Can the Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit cable charge regular Ni-MH batteries in the controller?

Question

I use regular rechargeable Ni-MH AA batteries in my Xbox360 controllers, which I charge in a regular AA battery charger. Since the Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit batteries are just Ni-MH batteries, just like the ones I'm using, can I use the Xbox 360 Play & Charge Kit cable to charge those batteries as well?

Answer 1

No. I tried, never worked. ----

Answer 2

The charge and play kit has circuitry in the battery pack that connects to the 4 pins in the battery compartment of your controller. The power connectors that the batteries connect to in order to feed the controller don't charge the batteries.

Unless you can get the appropriate casing for your rechargeables, it won't work with the charge and play kit.

Answer 3

i have a pad that uses special rechargeable batteries with usb attached , and it did not recharge them when i accedently used the cable on them. they kept being uncharged after 15minutes or so until i realized the mistake.

i have never tried normal Ni-MH batteries though so i can't be fully sure.

Answer 4

No they can't be charged that way. I recommend using something like one of these charging stations. I purchased that one when I bought my 360 and haven't been disappointed once with it. Always charged and doubles as a holder for the controllers when not in use.

Answer 5

NiMH batteries, as well as rechargeable alkalines and NiCD, charge by sending a pulsed current through the battery backwards, which is why rechargeable battery packs usually have 3-4 contacts instead of just two for positive and negative. You can hook it up without damaging your controller, but it won't charge, so there is no point. I have been using (16) rechargeable alkaline iGo batteries in an iGo charger for about a year in my four XBox 360 remotes, and they are about worn out. They worked fine for 6-8 months, but are now getting tired. This year, I'm going to try getting (16) 3100 mAh NiMH batteries instead. The rechargeable alkalines just can't be recharged as many times as NiMH, although they do have the advantage of being 1.42v instead of 1.2 volts. I also purchased four extra battery holders for the 360 remotes last year, so I can have spare batteries on-hand, ready to swap when the remote disconnects. Extra battery holders were dirt cheap on amazon. In theory, if you had some tired xbox rechargeable battery packs, you could crack them open and replace the cells, but the cases are sonic welded shut and the cells may even be soldered in, and even I (a certified PCB repair tech) don't like to solder on batteries.