(Topic ID: 178926)

WOZ Replacement Battery

By AtlanticPinball

7 years ago


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motherboard jumper short.jpg

#1 7 years ago

I'm maintaining a WOZ at a hospital for Project Pinball and the battery needs to be replaced. Can someone tell me what type of battery is a good replacement, and where I can grab one?

Thanks in advance!

#2 7 years ago

I'm curious to know what is the issue with the game that a battery would need to be replaced in it?

#3 7 years ago

Look on page E6 in the manual... one of the last pages ... sorry some text isn't pasting right from my iPad:

Your game’s CPU board uses a 3V coin cell, lithium ba ery (CR2032) to maintain its basic input/out- put system (BIOS) se ngs when the game is powered down. If these se ngs are lost, the CPU will not boot when the game is powered up. The life expectancy of the CR2032 ba ery is approximate- ly three years. It is important to change your game’s CPU ba ery before it discharges below 3V. However, in order to preserve the CPU’s BIOS se ngs, the change must be made while the game is powered on. A step-by-step process for replacing the ba ery is provided below.

#4 7 years ago

Any pharmacy can order one for you. If not in stock, give them model #. Takes about 1 day.

#5 7 years ago
Quoted from PinballManiac40:

I'm curious to know what is the issue with the game that a battery would need to be replaced in it?

Well, the battery is dead, and the computer won't boot...

#6 7 years ago

CR2032. Thanks, guys.

#7 7 years ago

Yikes... if after replacing the battery it still won't boot (b/c settings were lost) I'd appreciate learning how to fix this.

#8 7 years ago

briefly short pin 6 & 8 on JFP1 ?

motherboard jumper short.jpgmotherboard jumper short.jpg

#9 7 years ago

All you ned to do is manually power the PCB one time then set the factory presets from menu. if this does not work manually boot the game with a keyboard plugged in and press and hold F2 to enter BIOS menu (may be another F# so look at boot up display LCD) once you are in BIOS select the option of "power on upon power loss" in the power management settings. Hope that clarifies things.

#10 7 years ago

Hi, all. Thanks for the help.

I had a keyboard and installed the battery. The game booted up upon me pressing F2. I had to adjust a few settings, but all is good now.

Thanks again!

#11 7 years ago

Could you document the settings you had to change... I'd like to print this out and put inside my machine just in case.

#12 7 years ago

I'm glad I saw this thread. I had no idea about this. Why in this day in age do pins still use batteries? Am I missing something?

#13 7 years ago

Battery backed memory is required to keep track of time and other erasable BIOS settings in a computer system. Without it it would probably be unfeasibly difficult to reset the BIOS settings on a motherboard should an issue arise with boot settings or other down to the metal adjustments. Should the CMOS which contains the settings become corrupted, all you need to do is unplug the game and remove the battery, then do the opposite.

The same can be said for older generation board sets where the CPU relied on AA batteries to maintain the contents of system RAM. Without batteries, back then if you play a game and you notice an issue with a setting in the service menu or a high score had gotten out of whack, you would probably have to pull the RAM chip and either blank it or swap it with a blank one. This would create the need to include socketed memory, which would cause more potential points of failure since you are dealing with plug-in connections on the board as opposed to directly soldered ones.

Now we have NVRAM which is more reliable and cheaper these days, but it still means the CPU loses track of time so special features like the Twilight Zone clock and midnight madness will not work.

#14 7 years ago
Quoted from Crash:

Battery backed memory is required to keep track of time and other erasable BIOS settings in a computer system. Without it it would probably be unfeasibly difficult to reset the BIOS settings on a motherboard should an issue arise with boot settings or other down to the metal adjustments. Should the CMOS which contains the settings become corrupted, all you need to do is unplug the game and remove the battery, then do the opposite.
The same can be said for older generation board sets where the CPU relied on AA batteries to maintain the contents of system RAM. Back then if you play a game and you notice an issue with a setting in the service menu or a high score had gotten out of whack, you would probably have to pull the RAM chip and either blank it or swap it with a blank one. This would create the need to include socketed memory, which would cause more potential points of failure since you are dealing with plug-in connections on the board as opposed to directly soldered ones.
Now we have NVRAM which is more reliable and cheaper these days, but you it still means the CPU loses track of time so special features like the Twilight Zone clock and midnight madness will not work.

Unfortunately, I just don't understand. I'm not an expert in this. I don't think my laptop or desktop computers have a battery (well, the laptop has a rechargeable one). How does the desktop function if I've never changed the battery? As for keeping track of special features, pins should just have internet connectivity now like everything else so they can get the current time. Though, I suppose companies would start charging us more for that.

#15 7 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

Unfortunately, I just don't understand. I'm not an expert in this. I don't think my laptop or desktop computers have a battery (well, the laptop has a rechargeable one). How does the desktop function if I've never changed the battery? As for keeping track of special features, pins should just have internet connectivity now like everything else so they can get the current time. Though, I suppose companies would start charging us more for that.

It is very simple to understand.

Your desktop and laptop both have these same batteries for the same purpose as the PC motherboard in WOZ.

WOZ is just a PC inside the cabinet with some extra add-on boards to interface with pinball parts like switches and solenoids.

WMS/Stern/DE/Spooky/TV remote controls/your motor car and millions of other devices use a different computer system called "embedded controller" and this does NOT rely on BIOS or batteries like a PC does.

Imagine if your car used a PC motherboard to control its many systems. It is a very bad choice for operating many of these types of things. Great for desktop/laptop systems but look at the problems most people have with them (PC's) on a daily basis. I have said it before and been shouted down but it is starting to come home to roost.

#16 7 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

I don't think my laptop or desktop computers have a battery

If they have a motherboard, they do.

