Drill Baby Drill

So, I wanted to use my drill driver yesterday, but it has battery problems. I had in-securitized the security screws as previously described. The new batteries had arrived, but I had not installed them. So, now I am motivated.

Here are the old and new parts. The new batteries are NiMH type and have more than double the capacity of the old NiCad type batteries.

I arranged the new batteries to mimic the layout of the old batteries and then soldered bottom tabs. The tabs on the batteries are not oriented exactly as needed for this application, which makes sense since these are used for many applications. As a result, I rotated the cells to create a good enough orientation on the top and bottom.
Top tabs next. This shows how I used a paper clip to hold the tabs as I soldered them.
Then I added the connector to the top battery using a rubber band to hold things during soldering.

I verified the connections with a voltmeter. After this, I smushed the tabs so they would fit better in the case. Even so, some additional smushing was needed to get the case screwed shut. I tested the assembly in the drill.


Success!

Rick