Batteries Drained In Minutes

[gamefan999]

I know this topic has been discussed/answered in other threads, most notably the "paper clip" one here
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=35602

but I need some more clear and concise explanation of this - a coalescing of the disparate threads, if you will. Maybe a Wiki FAQ and/or sticky?

The sad story is, my GP2X F100 was stolen (I know, How low can you go, steal a man's retro gaming pleasure) and I have been forced to buy one used, the history of which I have no knowledge!

It seems someone was doing the old "AC power always, batteries never" routine, because when I put in freshly charged 2500's, I get about 2 minutes before the red light comes on, and maybe about 5-10 more minutes before battery crash.

I actually tried the "paper clip to adjust the button" thing, but to me, I can se no "button" at all - I have NO IDEA what I am supposed to be "adjusting" with the paper clip!

Could someone give me a clearer walkthrough or explanation of what should be happening, and what I should be doing about it?

I NEVER had a problem with battery life with my original unit (SNIFF!). I fel so degraded having to worry about problems like these after all the time I spent looking after my own unit so carefully, it only makes problems like this that much worse! Any help would be greatly appreciated. And thanks for reading my sob story as well...

 

[darionapole]

*sob* *sob* ...my GP2X F100 was stolen..... (starts crying) ^^U

1) are the bateries, NEW?
2) that peperclip trick is for when the the AC power adaptor hole gets blocked or doesn't do good contact so, more resistance = less baterry time = dies earlier
3)if it's not that then i've no idea. maybe the voltage regulator is fried or something like that...but that's beyond my knowledge,

 

[coldfish]

Dunno?

-Run battest to get a rough idea of your battery capacity when fresh charged. If it's displays something weird like 20% it might be the following.

Gently manipulate the batteries and/or power switch while running battest and see if the value fluctuates a lot. Mine would show 60%, then I gently slid the power switch and it would jump to 100%.

-Check the power switch, open up the GP2X and spray iso alcohol into the switch.

-Check battery contacts, clean.

-Also check for dry solder joints, on switch or battery contacts reheat/flow them.

Good luck!

 

[Pickle]

I think this is a common issue, it has occurred on my gp2x mk2 a while ago, its was bad enough that i hardly use it. I only use to test out some port work using AC. Ive not seen a good solution to fix it.
One idea was the power circuit has a issue, which what im starting to believe.

 

[gamefan999]

Thanks for the useful comments. I'll try them and be back if I'm still stuck.

 

[bacteria]

I seem to recall a while ago someone saying a reason the batteries die fast on the GP2x is that sometimes the capacitors on the GP2x die, no idea if this is correct though.