Hello,
The message “battery Low” is displayed when starting my MD. I don’t have too much time at the moment to look at battery change, but I just wanted to know one thing: if you don’t change the battery once it’s dead, what happens? We can’t save anymore, right? But what has already been saved (the sequences) and the machine, I imagine that all this continues to work normally?
Just to procrastinate a little more…
Surely people have had to replace the soldered battery on older model MD’s with a clip-in type(otherwise their MD would be basically useless once the battery dies !!), but i can not find any info or part # or anything for the battery clip(which allows to replace battery) itself.
The soldered battery holder in the older MD’s has 3 pins in a triangular configuration, but the only battery holders with clips i can find online only have 2 pins directly across from each other.
I need to find a battery holder(which the battery can be removed without desoldering(!!!)
AND, the pins to solder need to line up with the MD pcb…
The easiest thing might be to cut the old battery off, solder cables to both sides on the pins and then find a free space in the box to place and mount a battery holder
Something like this…
Thanks for the reply.
Yeah, if i cant find one to line up to the pcb, i guess i could wire one to the pcb and use double sided tape to hold it down.
Really hope to get a part # though for a drop in replacement !
There must be alot of people out there who have had to deal with this…
Please share your experiences here…
So nobody here has ever replaced a soldered in battery holder on their MD ?
That would be very hard to believe…
Still no response from elektron support either… bummer.
looks like someone gave an answer already. just get your + - the right way around 
i don’t think there’s a magical part number here, the battery is a CR2450 (thanks @homealone ) so need a holder that matches eh.
It’s a CR2450.
Unfortunately you started a new topic for your question (which then got incorporated into a recent topic on battery replacement), instead of searching for previous instances.
A very few people have written on the forum about the battery holder: see the linked post below and the posts immediately following it.
Previously on Elektronauts:
Well my apologies for posting a new topic. I didnt think it would be a big deal. Also, “low battery” really doesnt really explain my question regarding the battery holder itself.
And Yes i had already read the battery related posts. I always search before posting.
I already know how to take md apart and replace a coin battery. Also knew what battery is needed.
What i cant figure out is getting a drop in replacement battery holder which aligns with the solder holes in the pcb.
I didnt want to have to use any adhesive to mount a new battery holder in the md in fear of electronics warmth causing adhesive to give, then causing a lose battery knocking around inside the unit possibly causing a short circuit or other damage.
Thanks, i guess i will gamble on one of those. Unfortunately as i said before, the hole mounting pattern on the soldered in MD battery is triangular with 3 holes. All battery holders i have looked at only have 2 pins straight across from each other.
Can anyone confirm this type will work/fit the MD pcb holes ? I dont have any money to waste.
Please believe me, i have spent hours trying to figure this out…
The answer is probably no. You would usually have to solder a little extension on one leg of the holder to meet up to the hole spacing on the PCB. That’s generally been my experience replacing CR2032s in old gear with holders. Either that or mount the holder somewhere convenient and then use longer jumper wires. Why nobody has made a holder to match the existing standard pin spacing of coin cells is one of the mysteries of the universe.
Ok thanks for your input, i will post back with how it went.
I’ll get it worked out…
But what elektron wer thinking when they soldered the battery in is the first real mystery right ? lol
Standard practice of the day. Non-volatile storage was very expensive back then, and a battery holder + battery would add enough to the unit cost in production to make it unappealing to manufacturers. There’s also the chance the battery could come loose in transit if not seated properly. It’s also not expected that the devices be user serviceable in that way.
Quite a few good reasons. Though they later did do it for the Octatrack.
Delete
This is the coin cell holder I got for my Machinedrum MKI. The older ‘fat’ MD.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/534-1053-BH
Here is a picture of the guts. As you can see there is an outline for a coin cell holder exactly like this in the same spot where the lithium battery was.
