Battery pack rebuild: This Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN no longer holds a charge. The high speed one does, so the charger is still good. On the F-1 Facebook group it was suggested that...

Altprocess Loc: Connecticut

This Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN no longer holds a charge. The high speed one does, so the charger is still good. On the F-1 Facebook group it was suggested that Batteries Plus can rebuild it. Has anyone had this done or are there other recommendations/suggestions? I have a PhD in history which means I have no discernible skills to do this myself, probably!

(Download)

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Altprocess wrote:

This Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN no longer holds a charge. The high speed one does, so the charger is still good. On the F-1 Facebook group it was suggested that Batteries Plus can rebuild it. Has anyone had this done or are there other recommendations/suggestions? I have a PhD in history which means I have no discernible skills to do this myself, probably!

You need to figure out how to put that expensive education to good use!!

Altprocess Loc: Connecticut

Retired CPO wrote:

You need to figure out how to put that expensive education to good use!!

Interestingly, I worked full-time and emerged from it all debt free. I’ve been a professor for almost 30 years but not particularly handy if electronics are involved.

John7199 Loc: Eastern Mass.

Retired CPO wrote:

You need to figure out how to put that expensive education to good use!!

The man asked a question, no snarky reply's.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Altprocess wrote:

This Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN no longer holds a charge. The high speed one does, so the charger is still good. On the F-1 Facebook group it was suggested that Batteries Plus can rebuild it. Has anyone had this done or are there other recommendations/suggestions? I have a PhD in history which means I have no discernible skills to do this myself, probably!

BatteriesPlus helped me rebuild some antique HP calculator battery packs a few years ago. They work, but are a little finicky to install into the calculator.

I do not know if they can recreate the heat shrink sleeve of your battery pack, but I know they can provide the cells (NiCd or NiMh) and do the necessary spot welding. It is possible that this capability varies from store to store. You may just have to ask them.

Altprocess Loc: Connecticut

Thanks for the reply. I'll bring it down to Batteries Plus next week and ask the question. If they "only" have the batteries I have an electrician friend that can do the rest, probably. Frankly, opening the thing up was a tough enough task for me.

BebuLamar

You can try to bring it to Battery Plus and see what they say. To rebuild the pack I would need to find out what size of cells they are. You can measure the dimensions. I rebuilt the Nikon MN-2 for the Nikon F3 MD4 motor drive. The rebuilt pack last almost 3 times as long as the original pack.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

Altprocess wrote:

This Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN no longer holds a charge. The high speed one does, so the charger is still good. On the F-1 Facebook group it was suggested that Batteries Plus can rebuild it. Has anyone had this done or are there other recommendations/suggestions? I have a PhD in history which means I have no discernible skills to do this myself, probably!

Why not check with Batteries Plus
I have had many specialized battery packs rebuilt by them.

jputnick

Batteries Plus actually rebuilt the battery pack for my vintage Strobonar 700 strobe. It works great and they were reasonable.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

John7199 wrote:

The man asked a question, no snarky reply's.

Thanks John/Daddy! For the fatherly guidance. Being from Eastern Mass, I know you recognize and probably engage in "snarky" responses. My wife is from Boston, I'm well acquainted with "snark"
Since you didn't catch the sarcasm, let me explain: I would have thought that someone with a PhD would be knowledgeable enough to use resources immediately available to them when they are in a situation beyond their expertise.
The OP states that he has a friend who is an electrician!
May I dare to hope that in the future, I can approach you with questions concerning more fatherly guidance?
My daughter has decided that it's a good idea to start smoking crack. What should I do? Should I recommend that she wait until the baby is born?

Thanks again, Daddy!

BebuLamar

Altprocess wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I'll bring it down to Batteries Plus next week and ask the question. If they "only" have the batteries I have an electrician friend that can do the rest, probably. Frankly, opening the thing up was a tough enough task for me.

Actually the toughest task in rebuilding the battery pack is to open it up. Some were welded via ultrasonic welder and very difficult to to open up and of course glue it back together. But if you have your friend does the wiring you should find out what size of battery they are. Battery Plus charges much higher prices for battery than other online businesses. If they are willing to rebuild it then the cost of battery isn't much as the cost of rebuilding it is in the labor not so much for the new cells.

Canisdirus

Altprocess wrote:

This Canon Ni-Cd Pack FN no longer holds a charge. The high speed one does, so the charger is still good. On the F-1 Facebook group it was suggested that Batteries Plus can rebuild it. Has anyone had this done or are there other recommendations/suggestions? I have a PhD in history which means I have no discernible skills to do this myself, probably!

It's just a bunch of small batteries inside (think hearing aids).

Should be easy to do.

BebuLamar

Canisdirus wrote:

It's just a bunch of small batteries inside (think hearing aids).

Should be easy to do.

Definitely not hearing aids battery. The cell is way too big to fit in a hearing aids. Also they never use NiCad in hearing aids.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

I too have had success with rebuilt NiCad packs way back when NiCad was best available option. But if I were still using an old NiCad batt and it failed, I wouldn’t spend any money on a repair - I’d just buy a newer pack with Lithium ion batts. So much better on so many levels (except for the pesky fact that L-ion might just blow the plane you’re on out of the sky or burn down my office 😎). In all seriousness, I NEVER leave my batts in the chargers once they are recharged and ALWAYS use a piece of electricians tape to cover the terminals on all of my uninstalled batts. Love the convenience/utility of L-ion, but always cognizant of the very real danger if shorted out.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Actually, I believe Altprocess's inquiry was quite reasonable. What he really asked, for those with comprehension problems, was whether their work is satisfactory. He has gotten several germane answers. In fact, the quality of work they do on projects like this can be quite variable. Some of their techs are quite "ham-handed" and build assemblies that can't quite go back together correctly or won't fit back into the outer enclosure.

The big unknown here is just how the OP opened the outer container to remove the battery array. Some methods either remove material or distort the outer case such that it is not reusable. If that has happened, BatteriesPlus's capabilities are no longer the limiting question.