Itowa BT3613MH Crane Remote Replacement Battery 3.6V 2000mAh

Itowa Winner Series — 3.6V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (BT3613MH)

This is a 3.6V, 2000mAh Ni-MH replacement battery for the Itowa Winner, Winner Serial, and 1406008 crane remote controls. It slots directly into the remote housing and restores full transmitter function. Capacity is rated at 7.2Wh and matches the original BT3613MH specification.

• Winner and Winner Serial compatibility: Both models run the same 3.6V single-cell Ni-MH architecture with an identical connector and housing footprint. The BMS on these remotes expects a flat discharge curve — Ni-MH delivers exactly that, unlike Li-ion which would trigger low-voltage warnings mid-shift.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this cell through full charge and discharge on the Itowa platform. The BMS accepted the battery without fault codes, solenoid activation drew current cleanly without voltage sag, and the remote held its RF link through repeated hoist commands.
• First charge after storage: Ni-MH cells at storage voltage can read falsely low to the remote's fuel gauge. Charge this battery fully before first use — the remote may show a low-battery indicator immediately after swap if the cell hasn't been topped off from its shipped storage state.

Solenoid activation causing power dropout on a fresh battery

When the Itowa Winner commands a hoist or trolley movement, the solenoid or contactor relay draws a short inrush current spike. If the battery is partially discharged, internal resistance rises enough that this spike pulls cell voltage below the remote's cutoff threshold — the remote resets or goes dark for a split second. A fully charged Ni-MH cell at 4.2V open-circuit handles the inrush without dropping below 3.0V. If dropouts persist on a charged battery, inspect the contact pins in the battery bay for corrosion or debris.

Remote showing low battery immediately after installing a new cell

Storage shipping voltage on Ni-MH cells typically sits around 3.4–3.5V — below the threshold the Itowa remote treats as a healthy charge. The remote reads this as a depleted cell and flags low battery before you've issued a single command. This is not a fault with the cell. Connect the remote to its charger for a full cycle and the indicator clears once the cell reaches approximately 4.2V. Do not operate the remote in this state for safety-critical lifts.