My Dreamcast prep’ed for surgery All of these consoles feature a rechargable lithium-ion battery that is soldered directly onto a board. After many years of faithful service it loses the ability to hold a charge and means you’ll be greeted with the familiar setup date and time screen when the console is powered on. Thankfully it’s possible to buy a battery holder and CR-2032 Li-ion rechargeable cell battery for about £5 in total.
Once you’ve got the battery and holder, it’s then simply a case of cracking open the Dreamcast and desoldering the existing battery to make way for this upgrade.
It’s fitted on the board at the front of the device that houses the controller ports. In the photo above I’ve already desoldered the battery, but the metal contacts remain. Removing these requires removal of this board.
I used some desoldering braid along with a pair of pliers to remove the old metal struts. Then cleaned the board with IPA alcohol and a clean paper towel.
Soldering in the new battery holder is very straightforward. It should fit snugly into the existing three holes.
It’s then simply a case of refitting the board into the Dreamcast, being careful to reconnect the cables and ribbons.
Once you’ve put it back together you’ll need to leave the console plugged in for a few hours that that it’s able to charge up the new battery. Your reward will be no longer having to see that date time setup screen every time you power up your Dreamcast. Plus when the battery gives up the ghost in the future, replacing it will be very straightforward.
