Gp2x Batteries Draining Fast


chris_r

Active Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2004
Messages
745
I used to get about 4hours out of my gp2x on my 2100mah rechargables but lately I have only been getting between 1 and 2 hours, I keep 2 sets of batteries in rotation and both of them have the same problem so I don't know if it's likely that the batteries are worn down.

I have tried some 2000mah batteries that I use in my wii remotes (so they shouldn't be worn down) and I still get the same problem. The batteries don't get hot and i don't run anything over 200mhz so I don't know what's wrong.
 
chris_r said:
I used to get about 4hours out of my gp2x on my 2100mah rechargables but lately I have only been getting between 1 and 2 hours, I keep 2 sets of batteries in rotation and both of them have the same problem so I don't know if it's likely that the batteries are worn down.

I have tried some 2000mah batteries that I use in my wii remotes (so they shouldn't be worn down) and I still get the same problem. The batteries don't get hot and i don't run anything over 200mhz so I don't know what's wrong.
I have two sets of 2400Mah NiMH batteris that I used to rotate and they have all stopped holding a charge at all for some reason. I've read that some manufacturers batteries are just not a robust as others. Mine are Energizer and I can't recommend them at all. A quick search in the forums should give an idea of what seems to work best.

Just as an FYI: I tried a new set of regular alkaline batteries to be sure it wasn't my GP2X that was the problem and it worked fine for a few hours as it always had so that's how I detemined it was the rechargables that was the problem. Hope this helps.
 
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I had a similar problem with my original GP2x before I lost it; even brand new batteries capacity-tested with a WizardOne charger (to 2450mAh, only a little lower than their official rating of 2600) only lasted long enough to watch a film and spend maybe twenty minutes on whatever else I chose to throw at it after doing so. So just over two hours, compared to four and a half to five when I first got the 2x.

I'm told this can be caused by a missing component on the board - can't remember if it's a diode or a resitor, but either way, it isn't always attached perfectly, and losing it completely kills your battery life. If your GP2x rattles at all, this is almost certainly the problem.

Whilst I do not know for sure, I would imagine that the parts themselves could conceivably fail over time with use, so it could be the problem even if your 2x doesn't rattle, but I'm not certain how one would check. It would probably involve a multimeter though...

Edit: For those who are interested, my old topic can be found here: http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=38207&hl=
 
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Good god. This explains why everyone tells me 5 hours of battery life is normal and with 2650 mah Duracell batteries and a good overnight charger my gp2x only ever gave me an hour and a half or so..... and yes that thing sounded like it had a bag of rice freakin bouncing around inside of it. headphone jack included. And this wasn't a first edition.....
 
Interesting. I thought the three GP2x's I have owned and all give/gave bad battery life must have been down to the fact I run most games overclocked. I was/am only get about 30-60 mins on fully charged batteries; nothing seems wrong on the boards (ie missing bits) and the batteries are fine.

On my latest project, GP2x mod (see sig on BenHeck) I tried C cells; lousy GP2x drained 5500NiMH photo grade C cell batteries (with PSone screen only taking 750mAh) in about an hour too; and reduced the battery voltage from 7.7v to 6.4v when the GP2x was running (6 cells together as PSone screen needs 7.2v-9v max to run, so I used a step-down regulator to 3.12v for the GP2x). This is serious! I should have expected several hours playtime from these cells! I had to remove all the batteries and just run the system off mains power.

Looks like many GP2x's have a built-in death and decay "feature".
 
I threw out some completely ok batteries until I realised the charger was at fault. Got a new charger and things have been fine ever since.

It basically was either charging batteries for too long or not long enough. The sensor was damaged.
 
OP: This happened to me after about 2 years of regular use. Brand new batteries fixed the job.
 
Here's a gp2x running an NES emulator running out of batteries... rolling fart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwBu0LzVSNg
 
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