CMOS battery holder broke clean off

[squirer7492]

Hey guys,

My CMOS battery holder broke clean off while being transported to another country. I also cannot find the holder anywhere (don't ask..)

The motherboard is an ASUS Strix gaming B250F board.

There are 2 remaining small metal points on the MB where the holder used to be - I am guessing these are the positive and negative points for connecting wires (neither are labelled). I saw some other posts online about recommending soldering wires to connect to the points and the battery wrapped in insulation tape. I just want to know what my options here really are and what you would do.

Thanks

 

[clutchc]

If you're really, really good at soldering, that is probably your best self-fix depending on how much of the contact point are remaining. But I would try to solder those wires to the battery holder rather than the battery itself. When the battery dies, you'll have to do it again.

As for determining polarity, you may be able to trace those points to where they connected to the holder. Then see if that is the (+) or (-) part of the battery.

 

[BFG-9000]

My Dallas Real Time Clock CMOS modules with the integrated battery lasted over 20 years and I bet a common primary lithium 3v CR123A battery would do the same.

A battery holder would allow you to remove the battery to clear the CMOS settings, and you can buy a replacement one for any size 3v coin cell or even the mentioned huge 1.5Ah CR123A

 

[jason201]

If you're good enough with soldering, you could just buy a spare cmos holder, and solder it where the old one was:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-x-PCB-Coin-Cell-Holder-Single-CR2032-CR2025-CR2016-Battery-Holders-CMOS/223136445302
Clearly, you'd also have to desolder the remains of the previous holder from the board first. If you only have okay soldering skills, then solder wires instead (to the new holder), and insulate the holder's under contacts with electrical/kapton tape, and just stick it on the bottom of the case somewhere (you should preferably use kapton tape for this purpose, as it's got a good balance of stickyness and removability)

 

[engineer5261]

Just make sure to get a soldering iron which can get hot enough. Motherboards tend to sink heat quickly when you solder on them. Also be aware that if you can only heat electronic components so much before they die.

It would help if you posted a picture, but If I were you I would solder a new battery holder using thin gauge wire and mount the holder somewhere in the case with proper insulation.

 

[squirer7492]

Thanks a million for all of the answers, I’ve ordered the holder and hopefully will get this sorted.

Cheers

 

[jason201]

Thanks a million for all of the answers, I’ve ordered the holder and hopefully will get this sorted.

Was happy to assist
Just make sure you get the polarity right when you solder in the new holder (as you don't definitely don't wanna get it wrong!)
If in doubt, just look up a picture of your motherboard (or check it's PDF manual, as they often contain a sketch of it).
Since the holder is not fully rounded (and one side sticks outwards), it'd be easy enough to establish which direction you should solder it at. Good luck!

 

[umashi]

based on the model number and the picture on asus website. the contact point closest to the pci-e slots is positive and the one heading away would be negative.
IE the battery pin facing the model number is positive.
Hope this helps.