About this replacement
Icom IC-A14 / IC-F14 Series — 7.4V Li-ion Replacement Battery (BP-232)
This 7.4V, 2200mAh Li-ion battery replaces OEM part numbers BP-232, BP-232N, BP-232H, BP-230, BP-231, and related variants. It fits the Icom IC-A14 aviation handheld, IC-F14, IC-F14S, IC-F24, and over 100 additional Icom portable transceivers. Voltage and capacity match factory spec exactly.
- IC-A14 / IC-F14 platform fit: These models share the same 7.4V two-cell Li-ion architecture, identical battery bay dimensions, and the same BMS handshake protocol over the contact strip — that is why one pack covers the full BP-232 compatibility range.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through full charge and discharge on an IC-F14 dock and verified the BMS reported charge acceptance correctly, held stable voltage under PTT transmit load, and cut off cleanly at the lower threshold without radio shutdown errors.
- First-insertion contact check: If the charger dock shows a fault LED on first insertion, remove the pack, wipe the gold contact strip with a dry cloth, and reseat firmly. The Icom dock requires a clean contact cycle to complete the BMS handshake before charging begins — this is not a faulty battery.
IC-A14 cuts out mid-transmission on a new BP-232 pack
The IC-A14 draws a sharp current spike the moment PTT is pressed — transmit current can briefly exceed 1.5A before settling. A new cell shipped at storage voltage (around 3.7V per cell, 7.4V total) has higher internal impedance than a fully conditioned pack. The BMS reads that voltage sag as an overcurrent event and trips the protection circuit, cutting the radio mid-transmission. Run the pack through one full charge to 8.4V before the first field use and the impedance drops to operating range.
Bar indicator showing one fewer bar than expected after installing a new pack
The Icom bar indicator reads voltage thresholds only — it does not track capacity. A new cell at storage voltage sits below the top threshold, so the radio displays three bars instead of four even though the pack is not depleted. This is not a capacity fault. Charge the pack fully in the dock until the charge LED goes solid green, then reinsert — the indicator will read the correct voltage and display the full bar count.