Does anyone know which cells are in the MP800/MP880 battery?

Hi folks,

I might like to try to rebuild a battery for a MP800/MP880 in the near future, but I would want to know the likely cost of the project. Does anyone know which lithium ion cells are in these batteries? Thanks very much.

-Erik

You tell me...here is what it looks like when opened...there are 3 flat cells hooked together in series. They are obviously 3.7V each as the total battery pack is rated at 11.1V...and they must be 1400mAh rated each as well. Each cell is about 50mm long, 35mm wide, and 10mm tall. They have rounded edges along the longitudinal axis.

By the way, the thickness is about the same as a AAA battery. And a AAA battery is a tad shorter than the ones in the pack by about 3/8 of an inch. I can fit 9 AAA batteries in place of the battery pack, and with some solder, I think I could make, in a series-parallel fashion, a 960mAh rated, 11.1V pack fairly cheaply. Just need to find the highest rated AAA size LION cells I can find.

Rich



Edited by Rich Hawley 2006-04-02 9:52 AM

Hmmm, something is amiss with the clock here. I just posted my first response, then edited it a few minutes later to correct a type and it shows a difference of 32 minutes in post times, when in reality it was just a few seconds. And then I was going to edit it a few minutes later and got the "Forget it Rich...you ain't editing nothing outside of 60 minutes" error.

But what I was going to add Erik, is that the cell I just tore apart and took pictures of reminded me of the filament and resistance principle of electronics. When I went to measure the length, I evidently made contact with the batteries in series and the edge of my metal ruler heated up instantly burning a small spot on my index finger...ouch! But putting a dvm on each cell, it appears that they all have a full charge, the the error on my battery pack lies on the printed circuit board and is beyond my ability to repair. So now I just need to find an old defunct battery and see what I can do with that.

I guess my point is that you need to pull your broken pack apart and check the cells first...if your problem is the same as mine, then replacing the cells isn't going to help you any.

Rich

I think there's an industrial battery called 5/4 AAA which is slightly taller (50mm) that might do the job.
Was the original Nimh? I hear warning bells if you're replacing it with Lion cells. I have not experience to back that up with though.

jpfx, no they surely weren't ni-mh, unless three of them were packed in each battery cell.

gee, Rich, be more careful next time.

Thanks so much for the thorough information. That should be plenty to get me started; I'll report on my progress when there is progress to report on (might be a few weeks until I have the time). Sorry to hear about the injury, Rich.

So now the trick is to find the proper sized flatpacks with a higher amphour rating than the originals. Any increased capacity would be welcome.