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OS/2 - Technical => Hardware => Topic started by: steve b on 2010.01.20, 20:25:13

Title: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: steve b on 2010.01.20, 20:25:13
I think I have found THE machine, except ..... .I have soldering/mechanical skills, if that is even required. According to seller, machine has to have date reset if taken off battery and AC. 2687 series just off lease. Thanks for all your help. Steve
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: DougB on 2010.01.20, 21:46:36
Those batteries are all plug in types. The problem may be in locating one.

If you google on the machine type (mine is an 1871) and "manual" you should find a link to the maintenance manual for your machine. That will tell you exactly how to change the battery, along with a lot of other good information.
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: steve b on 2010.01.20, 22:09:54
Thanks, Doug. I rooted around enough and found a good pic on ThinkWiki, and concluded what you posted, hard part is getting the battery. Steve
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: RobertM on 2010.01.21, 06:53:34
Hi Steve,

The batteries themselves are standard. I think they are simply CR2025 or CR2032 batteries (I dont recall which is in that particular model). If you are good at cold soldering, you can pull the wires off the old one and place them onto a new battery. A piece of big enough shrink tube or teflon "stretch" tape can be used to replace the original (usually yellow) outer jacket.

I've replaced a few that way when needed (for instance, when the wired IBM one was only available at $60+).

Best,
Robert
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: Sigurd on 2010.01.21, 15:00:20
Hi Steve,

don't know if this is mentioned before: one can find here:

http://www.lenovoservicetraining.com/

nice videos about assembling / dissassembling Thinkpads and Lenovo Hardware at all. I used them to do this with the SL 300 that I had before and with the X200T I've got now.

Unfortunately I can not find t43 there, but there is a link to download videos for the T41

May help a bit

Sigurd
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: RobertM on 2010.01.21, 19:43:57
Another great link is this:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-58791.html
Hardware Maintenance Manual (July 2005) - ThinkPad T43/p (2668, 2669, 2678, 2679, 2686, 2687)

IBM maintains Hardware Maintenance Manuals for almost every piece of equipment they make, and virtually all the Lenovo Thinkpads. It's a thorough (sometimes to the point of ridiculousness, including pinout voltages for serial ports, etc) guide on every aspect of service, every screw size and so on for the machines.

As for the CMOS battery, unless the design has changed recently, the CMOS battery will be located in one of four easily accessible areas:

All of the above are easy to get to. It is very rare (and usually on very very very old machines, and some of the really tiny ones) that the CMOS battery is not as easily accessible.

Regardless, when it comes to disassembling a Thinkpad of any age, they are (in comparison to most other laptops) very easy to disassemble. Some of them have some odd dis-assembly steps (check the manual, though I dont think it applies to the T43 series) like two piece palm rest/inner body bezels, but with the instructions at hand, they are still very easy to disassemble.


(Keyboard Note)
One key thing on some of them is that the switchbutton area is attached to certain keyboards... in some cases, it is also screwed to the palmrest (see attached picture), but on those models, it is highly unlikely that the CMOS battery is under them. Replacing the keyboard on those models though, does require removing the entire palmrest...

...and of course, almost every Thinkpad keyboard has multiple screws attaching it through the bottom of the laptop (as well as the 2-4 screws on the top edge above the function keys). Those are usually labelled with a little keyboard symbol on the bottom of the laptop (some are sometimes under an accessory cover, such as the memory or NIC covers). That is of course part of the reason why the Thinkpad keyboards have consistently been rated the best. Besides the thicker metal baseplate, they are generally screwed into place in multiple places to prevent flexing.



As a related note, for anyone thinking of working on a Thinkpad or eServer xSeries or Netfinity or Intellistation, etc... to find the Hardware Manual, the term to look up on Google or IBM's site is:

"Hardware Maintenance Manual" model
(substitute model for appropriate model)

Virtually all are named in this format (some exclude the Pub Date, others list the sub models differently as in my eServer example below):
Hardware Maintenance Manual (Pub Date) - Model (Sub-Models)

Making yours named:
Hardware Maintenance Manual (July 2005) - ThinkPad T43/p (2668, 2669, 2678, 2679, 2686, 2687)

Then ensure that the manual you find covers your model. The cover sheet should say something like:
- ThinkPad T43, T43p (2668, 2669, 2678, 2679, 2686, 2687)
(this, by the way, is the one I provided the link for above)

Or
- eServer xSeries 8687-1xx, 2xx, 4xx, 5xx
(where each lower case x can be any value)




Best,
Robert



Attached picture: Thinkpad 600/600X Series.
- This keyboard is screwed through the bottom of the laptop
- This keyboard is also screwed to the palmrest assembly

It has NINE screws and one retainer bracket securing it... and that does not count the numerous screws that hold the palm rest bezel to the laptop body.

