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Change Battery On Indigo R4K
From Higher Intellect Vintage Wiki
THE INDIGO BATTERY FAQ V1.01 Last modified: 10. January 2004 (V1.00 -> V1.01) Maintained by: [email protected] URL: http://www.g-lenerz.de/sgistuff/documents/indigo-battery-faq.txt ======================================================================= Index ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Index Part 1: General 1.1 Signs of battery failure 1.2 Effects of battery failure 1.3 What to do 1.4 Before you start Part 2: Changing the battery 2.1 Obtaining the battery 2.2 On Indigo R3K Systems 2.3 On Indigo R4K Systems 2.4 When finished Legal ======================================================================= Part 1: Changeing the battery ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Signs of battery failure When the onboard battery of the Indigo fails while the machine is running nothing happens until the next time the machine is shut down and then switched on again. When the battery is empty the Indigo refuses to boot. It constantly repeats the following error message: Initializing tod clock. setting secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0 Can't set tod clock. 1.2 Effects of battery failure The Indigo does not boot until it has a new battery. After that the date/time is wrong but aside from that nothing really bad happens (usually). Other systems as for example old Sun Sparcstations (IPC or IPX) forget important data like the ethernet MAC adress when the battery in their NVRAM fails. 1.3 What to do The solution to the battery problems is the same as on a cheap flashlight: Replace the old battery with a new one. Sounds easy but it is slightliy more difficult. On both types of Indigos (R3K and R4K - see Indigo Versions FAQ for details) the battery is located on the CPU board. In the R3K Indigo it is put in a "socket", in the R4K models it is soldered in place. 1.4 Before you start Before describing the procedure in detail it is time to adress the reader (especially the ones who have to work on an R4K Indigo). Begin your work only if you know what you are doing and you have the right tools at hand. If you are not sure or have no experience at all in working on electronic equipment please ask someone experienced to help you. Although the procedure is not that difficult there is a chance to do real damage to the computer. The descriptions won't mention how to take the parts out of the Indigo and how they are placed back in. There are good descriptions in the Indigo Owners guide for that. Read the appropriate sections carefully! ======================================================================= Part 2: Changing the battery ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1 Obtaining the Battery The battery type used in the Indigo R4000 systems is a Tadiran TL-5186 (the one on R3000 systems looks the same and maybe is as well a TL-5186). A battery with the same dimensions and technical data is a Sonnenschein SL-340 which might be easier to obtain in some places (Austria, Germany, Netherlands and maybe Europe in general). 2.2 On Indigo R3K Systems Changing the battery on R3K systems is pretty simple. The battery is on the right side of the board close to its edge hidden below the dummy that can be replaced with a GIO card. After removing the dummy the old battery can be taken out of its "socket" and be replaced by a new one. The "socket" is actually only a small rubber strap that holds the battery in place. Attention! Make sure that you do NOT insert the battery the wrong way. This may cause damage to the mainboard and leave you with a dead system. 2.3 On Indigo R4K Systems The situation on R4K Indigos is a bit more complicated. The battery is located on the CPU board right below the CPU module but it is soldered in place. It is not too difficult to find the pins from the battery on the back of the board. The procedure itself is pretty obvious and not too difficult with the right tools and a second person that helps holding the board and pulls on the battery while the first works with the desoldering tools and pays attention that no parts get damaged, burned or whatever bad can happen. Clean the soldering points after the battery has been removed and solder the new one in place. Attention! Make sure that you do NOT insert the battery the wrong way. This may cause damage to the mainboard and leave you with a dead system. 2.4 When finished When booting the Indigo for the first time after replacing the battery enter maintenance mode and go into the PROM monitor. Set the clock and boot the machine. Everything should work fine now. ======================================================================= Legal ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The entire document is an unofficial resource written by SGI users for other SGI users. All information is presented AS IS and comes without any warranties (although there should be no big mistakes) The trademarks used herein are property of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) or Mips Technologies, Inc. Permission granted to distribute this document on Usenet, Internet or other nets in two cases: 1) As a complete document including its header and this legal note. 2) Parts of it including proper citatation (i.e. Title and URL)