Pinout breakdown for Porter Cable 20V packs, what each contact does

[Thomas Martinez]

The pinout on the Porter Cable 20V batteries doesnt get talked about much, so figured I'd toss in what I found into the thread for anyone else digging into these pack.
The standard layout for these batteries are as follows:
is the obvious positive terminal (for power)
is an obvious negative terminal (for power)
ID is an identification pin for the tool to recognize the battery as the correct and legitified product
TH is a thermistor pin to allow the tool to monitors the temperature of the battery
C1-C4 are junction pins for each of the 5S battery cell group to allow the BMS to balance each group individually

 

[Bewildered Bat]

The ID pin for these batteries seem to be a fixed resistor, not a data pin for the tool. I havent seen any clock data on the pin when the tool is engaged.

 

[Crazy Crane]

The same platform is used for B&D and Porter Cable 20V batteries. The same info applies to both brand. The ID pin for B&D is a resistor only; I've done three battery rebuilds using these original BMS boards.

 

[Caesar's Bubble Returns]

The same platform is used for B&D and Porter Cable 20V batteries. The same info applies to both brand. The ID pin for B&D is a resistor only; I've done three battery rebuilds using these original BMS boards.

wait so if its just a resistor could you in theory just solder a resistor of the right value onto a generic BMS and trick the tool into thinking its seeing the original battery? or does the tool also test the TH pin?

 

[Crazy Crane]

wait so if its just a resistor could you in theory just solder a resistor of the right value onto a generic BMS and trick the tool into thinking its seeing the original battery? or does the tool also test the TH pin?

Yeah, it will first test the ID pin to recognize the battery. After that, the tool will continuously monitor the TH pin while in use. As long as the battery reads in a normal range (close to room temperature) the tool will not care what it reads on that pin; it will only recognize if it goes above the threshold.

 

[Dist]

why does anyone bother rebuilding these. You can find used packs for cheap all day on marketplace

 

[Impossible Ibex]

I metered the TH pin on my Porter Cable 20V packs last year and the value is a standard 10k NTC (negative temperature coefficient) resistor; reads around 10k at room temperature.