unplugged for a while(very very rare for that to happen).

[HawgWyld]

I'd assume for the clock/date settings but I always just reset them if the DC has been unplugged for a while(very very rare for that to happen).

 

Same here. When he said "battery," I thought he was talking about one in the VMU for some reason. Didn't know there was a battery in the console.

[Adrian M]

Well, the manual did state that one should plug in the system and allow the battery to "charge" for a few hours before powering up the console.

[Lemmi]

I'd assume for the clock/date settings but I always just reset them if the DC has been unplugged for a while(very very rare for that to happen).

 

 

mine always is plugged in and if i leave it sit for 1 day the time and date return to 1998, i dont even bother setting that damn thing anymore

 

Dead as a dead thing I'm afraid. Won't charge up at all

 

so it wont even power on?

what kind of set up is that for a console?

that totally sucks if true

[Raijin Z]

Feh, it's a CR2032 like in everything else, and it's easy to change. This didn't need a thread.

[liquidcross]

Feh, it's a CR2032 like in everything else, and it's easy to change. This didn't need a thread.

No, the battey is welded to the pins. You'd need to buy a new battery AND holder for it, then solder it all back in. That's doesn't qualify as "easy to change" for most people.

[liveinabin]

Raijin, if it was a regular battery, I would have changed it like I did my Saturns.

 

It is hardwired (well, soldered in anyway). I've had it on 24 hours solid to charge and nothing. It's dead.

[Susuwatari]

I'll have to look inside my DC but I don't think they are rechargeable type but rather a lithium battery that's good for a few years or so then it goes dead. Like those batteries used in save games for NES carts.

 

IIRC it's on the board with the controller ports so getting to it should be easy. But getting a new one with the leads already welded on isn't something you can find at your local rat shack. You could get plain CR2032 and try to solder wires on it but the battery's liable to exploded from the heat.

[Raijin Z]

I have no electronics training and I replaced mine with a $5 soldering kit. Even put in a holster for easy removal at a later date. The holster was all of 80 cents. Too bad my operation on The Legend of Zelda wasn't as successful.... u_u It randomly erases, even though the connection never breaks, and the battery is brand new.

[liveinabin]

Ah, so it isn't that straightforward

 

I'm a little concerned to solder straight on to a battery, for obvious heat damage reasons.

[Ze_ro]

I'd assume for the clock/date settings but I always just reset them if the DC has been unplugged for a while(very very rare for that to happen).

 

The battery also powers some ram that holds the settings for your modem so that games can dial out without you having to enter the phone number every single time. I'm not sure whether or not the same ram is used for BBA settings or not.

 

Unless you need to take your Dreamcast online at all (except for the web browser, nothing really works anymore anyways), there isn't much point in replacing the battery. It can get annoying resetting the clock every time you turn it on... but who cares about the time anyways? Aside from some minor effects in a handful of games, and timestamping your save files, it's not used for anything...

 

--Zero

[JB]

I would recommend:

Cut the tabs.

Solder a real socket to the tabs.

Drop a standard battery into the socket.

[Rockin' Kat]

Oh, just thought I'd pop in and mention this... if you're going to replace the battery with a non-rechargeble battery you'll want to look into making a minor change to the system so it wont try to recharge the new battery before putting in the new battery.

[Susuwatari]

Here's an easier way: chop off the old battery and solder in those 3v wireless phone batteries. They already have wires attached and they are usually small enough not to cause problem.

[VidGameKing]

Well, the manual did state that one should plug in the system and allow the battery to "charge" for a few hours before powering up the console.

 

I'm amazed Adrian, that you'd care about a product from Sega enough to actually read the manual!

[goatdan]

Yeah, I don't really get it... Sega designed everything else to function so well, but totally screwed up when it came to the battery. All my Dreamcasts reset the date / time if they are unplugged for more than a few hours. I've realized though that for the most part, the DC date / time isn't necessary. It only affects a few games -- Seaman being one of them, I think.

[Adrian M]

Yeah, I don't really get it...  Sega designed everything else to function so well, but totally screwed up when it came to the battery.  

 

Hmm...maybe it's just me, but I think Sega truly dropped the ball when it came to their choice of optical disc drive. The DC has to be the most noisey and gratingly loud system I've ever owned. It sounds as if the drive head has sandpaper on it or something.

 

Lord help you if you ever fire up one of the ODCM demo discs...

[Stingray]

I agree with you there Adrian, that is one seriously noisy drive.

 

-S

[VidGameKing]

The drive is not as loud as it could be though! Have you guys ever used Toshiba CD-ROMs in your computers? I mean the O-L-D ones! like, 4X-16X speeds? those are some of the LOUDEST rom drives I have ever heard! but then again, their quality and durability make them some of the most commom to see old school CD-ROM drives around today!

[HawgWyld]

Yeah, the DC drive isn't so bad, really.

[VidGameKing]

also it all depends on how loud you have your sound system turned up! the louder the gameplay, the quieter the drive gets!

[HawgWyld]

also it all depends on how loud you have your sound system turned up! the louder the gameplay, the quieter the drive gets!

 

Heh. True! Plus, I tend to have my satellite tuned to the beloved 1980s station while playing games, anyway (I'm truly showing my age here, I'm afraid). A good song by The Call (or, whoever) interferes with the racket the DC makes even more.

[VidGameKing]

The Cars, they'er a good band to play gems to.