Hacking EZ Flash and Modded SP - Low Battery

[SteveWilkos]

• Hey guys. I purchased a modded GBA SP recently (new shell, IPS Screen, cushions, batter, the works) along with an EZ Flash Omega cart. I've noticed that when I play the EZ Flash for about a half hour after a full charge, the SP has the red-light low battery. However, when I switch to a regular GBA cartridge, the battery light is suddenly green. (THPS 2 if that matters)
• I'm aware that the EZ Flash Omega cart does draw more battery than a standard GBA Cart, but seeing the battery light go to red under an hour is a bit alarming. The good news is that switching to the regular GBA cart shows that the issue is likely not my modded SP.
• So my question is; Does the EZ Flash Omega actually just drain the SP battery that fast? Or does it just mess with the battery sensor system and actually have a somewhat normal playtime? I've also used the same EZ Flash cart on a regular (modded) Gameboy Advance that uses double A batteries and I don't have this issue at all.

 

[FAST6191]

More current draw (or if you prefer there is a reason every battery datasheet or discharge curve worth anything will have multiple lines corresponding to different currents) does tend to send voltage down which trips simplistic indicators, which the screen mods up there might also be contributing to.
When I measured things with later updates then current draw was considerably better than the first wave thing I tested initially, not as much as some of the GBA era flash carts that went lower than original games even.
Generally when playing with anything I find the indicator vs when it finally drops is quite a difference but this might be something you want to test for yourself.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

• Hey guys. I purchased a modded GBA SP recently (new shell, IPS Screen, cushions, batter, the works) along with an EZ Flash Omega cart. I've noticed that when I play the EZ Flash for about a half hour after a full charge, the SP has the red-light low battery. However, when I switch to a regular GBA cartridge, the battery light is suddenly green. (THPS 2 if that matters)
• I'm aware that the EZ Flash Omega cart does draw more battery than a standard GBA Cart, but seeing the battery light go to red under an hour is a bit alarming. The good news is that switching to the regular GBA cart shows that the issue is likely not my modded SP.
• So my question is; Does the EZ Flash Omega actually just drain the SP battery that fast? Or does it just mess with the battery sensor system and actually have a somewhat normal playtime? I've also used the same EZ Flash cart on a regular (modded) Gameboy Advance that uses double A batteries and I don't have this issue at all.

Both the IPS screen and the flashcart will be contributing to the battery drain. Battery life will be shorter. But as FAST said there is a voltage sag/drop related to current draw, that means the higher the current draw, the lower the effective voltage, and the low battery indicator works by measuring voltage.
However the voltage returns to normal when there is no current draw. Which is why if a device powers off due to low battery you are usually able to power it back on for at least a few seconds, before it dies again.
You will effectively have somewhat shorter battery life, as the console isn't able to squeeze the last couple % out of the battery since the low voltage shutoff will trigger earlier due to the voltage drop, even though there is still battery capacity left. But that is probably insignificant compared to the power draw of the screen and flashcart.

 

[Polodon]

Good to know!