Hey all,

I think my TAM's clock battery may be dead. The computer was unplugged for a few days, and when I plugged it back in and booted it up, the date was back at 1973 or something weird.

How complicated is it to replace the battery inside? How is it attached to the logic board?

Thanks!

Not very hard to do.

The battery is in a standard clip in socket that was used on Macs for many years.

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Justice Robert Jackson

I'll take your TAM and fix it for you!

You may not get it back though.

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_______________________________________________________________
Security is just a word. The act of being secure is entirely different.
"...but I think that to make your dream a reality, having a dream itself is a mandatory prerequisite"
From A Book: Walking Through The Impossible

Just because it has two clutches, shifts faster, uses a torque converter or has near-infinite gear ratios, requires less driver intervention and is more efficient doesn't make it better in my opinion.
Save The Manual Transmission

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microchip13
I'll take your TAM and fix it for you!

You may not get it back though.

I dunno, MC13. This particular TAM has been...how do you say..."problematic" ever since I bought it a few months ago. You gotta love eBay, but sometimes things just don't work out.

The seller wasn't 100% truthful regarding the condition, first of all. There are some scratches and blemishes he forgot to mention in the item description. It's an old computer, though, so I didn't freak out. He also said there was a 12GB HD, but it was only 10GB. I'd planned on upgrading that anyway, so again, no biggie. He said it had System 9.2 loaded, but it was only 9.1, with no disk included in the eBay auction. He said it had a CS II Ethernet card, but for the life of me I cannot get it to function. He had the hard drive bracket mounted backwards, which tended to short out the connection on the adjacent Sonnet Tempo card (I fixed that!). The reversed bracket also jammed the fan so it wouldn't spin. That was fixed easily. He claimed that it never had the "dreaded speaker buzz" endemic to the TAMs, yet just a few weeks later my unit has been stricken. I just bought a replacement power supply/bass unit off of eBay. And now this battery thingie...whew.

I just wanted a cool stereo for my office, and I'd had perfect luck with my two previous TAMs a few years back. Now I'm into this baby for the original eBay price PLUS new HD, new power supply, new system disk and a new clock battery...and maybe some new speaker covers if I can ever track some down!

I should get addicted to heroin instead of Macs. Much cheaper and easier to find.

Um...kidding about the heroin.

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Harbourmaster
Not very hard to do.

The battery is in a standard clip in socket that was used on Macs for many years.

Thanks Harbourmaster! I'll try to wiggle it off or out or whatever. For some reason it seemed soldered on or something when I last poked around inside. Are these replacement batteries pretty easy to find at most computer shoppes?

OWC sells them.

My Bad. TAM is like a 5xxx series and uses the cube shapped battery.

It should just be held down with a piece of velcro and should be easy to remove.

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Justice Robert Jackson

I couldn't remember exactly what that battery looked like (it's been awhile since I opened her up), but I DO remember that the battery seemed 'attached' somehow. Not inserted into a usual battery-clip-thingie.

The velcro idea sounds about right. I didn't pull on it, but I know I wiggled it while playing with the fan bracket.

I'll give it another shot when I get back to my office! And thanks for the OWC idea.

Yup, it's attached with a square of velcro. Simple to replace, unclip the back (fat or thin back), and it's plainly visible, attaches to the logic board with simple slide on pins.

It's a 4.5v battery.

[eshop.macsales.com]

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Postscript: ordered the battery from OWC. Thanks everyone!