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Broken battery holder (not answered as of 3 replies)

M

mogallin

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 21, 2008
58
0
Edit: Clumsy me, of course I managed to break the battery holder (the little metal thing connecting to the + of the battery) Any chances of fixing it without replacing the motherboard or such?

Every time I disconnect the power cord from my 2008 Mac Pro the system time is reset and my key-chain starts fuzzing (I have to re-enter my e-mail password).

What could be the problem and what solutions are there?

I'm thinking maybe it's the battery but I would like to hear from someone who knows a bit better, that is you lot :), before I try to correct the problem.
 
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Thanks for your quick reply. I guess I'll be looking for a new battery then...
 
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if u have a LED diode that's a pretty handy way to check if those flat batteries are working
 
Mac Pro pram battery holder

Same problem.. Used paper clip and tape. Worked a little but vibration broke contact. Looking for replacement ideas.
 
Used MoBo? How's your soldering skill? Have you contacted Apple? Do you have Applecare? It won't be covered but maybe they can take pity on you. A 1.50 plastic holder should not set the user back 800.00 for a new logic board.
 
Had this happen to me a while back. The top clip busted off. I pulled the board out, carefully desoldered the broken battery holder from the rear, pulled it out with needle nose pliders (they put it in there real good).

Then I took an old battery holder off an old mother board that was laying around, popped it in, soldered it down. Done deal. The new holder did not have a top clip, instead, it's positive (+) contact was on the side of the holder, and then a small pin or clip on the bottom of the plastic unit which picked up the negative (-) charge. Funny how some junky CMOS battery holder from some motherboard used in a 2001 HP Pavillion is more strudy.

You can probably find a motherboard CMOS battery holder off the internet for a few bucks if you don't have any laying around. As I'm sure you know, its just like any other computer in there. If you have the soldering skills, don't be afraid to go to town!

Good luck.
 
Mac Pro 1.1 Broken Clip On Pram Battery Holder

I was able to purchase a CR 2032 Battery Holder at the local Radio Shack: CR2032 Battery Holder Catalog #: 270-009. This cost $1.19. I have purchased from Amazon "MG Chemicals Silver Conductive Epoxy"
This cost $36.95 plus $2.00 for shipping. This cures in 5 hrs at 75 deg. and 15 min. at 150 degrees ( hair dryer temps).

Tomorrow, I will open up the unit, and pull the upgraded Radeon 5770 video card which blocks access to the battery holder. If all goes well, I will post my results some time tomorrow. I upgraded the video card recently so I could use Final Cut Pro X. This upgrade has gone well, and Final Cut Pro on this old, old Mac Pro works well.

Please note, I am not putting the battery holder back in the same place, I will reroute the wires to the rear of the case, possibly out through one of the slots for the PCI cards.
 
Broken Pram Battery Holder On Mac Pro 1.1

The MG Silver Epoxy did the trick. Will post youtube video later. Up and running with the battery installed.
 
Thanks to both of you for your replies. Looking forward to seeing that youtube video :)
 
gregspeck said:
Please note, I am not putting the battery holder back in the same place, I will reroute the wires to the rear of the case, possibly out through one of the slots for the PCI cards.
Click to expand...

Mega kudos for your DIY repair.

But why do you want the battery dangling outside your case?
 
I know this thread is so old but, I just had this happen to me last night. I can't believe the metal snapped so easily, as I just tried to pry the battery out with a guitar pick.

I read all of the above posts, and unless I'm missing something - has anyone simply tried just soldering the piece that snapped at the breaking point? I am not a pro at soldering by any means so, I don't know if this idea is completely ludicrous.

Also, I've read some other forums - from experience does this really affect the computer other than Date and Time?
 
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