Whites Rechargeable Battery Pack Rebuild

doug2060

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Recently my battery pack for my XLT started getting weak. I couldn't get it to charge much more than 8.4 volts and it wouldn't last long from there. As some of you may know these batteries can be quite expensive when buying them new. I decided to rebuild mine. There are several guides for doing this out there but I found them to be hard to find. So, I decided to post what I did in hopes it may help others.

First I got a pack of 8 rechargeable batteries. For my project I chose these Duracell NiMH 2450mAH rechargeable batteries. I got mine on ebay for $13.50. These batteries like most AA rechargeables are 1.2 volts and not 1.5.
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Once my batteries arrived it was time to heat my tools of choice for the project.
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I then started by removing the cover on the battery pack. It was glued in two spots at one end. Just pry around the glue to crack it so you can slide the cover off. The cover will slide back just like the one on the AA battery holder pack. Once you slide it back until it stops you can push up on the bottom center of the cover to get it to slide all the way off.
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Now you old batteries are exposed. I had to snip the two metal connectors at the top from the old batteries. I got as close as I could to the battery before cutting as to leave as much as possible. I then removed the old batteries and tossed them out.
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This is what I had left.
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The batteris will pretty much fit just like in the AA battery holder. I did have to bend the two connectors to created some resistance to hold the rows on either side in place and to make a good connection.
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I then soldered each row at both ends but not in the middle.
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I then used hot glue to help secure the batteries in position. This will also help prevent them from moving around if the detector is dropped etc. The hot glue will also be easy to remove in the future if necessary.
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I then put the cover back on and put it on the charger. I highly recommend not using the FAST charge option and always use the OVER-NIGHT option.
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I put the battery pack in my XLT after reassembling it to test and it showed 9.2 volts. After charging for a couple hours in OVER-NIGHT mode it showed 11.2 and 11.3. After testing it seems this is the maximum voltage for these batteries. Due to them being 1.2 volts each I really didn't expect that much.

I have not had time to test how well they hold up but I will be sure to edit this post soon with more details.
 
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by doing it that way you can(for your time and labor) also get the flat 9.6v battery pack(8 AA rechargeable batteries) for an RC car. They come with a plug on them that you can just snip and solder to the (+) and (-) terminal.

great write up by the way
 
by doing it that way you can(for your time and labor) also get the flat 9.6v battery pack(8 AA rechargeable batteries) for an RC car. They come with a plug on them that you can just snip and solder to the (+) and (-) terminal.

great write up by the way

I have seen where others have done that successfully. I actually considered it but could not find much info on the indiviadual batteries used such as the mah and manufacturers. I chose to do it this way because Duracell is considered the best or among the best brands and they are 2450 mAH which will hopefully provide more hunting hours to each re-charge.
 
You're charging the NIMH with a NICAD charger? The NIMH usually have a thermistor to protect from overcharging.
 
Great job. There is now a 1.6 volt rechargeable battery. They are made by PowerGenix and are PGX-4AAZiNc. A bit pricy though.
 
You're charging the NIMH with a NICAD charger? The NIMH usually have a thermistor to protect from overcharging.

Yes, I'm using the original charger. It should work fine as long as I don't put it in FAST charge mode and forget about it.

Great job. There is now a 1.6 volt rechargeable battery. They are made by PowerGenix and are PGX-4AAZiNc. A bit pricy though.

I really wanted to save money. I could have got the 1.5 volts but they are more expensive and usually no name brand stuff. At only $13.50 for the 8 AA Duracells I feel I made a good choice. I went out hunting for just under an hour and they're still at 11.2 volts.
 
It is great that you were able to do it yourself, I don't think I would want to try it for something expensive. There a shop near me called batteries plus, I don't know if they are a chain or not but I bet there is something similar in most cities. They replaced the rechargeable batteries in a shaver for me for less than $10. I think before I tried to do it myself I would look for some place like that and get a price to have it done.
 
Repair rechargeable batteries by zapping

I found a You Tube that shows you how to repair your rechargeable batteries to make them charge again. I posted a new tread on it. But check this out if it works I copied it after watching here is the link put it in your browser or maybe this will show as a link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvpGp2CM-qk&feature=related
M6 Mike

I will be trying this on all my rechargeable batteries that won't charge.
The $1.97 site for the guide did say it was like jump starting your car battery. It amazes me the number of people that post video on fixing things on You Tube. We have fixed several things using the videos that are free to view and use.
 
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It is great that you were able to do it yourself, I don't think I would want to try it for something expensive. There a shop near me called batteries plus, I don't know if they are a chain or not but I bet there is something similar in most cities. They replaced the rechargeable batteries in a shaver for me for less than $10. I think before I tried to do it myself I would look for some place like that and get a price to have it done.

I seen those in Grand Rapids Michigan so I assume they are a chain. I know there are many places that rebuild batteries around. If you check this tread you will see there may be another easy way to fix rechargeable batteries by zapping them with another battery pack . The video I seen they used a cordless drill battery pack to zap a NiCad and I think this also works for NiMh battery packs. I will be trying this on single rechargeable batteries that won't charge. I posted here besides this but here is the site copy and paste to your browser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvpGp2CM-qk&feature=related

M6 Mike
After posting the comment I noticed the link works from here.
 
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I don't know about their rechargeable batteries, but I have found that Duracell Alkaline batteries corrode after a while more than any other battery that I have tried.
 
It is great that you were able to do it yourself, I don't think I would want to try it for something expensive. There a shop near me called batteries plus, I don't know if they are a chain or not but I bet there is something similar in most cities. They replaced the rechargeable batteries in a shaver for me for less than $10. I think before I tried to do it myself I would look for some place like that and get a price to have it done.

Batteries Plus is indeed a chain. We have three of them in San Antonio and luckily one just 5 miles or so from my house. I thought my old Minelab Sovereign XS was going to end up being totally useless with a dead rechargeable battery pack until I learned Batteries Plus could make me a new and better Nickel Hydride version for $40. It should be ready for me Monday actually. I'm very happy as I only used this machine maybe 3 times after I got it new in 1991. It's in mint condition and I didn't want to have to toss it for sure!
 
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