About this replacement
Intermec CN3 / CN4 Series — 3.7V Li-ion Replacement Battery (318-016-001)
This 3.7V 3600mAh Li-ion battery replaces the OEM pack in the Intermec CN3, CN3E, CN4, and CN4E rugged handheld barcode scanners. It matches the original voltage, capacity, and connector configuration for these models. Capacity listed is from product data — 3600mAh (13.32Wh).
- CN3 / CN4 platform compatibility: The CN3E and CN4E share the same battery bay geometry, contact layout, and BMS handshake protocol as the base CN3 and CN4. One pack covers all four variants because the voltage rail and connector pinout are identical across the series.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We ran this pack on a CN3 and CN4E unit. The BMS initialised cleanly on both devices, charge acceptance was confirmed via the cradle LED, and the scan trigger drew current without tripping low-voltage cutoff at any point during the test cycle.
- First-shift preparation on the dock: After installing this pack, seat the scanner in its cradle and run a full charge cycle before deploying it on a pick-and-pack shift. Scan trigger inrush current is highest when the cell is near minimum — starting a shift on a partially charged new pack can cause the BMS to trip on the first heavy burst.
Cradle showing a charging error with a new pack
The CN3 and CN4 cradles use spring-loaded dock contacts that corrode or accumulate film over time. A new battery pack with clean contacts against a dirty dock creates enough contact resistance to confuse the cradle's charge controller. The controller reads the resistance as a fault rather than a normal charge load. Wipe both the pack contacts and the cradle contacts with a dry cloth, reseat the scanner firmly, and confirm the charge LED changes state within 30 seconds.
Scanner losing wireless connection during rapid scan bursts
On the CN3 and CN4, the 802.11 radio and the scan engine draw current simultaneously during a rapid-fire scan sequence. If the cell voltage sags below the radio's minimum operating threshold mid-burst, the wireless stack drops the access point association before the battery protection circuit trips. This is not a firmware bug — it is a voltage sag issue tied to cell condition. Charge the pack fully to 4.2V before the shift and confirm the device reconnects automatically after the next full charge cycle.