I just finished the T45 battery pack rebuild project! IT WORKS!
Looking back at the entire process, I'd say that the most difficult part of
the whole thing boiled down to aspects:
1. Getting the case open,
2. Feeling overwhelmed.
There are 20 AA-sized NiCD cells stuffed inside the pack. I purchased
replacement tenergy cells from all-battery dot com for abut $1.09 apiece
with tabs. There are five 4-cell strings in the pack and the layout is
pretty interesting. The replacement cells, fortunately are a bit shorter in
length than the origionals, so I didn't have to suffer from stuff them in
like I'm packing a suitcase.
Based on this experience, I feel confident that the process is repeatable
and could be done start-to-finish in about two hours. It takes longer to get
the case open than it does to replace the cells. Just solder the tabs to
get five 4-cell chains, fold three sets of them over two-by-two and then
tape them into a 6x2 group, the fourth set form a square and the fifth one
goes serpentine. It's actually pretty easy.
I'd rate this project on the difficulty scale of 1-10 as a 7. Breaking the
pack open was difficult, but the rest of the project was easy. It just
takes a while soldering 20 cells.
One hint, though, do not disconnect and remove the old cells until you have
your strings soldered, so you can use the old cells' arrangement as a guide.
Most importantly, check the voltages of the batteries and attempt to match
them in their 4-strings. When buying replacement cells, get a few extras. I
bought 24 and removed the four lowest reading ones. Check the voltages and
polarity of the cells often to make sure you aren't having a "program mode
moment".
As to the flash, all I can say is "wow".
AG (you light up my life) Schnozz
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