A page with cell types and other bits of info on rebuilding PowerBook batteries.
| Laptop Model | Chemistry | Cell Type | Cell Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| PowerBook 100 | Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) | flat "gumstick" style cells, unavailable today | Unknown |
| PowerBooks 140-180c | Nickel Cadmium | A | 8, I think |
| PowerBook Duo (Type III Battery) | Nickel-Metal Hydride | 4/5A, 1600mAh | Unknown |
| PowerBook 500 Series | Nickel-Metal Hydride | A | 8 |
| PowerBook 190/5300 Series | Nickel-Metal Hydride | AA | Unknown |
| PowerBook 1400 Series | Nickel-Metal Hydride | 4/3A | 8 |
| PowerBook 3400/G3 Kanga | Lithium Ion | 17670 | 12 |
| PowerBook 2400c | Lithium Ion | 18650 | 6 |
| PowerBook G3 Wallstreet/PDQ | Lithium Ion | 17670 | Unknown |
| PowerBook G3 Lombard/Pismo | Lithium Ion | 18650 | Unknown |
Please use a spot welder when rebuilding these batteries. Using a soldering iron (especially on Lithium cells) is dangerous. The new cells will likely be heat damaged, and it carries a high risk on Lithium cells to send them into thermal runaway (fire).
Rebuilding a PowerBook 100 SLA battery isn't possible anymore because the original lead acid cells are no longer in production. As such, the only option is to design something new using a different type of cell. Someone's already done this luckily. Alaska360/360alaska on the 68kMLA forums designed and sells new PowerBook 100 batteries on eBay that use a custom BMS and Li-Po pouch cells.
See this page for a link to themThese batteries use A (not AA, A) NiCad cells. These batteries are dead simple, and a variety of cell types can be used to replace the originals. You don't even need the original pack at all, you can 3D print a new case, and use any size NiMH cells, as long as they fit and the voltage lines up to the original. More info is available on this forum thread.
There were three types of duo batteries, each with different cell configurations. I don't have much into on type 1 and 2 right now, but in general, they're pretty simple NiMH batteries. There's a rumor online that if you install higher capacity cells than the original, the Duo will not be able to charge them all the way. Others say this isn't true. I cannot confirm this myself, as I don't own any Duos at the moment, and if I did, I'd need one that hadn't leaked badly yet.
These batteries used an intelligent BMS known as the "EMM". This custom BMS can complicate rebuilds, as getting the BMS to wake up requires a few different software tools after a rebuild. This board or the ribbon cable coming off of it is likely to become corroded if the battery cells have leaked.
These packs are really difficult to rebuild. Getting the case open without damaging the outward facing part is near impossible. And, a leak is likely to render the battery unrecoverable. If you do get an intact one open, they use AA-size batteries. That's for OEM packs only though, some of the aftermarket ones used different cells.
Besides the odd cell size, they're a pretty straightforward rebuild. Maybe the easiest of any in fact, getting the case on one of them open is very easy and doesn't cause severe damage to the shell.
These batteries are impossible to rebuild as the BMS will lock itself down and stop working if the cell voltage drops too low, or if the cells are disconnected. It may be possible to rebuild one of these if you never disconnect the BMS from power, though no one has yet been successful at this. It also may not be able to recalibrate properly even if you do this successfully. The proper way to rebuild these would be to reflash/reset the BMS, which requires specialized hardware that no one has anymore (that I know of). Not even chansbattery in Canada was able to rebuild these as it was too old to support their equipment.
These batteries are pretty hostile to rebuilds too, but I think one may be possible. Powerbook27364 on the 68kmla forums was able to get close. He started with a pack that worked but only held a couple minutes of charge. He kept the old cells connected throughout the process so that the BMS would never lose power, and after, it did run off the new cells, but it was unable to recognize the new capacity. He has as of yet been unable to get it to re-calibrate or charge properly, so this one may need to be properly reset/reprogrammed to work properly, and that is FAR from a trivial process.
To my knowledge, it is actually possible to rebuild them without the BMS locking. Unfortunately, you can't get high-quality 17670 (aka 4/3A) Lithium cells anymore.
Also won't BMS lock to my knowledge, and they use standard 18650 cells.
These packs use 18650 cells and are not BMS locked. The BMS should recalibrate properly with new cells as well.
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