About this replacement
X-Rite SE15-32 — 3.6V Ni-MH Replacement Battery (SE15-32)
This is a 3.6V, 2000mAh Ni-MH replacement battery for the X-Rite SE15-32 spectrophotometer. The SE15-32 is a handheld color measurement instrument used in printing, textiles, and manufacturing quality control. When the original cell degrades and the unit can no longer hold a usable charge between sessions, this pack restores field capability without replacing the instrument.
- SE15-32 spectrophotometer fit: The SE15-32 uses a single-cell Ni-MH pack at 3.6V to power its optical measurement circuit and onboard processor. The connector pinout and cell dimensions — 53.20 x 43.50 x 15.00mm — match the original bay exactly, so no modification is needed at the battery compartment.
- Bench tested on actual hardware: We cycled this pack through the spectrophotometer's charge and measurement routines. The BMS held voltage steady under sensor initialisation load and did not trip during repeated measurement sequences.
- Post-install calibration: After fitting this battery, run a full calibration cycle through the instrument menu before field deployment. The SE15-32 maps battery state during calibration — skipping this step causes premature low-battery warnings on the first measurement session, even with a fully charged pack.
BMS lockout after the SE15-32 sat unused in a carry case for months
Ni-MH cells self-discharge steadily in storage. If the SE15-32 sits unused long enough, the pack drops below the BMS recovery threshold and the charger circuit will not engage — the instrument shows nothing when placed on charge. The fix is a low-current pre-charge pulse to bring the cell voltage back above the threshold. Most OEM chargers handle this automatically if left connected for 30–60 minutes before the charge LED responds. If the charger still shows no activity after that window, check cell voltage directly — recovery is possible above 0.9V per cell; below that, the pack needs replacement.
Readings resetting or dropping mid-session during a logging run
The SE15-32 draws a sustained load during active logging — the optical sensor, processor, and data buffer all run simultaneously. An aged or partially discharged Ni-MH pack can sag below the instrument's minimum operating voltage under that combined draw, triggering a spontaneous reset without a low-battery warning first. This is a voltage-dropout event, not a software fault. Check that the pack is fully charged before a long session, and if dropouts persist with a new battery, verify the charge contacts in the battery bay are clean and making firm contact.