Hi collectors! I'm after some advice on the internal batteries inside the DC's. I have a few rare consoles that I only have on display and they don't get powered up. I'm worried that in a few more years time the battery could possibly start leaking and ruin the console. Do you think it would be a good idea to go through them and remove them all? I've already removed all the batteries from the VMU's. Thanks in advanced.
Just remove them. They're just simple coin type batteries...though if I recall correctly they are soldered to a terminal/bracket thing.
Remove them or change them for new ones. But about the VMU, are you talking about display only VMUs, right? You mean that you never pulled the battery tab I suppose. Because is pretty obvious that you need to take the batteries out after their short lives in a VMU... It's wrong to keep depleted batteries in anything, right?
Lithium batteries almost never leak unless they are damaged. Alkaline batteries leak because the anode doubles as part of the seal or sometimes even the casing. Since the anode is consumed to produce electricity they will ALWAYS leak given enough time and will leak sooner if partially or fully discharged. Once they leak they spill potassium hydroxide which reacts with the passivisation layer on most metals eventually eating a hole in anything in it's path. Lithium batteries use a noncorrosive electrolyte because anything stronger will react violently with the lithium. I have never seen a lithium battery leak, if it did leak it wouldn't damage the system the way an alkaline would and even if it could the dreamcast battery is positioned where the damage would not affect the system.
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+Dreamcast+CMOS+Battery/5020/1?revisionid=HEAD Guide, however I have been told that the battery is a weird type that is hard to find, so you may want to replace it with a rechargable AA battery in a holder (http://www.instructables.com/id/Qui...tery-replace/step2/Wiring-the-battery-holder/ was the first tutorial I could find, there is some soldering) (also DON'T PUT IN A NON-RECHARGEABLE BATTERY, THE CONSEQUENCES COULD BE DIREEEEEEE). I'm not sure if it will even work without the battery installed, as it is an integral part of the system.
http://www.mmmonkey.co.uk/oldindex.htm Bottom left, replacement battery for the DC. I sell the holders in my sales thread. Then you can just use ML2032's It will work with no battery, but you will have to set the date etc each time you power on
The VMU's are the limited edition's that come with the console. So I've removed them as they have never been used. I'm still confused now after reading these posts. Tokimemofan's post makes me think I should leave them. I'm also not looking to modify these consoles at all. I'm aware of the battery swap options but I'm not interested in doing that to these consoles.
I've also never seen one of those LiMnO2 cells leak - and by a strict definition removing the batteries is "modifying" them, since they are soldered to the controller PCB and were never designed to be user replaceable.
I've seen people talking about that. It surprises me that some people never heard about the reset glitch. I think I've seen information about all the common Dreamcast problems before owning one. But the issue was about batteries that don't recharge anymore and is a pain to reset the clock everytime the console is turned on. In this case replacing is a solution and anyone that will use the console should replace them. I don't think that hurts "originality" in any way, because you need a working battery to "enjoy" the thing. The same thing applies for almost all Pokémon Gold cartridges out there. That internal clock is known to spend more batteries than the average GBC game and it really need to be replaced sometime. Of course a new battery last more than 10 years but you need a working battery anyway. And, as I don't participate in the used game market, I will never want to buy a game or Dreamcast with a replaced battery, but will replace it myself, of course. But I don't agree that this is a mod. This will be needed sometime.
Old PCs (386/486) used Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) for powering the RTC and settings (what people call CMOS) and these have a tendency to leak. Same with the early SNK Neo Geo MVS hardware (stuff from 1990 to 1993). These DO LEAK, get rid of them while you can.
But the OP sounds like he has no intention of using the console, so having to reset the clock is not an issue, and if he is concerned with "original condition" then that should be with the original battery in it, even if it's dead. Personally, I have replaced the batteries in all my DCs with battery holders and removable batteries - but that's because I intend to use them. The OP seems concerned that they might leak and damage the system, and I've never seen that, not even in machines that have been unused for over a decade.
