Howsit? I have been reading up on this dead clock capacitor thing. I am now doing a mild mad panic as my XBOX was modified years ago with some sort of mod chip, bigger hard drive and runs the evo dashboard. Now I can mod consoles and stuff no worries, BUT I have never dealt with XBOX mods, only repairs as far as replacing lasers, DVD drive servicing etc. So if I had to replace this due to a leaky battery it would be hard for as I am not good with software and stuff. (I have been wanting to load Sega emulators on it for years but don't know how...) Anyway to replace this capacitor, could I use up to 55F with no issue's? I know it would take longer to charge (and technically last a long time) but would there be anything else? The voltage is correct. I have 2 choices (living in Australia blows sometimes) http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=RE6704 (ouch) or http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cooper-Buss...364?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4604abb044 Cheers EDIT just found this http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=RE6702 Which maybe better
Hmm that looks interesting still require the capacitor. I see in your list you say 0.47uF cap, but in the pic it looks to be a 5v 1.0uF? Is it a standard capacitor, or super cap? Having a look, it seems I have a rev 1.6 board and the clock capacitor is at the back near the drive connector? It is the only 1F 2.5v capacitor on there that I can see. Jaycar is convenient as they are about 15minutes away, I have a trade card as well, so it is slightly cheaper. Apparently they are putting anew store in the next suburb which would be nice. Also am able to get stuff from their suppliers (electus or soanarplus) if I want bulk something, no point in getting small amounts due to postage. EDIT Found some 10F 2.5v on ebay, works out to be about $10 each with delivery. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...akeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en or buy 6F in bulk ($1.80Au each) http://www.ebay.com/itm/6F-2-7V-far...706?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ccaf7d68a EDIT ver2 Ended up purchasing 10x 10F 2.5v a smidge under $3.10 from Canada.
What is that capacitor used for in this circuit? Would be good if i just solder an aerogel cap on a stripboard like that, and connect it to the motherboard with two wires like the picture? Maybe we can also put the stripboard in a safe place, if there's any, where battery or cap leaking is not a problem. I have a 1.0, still untouched, and also need to fix this ASAP, before it blowns.
The goal is to keep it charged longer and it would appear that it does that. Thing is 2032s are pricy for how quickly they will run out holding the clock on the XBox. Just isn't really worth it overall.
Just throw in a 2.4v Ni-Mh rechargeable cell battery - something like Varta Mempac (with the solder tags). I've used them in VCR's before, and they kept the date and channel info for roughly seven months. The laptop CMOS ones should be fine to use also. They take longer to charge up, but regular use of the console for a couple of days will top them up.
I've replaced clock batteries in two Dreamcasts with the reuseable battery caddies, and would like to give this mod a shot with my Xbox. I suppose I should remove that cap before it becomes a serious problem, although the one thing I'm a bit confused about is what the capacitor in this custom circuit board is for. I can probably assemble one without too much fuss but I'd like to have a full understanding of what I'm looking at before I try to put it together. Really the only system I've come across that had a sensible solution for changing the clock battery is the Sega Saturn, since you don't even need to open it up. Unfortunately it's a non rechargeable battery so it doesn't last as long, but I wish more manufacturers would have gone with that design. The capacitor on the Xbox is just plain stupid and I don't know what MS was thinking, but I'd surely be happy to correct it in my system.
Do you want to retain functionality? If not the Xbox will still work if you just take some snips to the capacitor and remove that way and if you use a dash like xbmc, it updates the time from the internet anyway.
I want to install XBMC eventually, but for the time being I just want to fix the clock so it will keep time correctly, and I don't have to keep resetting it. It also seems like a good way to try my hand at making a circuit board.
The cr2032 won't hold enough power to keep it working for long, then once it's dead you have to replace it. That's why they used the cap (which doesn't last very long anyway). Only way to keep the time is to leave power plugged in. Cap just let's you unplug and move it around. If you want it to keep time, just replace the cap with a high quality one. Don't bother with the cr2032, the xbox draws far too much power for it to last any decent amount of time. That circuit basically just uses the cap anyway. There has been quite a bit of info on this forum over the years, but only one I could find with a quick search that touches on the subject is here: http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/original-xbox-fail-clock-capacitor-replacement.52952/page-2
That's all I did. I'm not at all comfortable with my soldering skills (I've done very little soldering, so soldering a capacitor onto a working motherboard might be a gamble), so I just snipped the old capacitor off the motherboard by it's legs, and the XBox still works fine, except now it loses it's time and data data as soon as it's unplugged, which isn't a problem as it's always plugged in. You can't do this for later XBox's (v1.6?) so I've heard, but it worked for mine (v.14, I think), and I think it works for v1.0 to 1.3 as well.
Correct, on a 1.6 board the clock cap is up near the IDE connector and is 100% vital to the xbox's function and cannot be removed, nor have I ever seen a need to remove the clock cap on a 1.6. Never had one fail.
Hi all the information is correct xbox 1.0,1.1,1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5 you can remove the clock capacitor no problem,i have a xbox v1.0 without the clock capacitor and is working 100%,but for the last motherboard revision 1.6 this one need the capacitor to function.
So if the battery is not a good option, what would be a good heavy-duty replacement capacitor to replace the old one with? If I go through with replacing the capacitor, I will likely wire it up in such a way that it's not directly attached to the mobo just in case it goes bad again. Just removing the capacitor is sounding like an alright option now too though, because from the sounds of it the capacitor was never very good at keeping time other than during the occasional blackout or moving the system around the house. My Xbox doesn't move around much, and unlike a Dreamcast with a dead battery it at least keeps time when it's plugged in.