I have never seen a Thinkpad have a CMOS battery under a keyboard attached in this method. So, if keyboard removal requires this much work, it is unlikely that the CMOS battery is under it.
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: warpcafe on 2010.01.25, 13:09:55
Hi,

don't know if this helps or was mentioned already:
With my T42, the CMOS battery is contained in a small compartment that is accessed by removing the battery pack. You will then almost make out the spot where the CMOS battery (CR2032 type) is located. IIRC another screw is used to tighten a small plastic "frame" that holds the battery... not sure though. But in any case it wasn't a big deal to locate and remove the battery including it's "frame". What WAS difficult however, was to replace the battery as the contacts are soldered as someone has mentioned before I guess.

Cheers,
Thomas
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: DougB on 2010.01.25, 17:59:55
There is no point in speculating about how to do anything on a ThinkPad. It seems that every machine has a different setup. You absolutely REQUIRE the specific maintenance manual for the specific machine, or you can get yourself into major trouble trying even the simplest repair job. The maintenance manuals are available on the internet. Just get it, and follow the directions.
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: RobertM on 2010.01.25, 18:12:24
Quote from: DougB on 2010.01.25, 17:59:55
There is no point in speculating about how to do anything on a ThinkPad. It seems that every machine has a different setup. You absolutely REQUIRE the specific maintenance manual for the specific machine, or you can get yourself into major trouble trying even the simplest repair job. The maintenance manuals are available on the internet. Just get it, and follow the directions.

Or just check my link below. I am pretty sure I found the correct one already.

And yes, get the Hardware Maintenance Manual for this task. It seems this is one of the rare ones where some actual disassembly is required (palmrest bezel assy needs to be removed).

Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: steve b on 2010.01.27, 00:58:32
Right on! Just got my T43 today and checked the forum again and Viola! Now to see if I make a 2032/S5LE or can get one
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: steve b on 2010.01.27, 06:08:04
The correct battery was available locally for $15, but the store would be closed before I could get there. Tried soldering one up, and it works. But I have a bad feeling. The wireless card is an Intel 2915 and the cardbus is a Ricoh.
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: RobertM on 2010.01.27, 06:11:15
Quote from: steve b on 2010.01.27, 00:58:32
Right on! Just got my T43 today and checked the forum again and Viola! Now to see if I make a 2032/S5LE or can get one

If they (the IBM ones) are too expensive, they can be bought on eBay very cheap in 5 battery blister packs (we bought name brand Maxell ones there in CR2032 and CR2025).

Otherwise, singles can be found at Radio Shack or Walmart or Best Buy or any store with a decent battery selection for a little more.

As for the battery for your laptop, the black plastic holder can be removed from it and reused - and the replacement battery does not need to have that holder (you reuse the one in the system). What that means is if you find another IBM CMOS battery that is cheaper (and the same size - which is what the CR2032/CR2025/CR2016 refers to), then if the plug is a different size, you can simply snip the wires and join them to the ones from the existing plug and slide the battery and it's yellow sleeve into the black plastic retainer.



Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: RobertM on 2010.01.27, 06:15:44
Quote from: steve b on 2010.01.27, 06:08:04
The correct battery was available locally for $15, but the store would be closed before I could get there. Tried soldering one up, and it works. But I have a bad feeling. The wireless card is an Intel 2915 and the cardbus is a Ricoh.


Ooops, you were posting the same time I was...

As long as you did not overheat the battery, it should be fine. You can check the voltages and make sure it is correct.

Also, the battery inside the yellow sleeve is just a standard battery for that (and virtually every other Thinkpad) model.

If the connection feels loose, there is (at some Radio Shacks, and at decent electronics stores) solder tape. You simply place a piece of the "tape" between the metal tabs and the battery and very lightly heat the metal tab.

Best,
Robert
Title: Re: Is replacing cmos battery on T43 a big deal?
Post by: DougB on 2010.01.27, 22:16:00
QuoteThe correct battery was available locally for $15, but the store would be closed before I could get there. Tried soldering one up, and it works. But I have a bad feeling. The wireless card is an Intel 2915 and the cardbus is a Ricoh.

The battery should be okay, as long as you didn't cook it while soldering.

The 2915 wireless should also be okay. It is supported by GENMAC 2.20, however, there is an updated driver in the GENMU package at ftp://genmac@ftp.os2voice.org (use UNSUPPORTED as the password when it asks) that is reported to work better. Be sure to read the readme. You will also need the XWLAN 3.10 support to properly control the wireless.

http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/util/wps/xwlan310.zip (http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/util/wps/xwlan310.zip)

http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/drivers/network/genmac220.wpi (http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/drivers/network/genmac220.wpi)

I don't know anything about the Ricoh cardbus. There may be some useful information at:

http://www.os2warp.be/index2.php?name=pcmciaentry (http://www.os2warp.be/index2.php?name=pcmciaentry)