Battery Voltage on Cart

Dastari · Post by **Dastari** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:54 pm

Hi

I just lost my gave save on one of my games and I'm wondering if it's a freak effect or if my battery is to low. I took out my meter and read the voltage as 3.08V. On a game with a new battery I read the voltage as 3.2V. Is the 0.12V enough to keep the cart from saving games or is this just some sort of freak effect?

Please let me know.

Thanks!

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:01 pm

One more reason to get a CopyNES, to back up precious saves. I've been avoiding getting one myself. But I haven't come up with an easier way to save a save.

MottZilla · Post by **MottZilla** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:23 pm

The lithium battery will maintain it's voltage pretty much up until its death. The slight difference in voltage shouldn't be a problem. If you are worried you could look up a datasheet on the SRAM chip in the cartridge and it will tell you the voltage required for data retention.

Dastari · Post by **Dastari** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:37 am

MottZilla wrote:The lithium battery will maintain it's voltage pretty much up until its death. The slight difference in voltage shouldn't be a problem. If you are worried you could look up a datasheet on the SRAM chip in the cartridge and it will tell you the voltage required for data retention.

Well this is the original battery for a cart that was made in 1991. I'm wondering if it is at its point of death.

However, if 3.08V is fine for data retention then does that mean something else is wrong with the board for it to lose my save? I notice that there's a capacitor on there. Would a capacitor going back cause this problem?

Bregalad · Post by **Bregalad** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:42 am

I've been regularly loosing saves on numerous NES, SNES and GBA games. It's really no surprise if you loose saves on a Nintendo board, consider it being a miracle when the saves hold and you'll be allright.

If you want reliable saves use emulation, it's really the only way. Wonder why Nintendo never made a EEPROM memory card system.

Dastari · Post by **Dastari** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:23 am

Bregalad wrote:I've been regularly loosing saves on numerous NES, SNES and GBA games. It's really no surprise if you loose saves on a Nintendo board, consider it being a miracle when the saves hold and you'll be allright.

If you want reliable saves use emulation, it's really the only way. Wonder why Nintendo never made a EEPROM memory card system.

That's odd...in 23 years of owning an NES I have never lost a save and I have played Legend of Zelda A LOT as well as some other save games like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy.

I'm not a big fan of emulators since none of them perform like an NES flawlessly but I get your point. I'd just like to troubleshoot this I don't ever want to lose a save again.

Post by **tepples** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:33 am

Bregalad wrote:Wonder why Nintendo never made a EEPROM memory card system.

I seem to remember Nintendo 64 Controller Pak, GameCube Memory Card, and non-SRAM save chips on some N64 and GBA Game Paks and most DS Game Cards.

kyuusaku · Post by **kyuusaku** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:38 am

tepples wrote:Nintendo 64 Controller Pak

It is also battery backed SRAM.

Bregalad · Post by **Bregalad** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:39 am

I don't know about the 64 or the GC cause I don't have them, but you are right a minority of GBA games uses EEPROMs or Flash, so at least I'm almost sure my saves of Golden Sun are not going to be lost.

Maybe I was just unlucky, but really I remember loosing my saves on Zelda NES, Final Fantasy II NES, Final Fantasy III NES, Zelda 3 SNES, Castlevania : Cirle of the Moon GBA, Chrono Trigger SNES, my brother in law lost his saves on Dragon Warrior 1&2 GBC, and another friend lost his saves for at least two other GBA games.
Also I've heard of someone loosing all the content of a PSX memory card, but he said there was a battery in the card so it may have been a pirate card ? (mines are EEPROM based).

For the NES games the causes of the lost saves may have something to do with the game not working when pluging it in the console because of the crappy connector.

Oh but you are right that no emulator car replicate the NES flawlessly, altought Nestopia with NTSC filter is pretty damn close. So if you are playing a long RPG and really wish to not loose your saves, I'd say use an emulator but else use the real console and be ready to not be too much dissapointed if your saves are gone.

Post by **tepples** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:04 am

kyuusaku wrote:
tepples wrote:Nintendo 64 Controller Pak
It is also battery backed SRAM.

Citation needed. I was under the impression that it was like the PlayStation memory card, which doesn't have a visible battery on the board.

kyuusaku · Post by **kyuusaku** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:40 pm

tepples wrote:Citation needed.

This will have to do:

MottZilla · Post by **MottZilla** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 12:51 pm

I believe the last time I used my Zelda cartridge it still saves. So just because the battery is so many years old doesn't mean the battery is on its way out.

I'm only lost my saves on a cartridge once. That was when I was doing the crooked cartridge trick on Zelda 64 and pulled it out alittle bit too much.