Re-celling NEC 880 battery pack

I have one NEC 880 battery pack (MC-BA11A) that won't hold a charge, so I pried it open and found that it uses three Panasonic CGP345010G cells like the one in the below link:

http://www.natbat.co.nz/pdf/345010ge.pdf

But I can't find replacement cells anywhere. Has anyone here successfully re-celled this pack, and if so, is there a different cell I can use in place of this cell?

A rather unusual one isn't it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEC-Versa-9-Cell-BPL003-Battery-New-136-275492-701A_W0QQitemZ370296297468QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLaptop_Batteries?hash=item56376117fc

Nice find C:Amie...looks right anyways. CEGeek, I guess you can rebuild them simply enough.

Those panasonic look like they would do the trick nicely. On the other hand, you can buy a new battery and not mess with it from Alancomputech.com. But do a search for 800 battery and not 880. They have the same things listed twice, but the 880 battery is $45 and the 800 battery is only $30...but they are the same thing.

But, if you want the best deal, looks like Chris' link to the Versa battery is tops...you get enough to recell 2 main batteries.

Not a bad price either me thinks!

Let us know how you gte on; perhaps a how-to video/photo guide could be put together?

I've seen AlanComputech's 800 and 880 packs, but I was hoping I could rebuild it for a lot less if I could find the cells.

Rich, are you sure the 800 and 880 packs are the same? The inside of the battery compartment on the 880 warns not to use the 800 pack, saying it may damage the 880. Is the amperage draw higher in the 880?

Well, they have difference product identifiers, but they both have the same electrical rating...and both units use the same exact power supply for charging...so you tell me. Is there really a difference, maybe in the charging cutoff level, or was this a ploy by NEC to get people to buy the newer coded battery at a higher cost?

All I know for sure is that I've used both the MC-BA11 and MC-BA11A in both the 800 and 880 and never seen any difference at all....and I've never burned up a Mobilepro yet....

Well, I got hold of another 880 pack cheap on eBay, but it doesn't seem to take a charge properly: the Control Panel battery level indicator starts at 10%, then rises to 30% and then 70% (normal so far), but then drops back to 10% while the charging light changes from amber to green.

So I've made an offer to AlanComputech on one of those 9-cell kits like the one C:Amie linked above. We'll see how this pans out.

The thing that bothers me the most is that the stock of existing batteries is old...almost 12-14 years old now and I really wonder how well they will last, even if they are new. Seems to me that any old lion cell is going to go over time whether it is used or not.

But I don't know really what the life expectancy is for these things. On many lion batteries I've seen, they give a functional time of 7-9 years from the date of manufacture. Others give it a couple years more, other less. If Alancomputech is selling them still, then perhaps they last even longer...or perhaps they work at a diminished capacity.

Good point, Rich. The one I just got was advertised as "new" - though it didn't come in the little NEC box.

AlanComputech accepted my offer, and the cells are on the way. Nine cells, so should be good for three 880 packs, though I'm only trying two at the moment.