I have an Intel NUC.
It’s internal battery is probably on the way out.
So the battery…
Making that kind of “case” seems silly if I can get a prebuilt case with connector already made.
I NEARLY bought this:
But that’s wrong as what I see at the top isn’t a battery holder only.
Anyway, I’m looking for a thing that I could use to put the battery in with wires coming out of it so all I would need to do is remove the flat battery that’s in there, cut the wires off, connect them to the ends of the new unit and plug it in.
Any ideas?
P.S.
Would this work:
Although it holds 2 batteries. Good/bad. Dunno if there is the space/room in the NUC for that.
No, I haven’t opened my NUC up yet. it is my MAIN machine.
Hi Andrew
Firstly this is probably dumb but what the hell is a “NUC”???
Secondly that top link does not seem to have any product in it so what was it you “nearly” bought.
What sort of battery??
Be very careful here. Most of the battery holders I have purchased and are now sitting here idle are too small to accept the lithium batteries with a nipple on the positive end as they are a bit longer than the lead acid batteries if the equivalent size. For instance the nipple type 18650 cells are almost 70mm long instead of the 65mm implied by their type designation. This in some cases is due to the built in protection available in some cells. Cells with flat ends are available which are exactly 65mm long but have no individual protection. These fit the holders OK.
Cheers Bob
A “NUC” is one of these new “hand sized” computers. Rather than the old monolith desk/floor boxes that were the norm.
The link.
My bad.
Is this better?
That isn’t THE link, but below it was a list of “suggestions” and I read the SKU from one of those and NOT that actual item.
The battery is CR2032 battery - as shown in the youtube link.
So rather than messing around replacing the old battery from what I have (wrapping it up etc) the box/case would/should do just as well.
The only thing is I would have to cut the connectors off the old one and connect them to the end of the wires of this so it connects.
So long as I get the + and - the right way around all should be good.
I just spoke to Trent and if I had called this MORNING I could have got one, but I believe there are now none in stock.
That battery holder would be good though the space is always going to be a question. Alternatively you could use one of these holders and just make sure it is covered. Maybe make a sleeve out of tape or something that would allow it to be slid off to access the battery?
The only problem with that is making sure it is insulated.
The first one is good in that it allows me to change the battery easily (if you can call it easy) where as the second one has the added problem of having to get to the battery and restore the insulation.
I can see that it would absolutely need a bit more effort witht that one to get it working. I guess its worth trying the encased one to see if it will fit, I know its definitely a bit limited for space inside the NUCs sometimes.
Hi Andrew
Why can’t you just replace the old one??? They are normally in a holding clip of some sort which will be pretty what you will find in any external case.
From what you are saying I don’t think you could use that double holder if it is 6V as you would effectively be doubling the voltage.
Last time I was in Woolworths (yesterday) they had an assortment of CR2032 batteries available. Be aware the 2032 only reflects the physical size (20mm diameter and 3.2mm thick) NOT the chemistry OR the voltage. So note the old one’s characteristics before you discard.
Cheers Bob
I’m not sure if mine is glued in place or has a clip. (the battery/assembly that is)
It isn’t the battery as such. Just how it is in there now. probably wrapped in heat shrink, etc and stuck in place. Not mean to replace the actual battery.
Ok, that’s saying the same thing twice for no reason. Sorry.
To replace ONLY THE BATTERY is going to need some heat shrink and a bit of luck removing the connectors that are connecting the wires to the battery.
Then wrapping it all up again in heatshr… Ok, I’ve said that.
The CASE (single battery - yes: with switch) would make life a lot easier for this and future battery swaps.
I carefully take it apart, open the case, replace battery, close case and re-assemble.
Working.
No heat shrink, no possible non connection to battery.
Hi Andrew
Yes I can see what you are on about now. The heat shrink probably hold the wire connections to the cell in place also. I don’t think any sort of soldering operation would be such a good idea with these cells. Could be a bit of a disaster in more ways than one.