LTG : )

#17 7 years ago
Quoted from Homepin:

It is very simple to understand.
Your desktop and laptop both have these same batteries for the same purpose as the PC motherboard in WOZ.
WOZ is just a PC inside the cabinet with some extra add-on boards to interface with pinball parts like switches and solenoids.
WMS/Stern/DE/Spooky/TV remote controls/your motor car and millions of other devices use a different computer system called "embedded controller" and this does NOT rely on BIOS or batteries like a PC does.
Imagine if your car used a PC motherboard to control its many systems. It is a very bad choice for operating many of these types of things. Great for desktop/laptop systems but look at the problems most people have with them (PC's) on a daily basis. I have said it before and been shouted down but it is starting to come home to roost.

One other difference that may be there (speculating) ... with the switch off on the pinball machine, I don't think any power is being supplied to the computer. With standard desktops and laptops, even if off there is a small amount of power to the motherboard which reduces the discharge of the battery.

#18 7 years ago

I stand corrected. I just have had my current desktop computer for a long time now, and I've never worried about changing the battery or heard that I would have to.

#19 7 years ago

It's rarely something you have to worry about, they last years.

#20 7 years ago
Quoted from Crash:

It's rarely something you have to worry about, they last years.

Only 3 years according to bhwolf . I'm very glad I saw this thread. Time to change the battery. I gotta add that battery change date to my pin maintenance plan here on pinside with a due date in 3 years. Guessing Hobbit has the same 3 year battery.

1 year later
#21 6 years ago

I posted this in the WOZ club thread but figured I would post it here as well:

I finally decided to change my battery today and followed the instructions in the manual. As usual, I typically find things about 10x harder than the average pinsider. I put a strip of masking tape on the battery to lift it out but couldn't figure out how to pry the battery from its holder. As I was trying, I failed to notice the fast whirling fan blade to my left and sliced my finger. Luckily, it was a clean slice, and I only bled a little over my boards.

Anyway, I finally did it. Here are some tips:

If you have the playfield lifted all the way up, you will be at an awkward angle. Instead, have the playfield pulled out to the second position on the service rails.

There is a little metal tab on the bottom of the battery holder (side closest to the player). Gently, pull that back, and the battery will lift up with the tape without you needing to pry it up (read the manual for what to do with the tape).

Mind the fan blade! It stings.

6 months later
#22 5 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

I posted this in the WOZ club thread but figured I would post it here as well:
I finally decided to change my battery today and followed the instructions in the manual. As usual, I typically find things about 10x harder than the average pinsider. I put a strip of masking tape on the battery to lift it out but couldn't figure out how to pry the battery from its holder. As I was trying, I failed to notice the fast whirling fan blade to my left and sliced my finger. Luckily, it was a clean slice, and I only bled a little over my boards.
Anyway, I finally did it. Here are some tips:
If you have the playfield lifted all the way up, you will be at an awkward angle. Instead, have the playfield pulled out to the second position on the service rails.
There is a little metal tab on the bottom of the battery holder (side closest to the player). Gently, pull that back, and the battery will lift up with the tape without you needing to pry it up (read the manual for what to do with the tape).
Mind the fan blade! It stings.

Thank you SO much for this info! I was having similar difficulty removing the battery from my Hobbit since there was simply NO way the tape adhesive alone was strong enough to pull the battery out from the holder. Your tip about pulling back the small metal tab was a life-saver and made the removal extremely simple! IMHO, JJP should really consider adding this very important step to their battery removal instructions. (I was about to take more drastic steps which could very well have ended up damaging something, but thankfully I remained patient, and a quick internet search led me to this thread and your solution).

#23 5 years ago
Quoted from IceFang:

Thank you SO much for this info! I was having similar difficulty removing the battery from my Hobbit since there was simply NO way the tape adhesive alone was strong enough to pull the battery out from the holder. Your tip about pulling back the small metal tab was a life-saver and made the removal extremely simple! IMHO, JJP should really consider adding this very important step to their battery removal instructions. (I was about to take more drastic steps which could very well have ended up damaging something, but thankfully I remained patient, and a quick internet search led me to this thread and your solution).

Nice! I’m glad it helped. And if you didn’t cut your finger on the fan blade, you’re a step ahead of me.

#24 5 years ago
Quoted from Nokoro:

Nice! I’m glad it helped. And if you didn’t cut your finger on the fan blade, you’re a step ahead of me.

Oh yeah! Your tip on the fan also saved me from potential damage to myself. I'm not sure I would have noticed the nearby fan had you not mentioned it. That prompted me to use my left hand instead of my dominant right hand, keeping me out of harms way. Thanks again!

3 years later
#25 2 years ago

Where is the battery on. WOZ and how don’t get to it? Is it in the backbox? Any help is appreciated

#26 2 years ago

Found it. It’s in the large metal box in the older machines (2013) emerald edition

4 months later
#27 1 year ago

Successfully swapped mine out for the first time, as usual Pinside delivers with exactly the info I needed. Considering mine is over 9 years old, I assumed it was about time (although it might have been already swapped by previous owner). My virtual pinball rig that is 11 years just had the same battery finally die (never replaced!), so sometimes the batteries can chug along for an extended period of time. Only part that felt weird was swapping out the batter with the machine on ... one slip and you could be missing a chunk of finger and shorting out everything due to blood! Or more likely in my case I would somehow drop the new or old battery and short things out that way Nope, I'm not a surgeon if anyone was wondering.

#28 1 year ago

In case BIOS settings are lost, could anyone confirm the only option in BIOS that must be changed is "power up on power loss"?

#29 1 year ago
Quoted from julien_06480:

In case BIOS settings are lost, could anyone confirm the only option in BIOS that must be changed is "power up on power loss"?

Confirm

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