DELL VOSTRO Laptop Repair
Received Dell laptop for RTC ERROR, customer stating that every time when he starts the laptop it gives RTC Error & every time on booting it shows system date & time wrong.
On inspection it is found BIOS setting not saving on exit.so it is confirmed problem is not with software, it is related internal CMOS section on the Motherboard.
First we have to check CMOS Battery which is Provide Continuous Power to BIOS ROM which store Booting Process settings even when Laptop is Turned OFF or not in use for at least a year. In some laptop you can find the CMOS Battery in nearby RAM slot place. I opened the RAM section cover from bottom side of the laptop. But did not found battery there.
So now time for disassemble the laptop & see inside.
I removed the laptop top cover with the keyboard & checked on motherboard but did not found battery this side so I removed the motherboard outside to check another side. I found the battery this side.
Removed the Battery outside for testing, and as per my doubt I found Battery is totally out of range. It was showing 0.09v instead of 3v.
The part number of battery is CR2032.
So here I need Battery with wire connected on it. But I did not found it with me, so I decide to put new battery with wire soldering on it. Arranged new battery.
I removed Top Plastic cover of old battery for removing the wire with connector. I found metal strip is spot welded on it, so removed metal strips gently using plier.
& try to solder it on the new battery but I failed to do so. Metal is not holding the solder on it. Now, the person is in hurry to get the laptop working, he can’t wait till I arrange the new battery with connector,
So I have to try something else otherwise lose the customer. I discussed the situation with the customer he agreed up on to try some idea to get it done at earliest.
So after my solder attempt failed my next step is to Hold the Metal strip on battery & apply superglue on it, but as soon as I applied super glue it spilled under the strip and strip got insulated from inside checked with Multimeter meter it is not showing any voltage or continuity with the connector. So this idea is also failed.
Now removed the metal strip again and scratch the Battery to clean the Glue. After cleaning I took one plastic tape & applied it over the battery by holding the metal strip firmly on the battery & checked output on the connector.
Now it is showing proper voltage. For double protection I applied strong Paper tape on the Battery & connect it back on the Motherboard.
Now reassembled the Laptop for testing. On first power on I got same error of Date & time Because we have to enter the recent date & time in Bios and save it so that the BIOS can retain the same till the life of the battery, so after the process I restarted the laptop & this time error is gone & laptop is not showing any further errors.
I periodically turn it OFF & ON the laptop Now it works fine without any error.
This article was prepared for you by Yogesh Panchal who works as a Computer Hardware Engineer in Mumbai India.
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Note: You can check his previous repair articles on Computer SMPS Repaired
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Albert van Bemmelen
July 20, 2024 at 1:51 pm
Thanks for sharing Yogesh, but I think you will need a portable spotwelder to easily weld on wires to such batteries next time?
The same issue I found in a 1356LMi Acer laptop where also the rtc 3V lithium battery was placed on the other side of the mainboard which makes replacing very hard.
Yogesh Panchal
July 20, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Albert,
I never come across use of spot welding but may be i get one.
Parasuraman S
July 20, 2024 at 6:05 pm
Good fix though crude way of connecting the battery, as there was no other go.
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 3:40 pm
I could do it better way but customer was in hurry, as you know if customer
have more options in same location,they don't wait and move on to other technicians.
Raymond Dube
July 20, 2024 at 7:09 pm
Spot welders are mostly used for lithium ion battery packs, but they work wonders for this type of job.
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 3:42 pm
Raymond Dube,
yes, it can be use in other projects also.
Erik Blankers
July 20, 2024 at 11:11 pm
Hello, i have 2 HP/ Compaq 6120, and found some batteries on Aliexpress. With soldering lips. But the connectors dous not fit , so soldering other connectors and my HP runs perfectly.
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 3:46 pm
Erik Blankers,
On-line electronic products are always problematic, because there is no standardize form factor.
John Runng
July 21, 2024 at 2:16 am
Few questions for us less brilliant lightbulbs. Was this 2032 a rechargeable battery? If the original battery was a rechargeable battery, could you replace it with a regular battery to get the computer going. How did you set the date and time if the computer wouldn't boot up? Or isn't necessary?
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 3:56 pm
John Runng,
Light bulbs will light up intensively if feed proper required Voltage (Here in-terms of knowledge)Lol....
CR2032 is Non-Rechargeable,you can not recharge it.
you can put any 3v battery using resistor if installation space have room for it.
date & time can be Change in BIOS Setting. if it miss match you may have option of skip & continue or BIOS Setup. Proper Date & time is necessary because if you have Licensed Software installed it keeps track as per your computer date. if not found proper Date in your computer your license may get expired.
Mark J
July 21, 2024 at 4:19 am
Sometimes those rtc batteries are hard to get to. Good fix.
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 4:00 pm
Mark J,
RTC batteries are easily available in any watch repair shop. but soldered one is available with electronics part supplier.
Mark J
July 24, 2024 at 2:26 am
Yogesh Panchal I meant the location of the rtc battery on the motherboard. Not the availability of them for purchase.
Yogesh Panchal
July 24, 2024 at 2:00 pm
Mark J,
Sometime we have to disassemble the laptop to remove the Motherboard & you can find it underneath,but in new generation laptops they don't use RTC battery separately, it is getting power from Main backup Battery itself, When you unplug the main battery it does a cmos reset. & replacing this main backup battery is not economical.
Imoudu.O
July 21, 2024 at 5:11 am
I encounter such problem with my
disposed hp lap some 2 years back, and i used J B weild glue which is an American product to hold the metal strip on cmos cell and it glued permanently.Thanks for sharing.
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 4:04 pm
Imoudu.O
Good trick with JB weld, i could do it but customer is not ready to wait.any epoxy will take minimum 24hrs.for settle.
Waleed Rishmawi
July 22, 2024 at 2:37 pm
I have seen this kind of issue before and I had to scratch the battery surface off with a sharp knife, add flux and then solder it and it worked just fine. not an easy thing to do unless you order the same exact battery online and that is the best way. have a blessed day and thanks for sharing
Yogesh Panchal
July 23, 2024 at 4:09 pm
Waleed,
It depends on what material used for battery, I have easily soldered 18650 Batteries
with nickle plate but material in this coin is like Stainless steel.i tried with scratching it & using different types of flux also but it not worked.
Maurice
July 27, 2024 at 5:41 am
A simple solution is Just buy an cr2032 holder for pcb mounting. You can find them also on a lot of pc motherboards so resuse from an defect one is also possible. you can Just soldering the old wires on the throuhole pins.
And use some shrinkwap off isolationtape.
You can also find cr2032 battery houders on some verry small smd ledstrips.
There exist also recharge variants of the cr2032 bat they have an different name, forgot wich name.
Yogesh Panchal
July 27, 2024 at 11:23 pm
Maurice,
Thanks for your input, as per my opinion you can not fit any type of Sockets for this battery in latest slim Laptops.you can use only battery with sleeve on it.none of laptops having Recharging circuit in any laptops.