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Topic: Learning to replace save batteries

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dbakes4

Hi, I had picked up a Game Boy Color after not owning one in the '90s. I had NES & SNES, but no handhelds. I picked up Donkey Kong '94, but the save battery was shot. I initially tried to replace it using an electrical tape method because I don't know how to solder. That didn't work for me. I couldn't get a consistent connection for the saves to stick. I then got adventurous & tried to solder it in myself. I didn't have a battery with the solder tabs attached. They did it for me at a Batteries Plus store. After looking online to do this, I tried soldering it myself, but I wasn't successful.

For those that replace save batteries, how did you learn to do it? I'm also looking for ways that I may be able to learn that is more hands on than YouTube or online articles. I think I need someone with experience to teach me, mainly to say that I'm doing it wrong. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

dbakes4

OneBagTravel

What a coincidence. This past weekended I replaced 12 save batteries in my recently purchased Game Boy games. I borrowed a co-workers soldering kit and purchased the CR1616 batteries with tabs on ebay. I've never really soldered anything but I watched enough tutorials on YouTube to help me out. My advice would be if you do solder, make sure the soldering iron is clean of all debris and residue. There can be a build up of carbon on the end of the tip that would prevent the soldering from heating to the proper temp to melt. I found this out the hard way with my first attempt. After using steel wool to clean and tin the tip I was swapping batteries really quick.

This tutorial is the best I've seen on what you need and how to solder the joints.

One thing that didn't really work for me was the copper braiding. I blame the low temp solder gun I used for that.

I heated up the joints to get the battery off of the board, then flattened out the solder, placed the new battery down and added a little solder over top to sandwich the new connection in.

Solder hardens almost instantly so it's really hard to heat it and then seat the connection in which is why I used the sandwich method.

In conclution, I'm proof that someone with next to zero soldering skills can in fact swap out the batteries of a Game Boy cartridge the right way. The only thing I'd say is make sure you have a good clean tip and tin the solder gun before going to work. The solder should easily melt once applied.

What you need:
CR1616 batteries with tabs
Game Boy security bit
Soldering kit

Edited on by OneBagTravel

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Mk_II

Just buy batteries WITH solder tabs. They are more expensive but soldering batteries is actually hard to do well and can be dangerous. If the battery gets too hot, it can explode right in your face.

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FriedSquid

I'm not sure how you're going to find anything more hands-on than Youtube while still asking on an Internet forum, but...
I've only done it on Gameboy cartridges but I learned how to do it from this video.

If you're having trouble getting the battery to stick, you probably didn't press the solder tabs close enough to the battery or didn't wrap the tape tightly enough. Personally I think if you're careful enough to not make mistakes it's a lot easier and safer than soldering.

Edited on by FriedSquid

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