So this is my CPS2 battery swap article from 02.06.2009 from Pineconeattack. This is the one thing I literally do once every 5 years. If you have a lot of CPS2 boards, I strongly suggest buying the batteries in the exact quantities and hopefully you can get a price break for buying them in bulk. I hope this article will still be useful to those in need of replacing your battery. I will keep it up here for archival purpose.
--Nathan
I’ve been collecting arcade hardware for a few years now and I’ve learned one very important thing about this hobby: knowledge is everything and the more you know the better you can preserve your growing expensive collection. You have to keep in mind that some older arcade games have the dreaded suicide battery that kills the functionality of your board when the on board battery dies. This is a big bummer for me since some of my more favorite arcade boards have this appalling flaw and as a general rule, I tend to stay away from them BUT some of the boards are easily swappable if you know what you are doing. From my experience the easiest board to swap the battery is the CP System 2 board by Capcom.
There’s plenty of write ups on forums and websites but none of them that I could find can satisfy my fetish for illustrative step-by-step walkthroughs. So with this in mind, if any of the pictures do not make any sense, then read the paragraph associated with it, hopefully that should answer most of your questions. If you still do not understand, please leave a comment so I can amend the walkthrough for future readers.
[Please note that this walk-through is based off of Razoola’s informative guide from CPS2Shock. All credit goes to him for helping out the arcade community with his informative write ups.]
WARNING:
This is a simple project if you have some technical skills. This walkthrough is as simplified as I can make it so if none of this makes any sense then please DO NOT ATTEMPT. This project will void what little warranty there may still exist for your board. The moment the old battery is removed you have less than 1 hour before the ROM on the PCB will die.
Attempt at your own risk!
Here’s the tool list for this project.
- CPS2 “B” board: Pick a working game of your choice
- Soldering Iron: You can go cheap but I strongly suggest forking out the dollars and pick up a nice one.
- Solder Sucker/Solder Braid: To remove the unwanted solder of course
- Solder: Duh
- Security Torx: Bit size T20
- 10-in-1 Screwdriver: I use this to hold my T20 security torx bit
- ½ AA 3.6 volt battery with Axial leads
- Side cutters: snips, dykes or whatever you call them, you need something to cut wire.
- 8 mm nut driver: This may be optional since not all CPS2 boards will require this.
- Small container: To hold the screws
Step 1: Your CPS2 B board is secured to the A mother boards. Sometimes there are clips that are holding the two boards together so keep an eye out for them. Wiggle the top B board and separate it from the motherboard.
Step 2: Set the A motherboard aside since you will not need this for the battery swap. Flip your B board over to reveal the torx screws.
Step 3-A: Located the four torx screws. On some B boards you will notice a bolt in the corner of the board, if your B board has a bolt, please proceed to step 3-B. If yours do not, then please proceed to step 4.
Step 3-B: Use your 8mm nut driver to loosen the nut and remove the bolt that is sandwiching the board.
Step 3-C: Once the bolt* has been removed, throw away the bolt as you will not be needing it anymore.
*Sometimes the bolt is also a soft metal bolt that cannot be unscrewed. Use a flat head and just pry off the bolt to pop off the cap as the metal is very soft and malleable.
Step 4: Pull out your T20 security* torx bit.
*Notice that the security torx bit has a hole in the center of the bit. This is what makes this bit a security bit. Use the correct bit to prevent damage to the screw.
Step 5: With the four (4) security Trox located, use the T-20 security bit to unscrew them. Place the screw into your parts container.
Step 6: This is the part that I always forget. There are three (3) plugs located on the side of the CPS2 B board. When you separate the top cover from the bottom cover on the B board, remember to keep catch the three (3) plugs because they will fall onto the floor if you do not pay attention.
Step 7-A: Pull off the top cover to reveal the CPS2 PCB. Some B boards have the coin counter on the board.
If your board does not have a coin counter board, please proceed to step 8.
Step 7-B: Locate the plug and simply unplug it from the board. You might have to gently lift up on the tab to get it to unplug.
Step 8: Locate the ½ AA 3.6 volt battery on the board. It will be located in the bottom right corner as seen in the picture above. Remember the polarity of the battery when you pull the PCB out of the casing.
Step 9: Flip the board over on a non static surface and located the two (2) points where the battery is soldered onto the PCB. Please note that the battery is now on the bottom left corner of the board.
Step 10: Apply heat to the solder points and remove the old solder with your solder sucker or solder braid. Once the excess solder has been removed, gently pull the battery off the PCB. Remember to keep in mind where the polarity points are.
Step 11: Take your axial leads on the ½ AA battery and straighten them so the leads will fit through the solder points on the PCB.
Step 12: With the axial leads straighten; insert the battery to the board with the positive side facing towards the board and the negative side facing towards the PCB’s edge. Please refer to the picture above to avoid cross polarization!
Step 13: Carefully bend the leads away from each other to keep the battery in place. Heat up the lead and apply solder to the heated axial lead. Repeat with the second lead. Once the battery has been soldered into place, take your side cutters and snip off the excess axial lead.
Step 14: With the new battery installed, place the PCB back into the CPS2 “B” casing.
Step 15: (Not pictured) Plug the counter back onto the PCB.
Place the top cover of the B board over the PCB casing and snap everything back in place. Remember to snap the three (3) black plugs back into the three (3) holes.
Step 16: Reinstall the four (4) torx screws back in place to secure the casing.
Step 17: Apply a blank label so you can mark down the month & date. The ½ battery will last more than five (5) years but I make it a point to change out my batteries every five years or so (just in case), so mark the date down when the battery will need to be replaced again.
I’ve replaced all the batteries in my collection and have had none of them die on me. I make it a point to swap out the battery every five years just so I can keep them alive. Though I never had the happen to me, if I ever had the unfortunate situation where one of my boards committed suicide on me, there is a way to revive them back from the dead. Of course reviving the boards is a little out of my realm of expertise and I lack the proper equipment to flash e-proms but it is possible. The easiest way to revive your board is to head over to CPS2Shock and email Razoola.
--Nathan Bias
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