My NiCad battery pack has a diode between the negative terminal &
center terminal (not +) for some type sensing while on the charger.
Does anyone know what type diodes are usually used - gp, zener,
switching? Yeah, mine is open and needs replacing.

Also, Nicad battery packs have a life span of xxx number of charges.
How does the number generally compare to the number of Lithium battery
charges before they need replacement?

Red

On Oct 24, 4:53*pm, Red wrote:
My NiCad battery pack has a diode between the negative terminal &
center terminal (not +) for some type sensing while on the charger.
Does anyone know what type diodes are usually used - gp, zener,
switching? *Yeah, mine is open and needs replacing.

Also, Nicad battery packs have a life span of xxx number of charges.
How does the number generally compare to the number of Lithium battery
charges before they need replacement?

Red

Ah hell, disregard the 1st part of the post. I think it's a
thermistor. !st time I checked a good battery it checked like a
diode, but now it's showing what it really is. I assume the
thermistor is monitoring battery temp.
Still would like to know how Nicad vs Lithium battery life compares
though.

On Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:10:02 -0700 (PDT), Red wrote:

On Oct 24, 4:53*pm, Red wrote:
My NiCad battery pack has a diode between the negative terminal &
center terminal (not +) for some type sensing while on the charger.
Does anyone know what type diodes are usually used - gp, zener,
switching? *Yeah, mine is open and needs replacing.

Also, Nicad battery packs have a life span of xxx number of charges.
How does the number generally compare to the number of Lithium battery
charges before they need replacement?

Red

Ah hell, disregard the 1st part of the post. I think it's a
thermistor. !st time I checked a good battery it checked like a
diode, but now it's showing what it really is. I assume the
thermistor is monitoring battery temp.

Yes. It's a more accurate way to sense terminal charge than the negative
delta-V method. It's essentially a requirement for NiMH.

Still would like to know how Nicad vs Lithium battery life compares
though.

They're different. NiCds are very poor for applications where they go unused
for long periods of time. Lithium-Ion types are quite a bit better, in this
regard, however they have a limited number of charge cycles (no matter how
shallow the discharge is). NiCds are better in this regard. There is no
perfect battery technology.