Minelab E-TRAC 9.6V Ni-MH Replacement Battery 2000mAh

Minelab E-TRAC / Explorer Series — 9.6V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (3011-0196)

This 9.6V, 2000mAh Ni-MH battery replaces the original pack on the Minelab E-TRAC, Explorer II, Explorer S, and Explorer SE metal detectors. It matches the OEM voltage rail and connector pinout exactly, so the detector powers on and runs its standard startup sequence without modification. Use the capacity figure above — 2000mAh — as your reference for this pack.

• E-TRAC and Explorer platform fit: These models share the same battery bay geometry, 9.6V rail, and connector — the E-TRAC and Explorer series all draw from an identical BMS handshake at startup, which is why one pack covers the full range.
• Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through the E-TRAC's startup sequence and full multi-frequency init. The BMS held voltage through the coil energisation spike and did not trip into protective cutoff under normal field load.
• Field storage between sessions: Ni-MH self-discharges faster than lithium chemistry — if the detector sits unused for more than three weeks, run a charge cycle before heading out. A pack sitting below 7V for extended periods risks cell reversal, which permanently reduces capacity.

Why the E-TRAC cuts out during coil sweep after months in the carry case

Ni-MH packs self-discharge at roughly 1–3% per day at room temperature. After two or more months in storage, the pack voltage can drop below the BMS recovery threshold — often under 8V on a 9.6V Ni-MH stack. When the detector powers on, the coil draw during the first sweep pulls enough current to collapse that marginal voltage, and the BMS trips. The fix is a slow charge at 0.1C before reinstalling — most standard chargers handle this automatically if the pack is not fully depleted. If the charger does not recognise the pack, hold the charge button for five seconds to force a trickle-charge entry.

Low-battery warning appearing immediately after a full charge

The E-TRAC reads battery state by measuring resting voltage — it does not track charge current over time. A new or freshly charged Ni-MH pack sits at around 9.6–10.2V unloaded, but if the cells have not yet been conditioned, internal resistance is higher and the voltage sags quickly under coil load. The detector interprets that sag as a low-battery state and throws the warning early. Run two or three full charge-discharge cycles through the detector's normal operation to condition the cells. After conditioning, resting voltage should stabilise above 9.0V between sweeps and the warning should clear.