Indigo Battery FAQ

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THE INDIGO BATTERY FAQ V1.01 Last modified: 10. January 2004 (V1.00 -> V1.01) Maintained by: mail@g-lenerz.de URL: http://www.g-lenerz.de/sgistuff/documents/indigo-battery-faq.txt


Part 1: General 

  1.1  Signs of battery failure
  1.2  Effects of battery failure
  1.3  What to do
  1.4  Before you start

Part 2: Changing the battery 

  2.1  Obtaining the battery
  2.2  On Indigo R3K Systems
  2.3  On Indigo R4K Systems
  2.4  When finished

Legal

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Part 1: Changeing the battery

1.1 Signs of battery failure 

  When the onboard battery of the Indigo fails while the machine is 
  running nothing happens until the next time the machine is shut 
  down and then switched on again.
  
  When the battery is empty the Indigo refuses to boot. It constantly 
  repeats the following error message:
  
  Initializing tod clock.
  setting secs=0 min=0 hour=0 day=1 month=1 year=0
  Can't set tod clock.

1.2 Effects of battery failure 

  The Indigo does not boot until it has a new battery. After that the 
  date/time is wrong but aside from that nothing really bad happens
  (usually). Other systems as for example old Sun Sparcstations (IPC
  or IPX) forget important data like the ethernet MAC adress when 
  the battery in their NVRAM fails.

1.3 What to do 

  The solution to the battery problems is the same as on a cheap 
  flashlight: Replace the old battery with a new one. Sounds easy
  but it is slightliy more difficult. 
  
  On both types of Indigos (R3K and R4K - see Indigo Versions FAQ for
  details) the battery is located on the CPU board. In the R3K Indigo 
  it is put in a "socket", in the R4K models it is soldered in place.

1.4 Before you start 

  Before describing the procedure in detail it is time to adress the 
  reader (especially the ones who have to work on an R4K Indigo).
  
  Begin your work only if you know what you are doing and you have 
  the right tools at hand. If you are not sure or have no experience 
  at all in working on electronic equipment please ask someone 
  experienced to help you. Although the procedure is not that 
  difficult there is a chance to do real damage to the computer.
  
  The descriptions won't mention how to take the parts out of the 
  Indigo and how they are placed back in. There are good descriptions
  in the Indigo Owners guide for that. Read the appropriate sections
  carefully!
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Part 2: Changing the battery

2.1 Obtaining the Battery 

  The battery type used in the Indigo R4000 systems is a Tadiran 
  TL-5186 (the one on R3000 systems looks the same and maybe is as 
  well a TL-5186). A battery with the same dimensions and technical
  data is a Sonnenschein SL-340 which might be easier to obtain in
  some places (Austria, Germany, Netherlands and maybe Europe in 
  general).

2.2 On Indigo R3K Systems 

  Changing the battery on R3K systems is pretty simple. The battery 
  is on the right side of the board close to its edge hidden below the 
  dummy that can be replaced with a GIO card. After removing the dummy 
  the old battery can be taken out of its "socket" and be replaced by 
  a new one. The "socket" is actually only a small rubber strap that 
  holds the battery in place. 

  Attention! Make sure that you do NOT insert the battery the wrong
  way. This may cause damage to the mainboard and leave you with a
  dead system.

2.3 On Indigo R4K Systems 

  The situation on R4K Indigos is a bit more complicated. The battery 
  is located on the CPU board right below the CPU module but it is 
  soldered in place. It is not too difficult to find the pins from 
  the battery on the back of the board.

  The procedure itself is pretty obvious and not too difficult with 
  the right tools and a second person that helps holding the board 
  and pulls on the battery while the first works with the desoldering 
  tools and pays attention that no parts get damaged, burned or 
  whatever bad can happen. Clean the soldering points after the 
  battery has been removed and solder the new one in place.

  Attention! Make sure that you do NOT insert the battery the wrong
  way. This may cause damage to the mainboard and leave you with a
  dead system.

2.4 When finished 

  When booting the Indigo for the first time after replacing the 
  battery enter maintenance mode and go into the PROM monitor. Set 
  the clock and boot the machine. Everything should work fine now.
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Legal 

  The entire document is an unofficial resource written by SGI users 
  for other SGI users. All information is presented AS IS and comes 
  without any warranties (although there should be no big mistakes)
  The trademarks used herein are property of Silicon Graphics, Inc. 
  (SGI) or Mips Technologies, Inc.
  
  Permission granted to distribute this document on Usenet, Internet 
  or other nets in two cases:
  1) As a complete document including its header and this legal note.
  2) Parts of it including proper citatation (i.e. Title and URL)
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