[Hai-users] Battery backup circuit problem

[Wijoyo Utomo]

All,

A friend's OmniIIe shows a battery problem. It shows the message battery
low trouble now. Battery voltage check shows the voltage is 13.3V which
is Ok. But running the test (button 6 then 4). The first page of the
display shows battery value is 174, the second page (after pressing the
down arrow button) also 174. But after a while (around 4-6 seconds) the
first page still shows 174 and the second page becomes 229.

Running the system without battery, when running the test again, those
values are still the same (174 on first page, 229 on second page), even
without battery.

First thing comes to my mind is to reset the system. First reseting the
RAM and EEPROM. Then disconnecting the AC power and backup battery.
Waiting for 10 minutes. Reconnect the battery, then AC power. Reloading
the EEPROM from PC Access. Running the test again, the same values still
appear.

So, I thought the software somehow got problem. I know the battery is
ok, so while the system is running with battery connected, I pulled out
the AC transformer plug. The system just went off as if there was no
backup battery.

Now, the questions:
1. How come the first page of status test, the battery value is
different from the second page?

2. Is it a common problem in the Omni controller families? My friend
just used the system a little over 1 year. But he had bought it about 2
years ago.

3. I know that the problem is somewhere in the power supply circuit. And
as my friend lives in Indonesia, sending back the board to HAI would
cost some good amount of fortune and more on the waiting time. So, what
is the chance we could get support from HAI to trouble shoot this
problem? Both of us are electronic engineers and we have a good amount
of experience working with electronic components.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion and advice.

Best Regards,
Jo