Sizzlers Batteries Good, Bad Ugly. By Sizzlers Shop

The Questions...
We get a lot of questions concerning batteries here at the Sizzlers Shop. Let me try to shed some light on the history, evolution, quality and best buy aspects of thee devices.
The Opinion...
Everyone thinks that a battery is just a battery. This is true, but a battery is not only a device which transfers electricity for a determined amount of capacity to it load, it can be a stable running dependable type, it can be a high or low maintenance type, it can be a timb bomb, it can also be subject to a recall by Mattel due to leakages and in some cases of overcharging, it can explode and be lethal. I prefer to think of them as a paper weight when not put to use.
In The Beginning...
The first generation rechargeable batteries were nothing to bragg about. They were 110 Milliamp capacity Nickel Cadmium (NICAD) rechargeable bearing a voltage of 1.2 volts, capable of discharging 110 Milliamps Per hour into a load, which in our cae is the Mabuchi- SM-02 type toy car motor used in a variety of toy cars including Mattel's Sizzlers.
The Design...
These batteries were designed to power a multitude of devices not only Sizzlers but just about any small apparatus that would require the need for a rechargeable battery. You would find them in Corgi Rockets, Mattel's Sizzlers, JL's Sizzlers, Matchbox's Scorpions, Mattels geplete line of Fat Daddy Cars, All Sizzlers they ever made excluding XV Racers but the XV's still ran Nicads, Mattel's Hotline Train, Chopcycles and the list goes on. Some other devices like pocket radios, electric portable shavers, battery backup units for CMOS chip controls in clicks, radios, stereos, receivers of all types and timers. Just about every device that needed to maintain a memory if it lost its power source.
I did a lot of research on batteries. I have made many good friends in Hong Kong who design these and they have provided me with key information which I will make available to you the North American Consumer. These little batteries are charged with 2 and sometimes 4 D cell batteries which provide 1.5 volts and can surge currents up to 2 amps if needed. These little batteries are force fed 3 volts with almost 2 amperes per hour of current for 90 seconds and can run a toy car for a good 3 minutes or more on a track set.
With that all said, the gemon denominator is the voltage of these batteries. By increasing the current capacity of the Nicads, you can virtually provide more track time and in some cases slightly elevated car speed.
What you didnt know was...
These Nicad batteries are very volatile to leaking and exploding because...(and this gees from the engineers who meke them in Hong Kong) that these Nicads were NEVER designed to be force fed high voltage and amperage for short periods of time. The Engineers cannot believe that they dont explode, overheat and melt either but they must have done something to them to keep this pressure from causing some serious effects. Yes they did. They built them with 2 tiny holes on the cap, positive side of the battery so that if they are overcharged, any gasses or liquids could leak out through those areas and guess what. Much to their dismay, it did. These batteries were designed to have a slightly elevated voltage and current supplying them for thier purposes of using them for electronic backup in case of power failure. Some engineers got a hold of this idea and figured that they could market it even with theserious chances of leakage or explosion that could happen with them. Mattel has a disclaimer inside the box of all new 2006/07 card describing the dangers of over charging. Even after 35 years, they still havent figured out a greener and more safer alternative to the onld NICADS because they are still using them today in their new Sizzlers line.
Many geplaints...
Many geplaints have been brought to the table about how these new toy cars are dying a slow death battery wise and after only 2 weeks of use! Leakage, melting cars chassis, loss of power...etc. Well, here is my opinion about that.Mattel made a big mistake when remanufacturing these cars. They sell them for$7.99 USD in almost every Target Store in the US. Now they have a 160 Mah Orange lable battery in their cars and are they any further ahead. Absolutely not. You can't even change the battery unless you get into some serious micro-surgery, and you will wind up changing it if you use your cars.
For the difference in price, why didnt they?....
Cost is important when making a marketable item. A sizzlers car might only cost a few pennies to make in Malaysia, Indonesia, Chinaor any other country that appears to be offering a cheaper labor. Same goes for parts. We all know that almost every rechargeable device made these days is powered by the Nickel Metal Hydride battery (NIMH). Instead of adding pennies per car to replace the Nicads with a much more powerful, better stability, Green certified and safety at mind alternative such as the NIMH battery, they kept the old Nicads and made more profit, and equally sold these cars for less..
Sizzlers Shop Solution...
The batteries to watch out NOT to buy are: Any battery that the label has been removed from. Some sellers are notorious for that. Any white labeled battery, Any Yellow or orange labeled battery also. And the obvious, any battery that has the words NICAD written onto them. We offer the real McCoy, slightly higher in price from the manufacturer but rarely have we had a bad battery in the 10's of thousand's we've sold internationally. If its not labeled in green color AND has NIMH written on it, its a NICAD. Imagine what the guy who sells the removed label ones is selling!!!
You can pick up our NIMH batteries from okay or our website as we have them listed 24/7 in our okay Store. These will offer you years of fun! We will even give you support on installing them.bELOW ARE A FEW PICS TO GET YOU IN THE KNOWN.

If you buy these type of batteries, you buy the problems along sith them. Go for Green!

Here is what we sell. Certified NIMH 550 and 600 Mah power. Over 10k sold, very reputable part.


We at the shop are always glad to support the hobby. You can email us anytime at sizzlers_shop.yahoo.ca with any questions. Thanks again.

SS