That single cell holder you linked would not be much bigger than the actual cell so might be doable.
Thanks for the explanation of a NUC. My computer of choice would be nearly one of those, a Mac Mini. Quite remarkable what Apple fitted into a box 195mm X 195mm X 30mm. Everything (including a 240V power supply) in there except an optical drive. A great machine but the advancement through several generations of operating systems eventually outstripped the hard drive. So I had it apart a while ago to fit a 1TB solid state hard drive (a new lease of life) so I can sympathise with you re your reluctance to dismantle yours to change a battery.
Cheers Bob
I like your forward thinking, but perhaps it is going above and beyond what is required for the application. Those lithium coin cell batteries are used because their battery life is outstanding and most will never require replacement before the end of the lifecycle of the device. Granted there are some anti-repair forces that may artificially reduce the lifespan of many computing devices but I’ve never actually come across a coin cell backup battery that required replacement.
I’m assuming here that your diagnosis of the fault is right and the NUC just needs a new battery, from what you’ve said it seems likely you are on the money, however you may be going too far down the rabbit-hole if you are designing the battery replacement to be as easy as possible if the next replacement may not be needed for 5ish years.
Spending the time to replace heat shrink insulation may cost you an extra 5 minutes when it comes time to swap that battery, but it may not be such a problem years down the track when it next needs replacing.
Yes, this was mentioned to me and their life is supposed to outlast the NUC/device.
I can’t prove one way or another if the battery IS kaput. Just asking for other forums saying that sometimes when it boots it just hangs there for minutes then I get a quick flash of:
cmos memory error
That the battery is on its way out.
The NUC is… 5 - 6 (maybe 7) years old. Not really sure.
And it could be a dud battery that is dying quicker than it should.
Oh, so you are saying a 5 year life is nominal.
To buy one (as per the existing one) will cost me anywhere from $3 to 17 - see other/previous post.
But they will cost me 1 month waiting.
Now I need to work out which is worse. Waiting a week for you to get one of those cases in, post it to me; me disassemble the NUC; put the new one in (with new battery); or wait a month or so and get a new battery and plug it in.
What is thrown a spanner in my works is the gender of the cable connector.
Male of Female?
So I may have to pull it apart to find that out in the first place.
To my knowledge, Core Electronics doesn’t sell a cell like this, I’m assuming that’s just a CR2032 in there? As you’ve probably already seen, all of the sleeves and battery holders for the CR2032 are typically designed to either fully encase the battery, or are designed to be soldered directly to a PCB
Hard to tell without knowing the pitch or dimensions, but compared to the size of the CR2032 in that image, I’d suspect that’s a JST connection, probably JST-PH, but you’d have to get the measurements and check the keying on it to confirm. Here’s a fairly extensive guide for how to identify it:
I have encountered this in several computers (I fiddle with stuff older than 20 years sometimes). I cut off the plastic shell, you’ll find the leads have tabs that are spot welded to the battery. I get a stanley knife blade pushed against the weld, give it a sharp tap with something, pops the weld. There are usually two welds per lead. Then bend the tabs a bit so they have a bit of spring. Then electrical tape the leads to a new CR2032, binding the tape tightly. Although there is nothing more than the tape pulling the leads in contact with the battery, I’ve not had a failure and some are years old.
But first just test the battery voltage with a multimeter. If it reads 3V or more the battery is not the problem. Anything less than about 2.9V is end of life and should be replaced. If the computer is still OK with a 2.9V battery, it won’t be for long so might as well replace it anyway.
Well, after a few false starts I had to go and buy a battery. THE ACTUAL battery.
Luckily it had solder pins on it so it helped with the connection of the wires.
Took the old battery off, cut wires, put them on the new battery, wrapped it in insulation tape then heat shrink - that didn’t - put it in the NUC, prayed, assembled it.
