Nikon D1x: Lithium ion EN-4 ? Rebuilding service?


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Keltzar

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Jul 18, 2002
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Hi,
I've been thinking of getting my EN-4 battery for my D1x converted to lithium ion. I read on the net it can take 18650 lithium cells which are placed into the pack. Does anyone know of a conversion service in Singapore which can do it? Incl. selling the battery charger to go with it?
 

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6563062
http://d1liion.vincenttrepanier.com/ , or http://66.163.168.225/babelfish/tra...en&trurl=http://d1liion.vincenttrepanier.com/

Using a battery holder solution may be better.

I had some free time this afternoon, so I took out my old EN4, removed the grab handle mech ... and cut open the battery pack using a box-cutter, and prying open with a screwdriver ... according to the diagram.

Other than:
1) being careful with the contacts for the cells (one for each end +&-)
2) the cells are stuck down with double-sided tape
3) hard part getting out the cells in the middle section...

the rest was easy to pry out the old 6 NiMH cells. voila, now I have an empty battery holder. Maybe I'll try and order those 18650 cells and the contacts from sim lim, and getting my camera mech to put it toghether for me as a holder.

Will update you if I get around to it.

Not too difficult, about 30mins work.

if I actually succeed, maybe I'll mount a web page with instructions... so I'll update this thread in time.
I can already see that using 2 lithium cells will make it a lot lighter.
 

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I've repacked 1 battery pack with GP 2500mah Nimh cells myself. So far so good and after 2 gb of images, the battery still got juice left but that's with occasional chimping and i shoot RAW most of the time.

I conditioned the new battery pack with 3 cycles of charging & conditioning with the stock Nikon MH-16 Charger as recommended by forumer/user of the said D1X/D1H/D1 from a couple of photographic community/websites.

Bought a couple of Camera Devices EN-4 pack. Did the same conditioning and they last longer than Nikon pack.

Also DIY an external pack by removing the cells totally. The pack, powered by 6 AA cells, is then wired to a jack which is connected to a socket built onto the battery cover. The said socket is then soldered to the pack's respective terminal.

As a hobbyist, the Li-on move is very attractive but what assurance do i have of the cell from overheating and exploding as i tend to shoot continiously at times.

Still love my D1X even though i have a D2H & D2X.
 

... of course, the risk is totally yours!

That said, the lithium ion venting is during the charging cycle - in this case, the cells will be removed from the pack for charging. And if lithium was so at risk of exploding, they would not use it in the D2h/D2x ?

I have read posts on chinese and french websites as well, and users have been happy with the experience. 1-2 of them are now into a second set of lithium ion batteries already.... so this is not a new approach per-se.

Some users even report that the battery indicator on the D1x is more reliable/predictable using lithium ... and someone was saying (so its a rumour) that nikon had planned the D1x for lithium ion, but up till the time the camera was released, they could not at that time (1999/2000?) perfect the technology.
 

... its finally sort of done.
I got a local camera shop guy to help me put spring terminals into the holder I had cut previously (too busy with work to do the work myself). The springs came from size-C battery holders from Sim Lim Tower ($2 each). The only problem was the battery spring had too much resistance (0.4v loss), but everything seems to work well now that I've shorted a copper wire across the +/- terminal of the two cells to make it a series (2 x 3.7v).

Soon, I'll do some intensive shooting and know how well the solution works.

For one thing, it's definitely lighter than a NiMH pack.
 

haha, the choice is yours...

i know my grandpa's try failed and he did not try again on his D1

so he was stuck with the beautiful battery which would die after 160 shots (currently)

haha!
 

Could also be the quality of his battery.
Try other cells.
 

Rebuilt myself another set of Nimh after the external pack i built didn't give the convenience expected as i have to hastle with the dangling cable and the neck strap.

I intent to build another 3 dead batteries but this time with Li-on battery packs. Looking at 18650 Li-on packs as it can produce more juice and make the camera a bit lighter as per contributors at other photographic forum on the same topic.

The question is it safe to use battery pack with higher amps rating as the D1X is rated to run safely up to 2500mah.

Correct me but should i max it at 2500mah? Can higher amps roast the D1X?
 

:bheart: ... the third party battery seems to be dead as it does not power up my D1-IR... its battery charger is a DIY type...

Now i have to search online for a new set of third party battery and charger... :sweat:

The Camera Workshop in Peninsula shopping centre has some stock of original EN-4, and some rebuilt EN-4. They are ordering new stock of third party batteries for D1, D1H and D1X. You may like check them out for your D1 series.
 

Was there at TCW collecting my lens when they asked me what camera i'm using. I told them about the power hungry D1X and the problem of the EN-4 batteries abt 2 weeks back.

We talked and they decided to bring in about 10 units of EN-4 batteries but they would not be the original Nikon but some 3rd party's and i hope they would as it would really help those still using D1 series cameras especially those who bought the D1 series to have it IR converted.

But these 3rd party batteries are a hit or miss item. If you're lucky you get one that last otherwise it'll loses its juice after a couple of charging cycles.

Am comtemplating using higher amps li-on batteries for more juice after going thru the other forums.
 

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Just an update to those converting the EN-4 with 18650 Li-on pack.

Ensure the the length of the battery pack is 65mm.
I got mine but it was abt 5mm longer and it would not sit in properly or not fit at all into the external wall charger.
Had to get it replaced with the correct dimension.

18650 li-on packs are 18mm in diameter 65mm long.
That's how they named the packs.
 

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65mm or 650mm :eek: 650mm is more then 2 ft
 

Finally...converted/rebuilt one of my dead EN-4 battery to li-on pack.
Spending this weekend making another one...
 

Last edited:
anuar ahmad said:
Just an update to those converting the EN-4 with 18650 Li-on pack.

Ensure the the length of the battery pack is 65mm.
I got mine but it was abt 5mm longer and it would not sit in properly or not fit at all into the external wall charger.
Had to get it replaced with the correct dimension.

18650 li-on packs are 18mm in diameter 65mm long.
That's how they named the packs.
Click to expand...

This is good, however disadvantage
1) need to buy Nikon's EH-4 AC adapter (rare)
2) the connector poking outwards very irritating and the cable connect to battery may obstruct movement
3) the recommended battery is very heavy but can always use other lighter battery
 

Thumps up to you guys ! :thumbsup:

I wont try because I am not that mechanically savvy. :embrass:
 

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