Dual Shock 3 *mostly* works without battery

Wolfpup

Wolfpup

CAGiversary!
This is something that's concerned me for a while, and as near as I can tell no one's bothered testing it.

The Nintendo DS is a brick without it's battery. I kind of question whether I should be buying all the stuff I buy for it, as there's no guarantee it'll be usable in 10 or 15 years once there aren't any batteries for it and our current ones are dead. Wish the Dragon Quest games were hitting the Playstation Portable too.

It's goofy sealed proprietary battery approach could leave the Playstation 3 could be in the same position...but thankfully that doesn't appear to be the case.

I've tried removing the battery from my Dualshock 3 (it's a bit of a pain-took a lot more force than the pictures showed, but at least a normal, small phillips screwdriver will work). With the battery removed, the controller CAN'T turn on the system anymore. But it turns out if you turn on the system with the normal power button, the controller DOES function. You just hit the PS button and it seems to work like normal. Tried it at the menu screens, in MGS4, and in the Condemned 2 demo.

So it *seems* like the PS3 will still be usable even when there batteries die, but...
The system itself does also contain a lithium battery-probably a standard computer battery. Unless it's accessible when you remove the harddrive, that could still be an issue when that goes. It may not matter (assuming it doesn't leak). May just mean it forgets the date and time if it's unplugged (like the 360), and it's no big deal. Or it may not even boot. No way of knowing without cracking the whole thing open I guess. (I liked that the Saturn's battery was easily accessible/replaceable...I swear this is the most screwed up generation we've ever had just for all the weird decisions all three companies have made...games are great obviously)
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']The Nintendo DS is a brick without it's battery.[/QUOTE]

I don't see why you couldn't just measure the resistance of the battery, find an appropriate resistor, and solder it across the battery contacts if you were desperate. I think the reason it bricks is because a lack of battery breaks the circuit. Even if the battery dies, you might still be able to leave it in there and the system will work as long as you have it plugged into the AC adapter.

I forget if you even need a resistor. Are batteries supposed to be as little resistance as possible? I forget. You may be able to just solder some wire in instead. But I'd find a resistor so you don't freak out the circuit in case there is supposed to be resistance.

I know what you mean about opening PS3 controllers. It's a pain in the ass. I had to open my Sixaxis, and damn! It's even harder putting everything back together, especially if you pop out the L2 or R2.

I've heard that you can cut open these batteries and replace the cells, though. That way you will never be left without a good controller or a working DS. You just have to find the right cells.
 
[quote name='Chuplayer']I don't see why you couldn't just measure the resistance of the battery, find an appropriate resistor, and solder it across the battery contacts if you were desperate. I think the reason it bricks is because a lack of battery breaks the circuit. Even if the battery dies, you might still be able to leave it in there and the system will work as long as you have it plugged into the AC adapter.[/quote]

Yeah, that's possible, and I guess that's what I'm hoping for, as I'm still buying DS games. The soldering thing seems plausible too, but it's beyond my capabilities, and WAAAAAAAY beyond most people. I wish they had just built the thing to not need the battery.

I know what you mean about opening PS3 controllers. It's a pain in the ass. I had to open my Sixaxis, and damn! It's even harder putting everything back together, especially if you pop out the L2 or R2.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and that's just what happened to me :D I had a heck of a time figuring out how they slipped back in. Finally got the left side on perfectly, but the R2 assembly popped out. I had to figure out how to get that spring and everything back in place. I think I've got it about 98% right. The R1 button might be a teeny bit different though. I don't want to take it apart again in case I do it even worse :D

I *think* if I were to pull another battery on another one of these I'd be able to do it without having any of the shoulder buttons pop out, now that I know how the thing is put together. It had me wondering how they're even assembled to begin with. Some kind of really fancy robot, I guess. Or does some person have to sit there and try to do all that?

EDIT: Anyway the sealed battery in the system itself has me iffy on it too. I'm going to pop the hard drive out sometime soon and see if you're able to access it through that bay. If not though, there's no guarantee the system won't (effectively) die once that battery goes. It might just lose the time and date, but I've seen plenty of hardware that won't boot with a dead battery.

Geez, if Microsoft could just release a QUIET 360, fix the d-pad (on both wired and wireless controllers), and add a Blu Ray drive to it... MAYBE if the rumors about other electronics manufacturers building 360s are true... but I'm not sure what they can do ab out drive noise without Microsoft's involvement.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
[quote name='RedvsBlue']WAIT, you mean consumer electronics might not live forever?!?!? Say it ain't so![/QUOTE]

Batteries die a lot faster than a well built piece of electronics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top