Batteries or charger?

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

How do I determine whether the battteries are shot or the charger's not working properly? My Milwaukee drill will act like it's got a good battery in it for minutes instead of hours, like when it was new. Other day I drove five 2-1/2" deck screws with it...with a battery fresh outta the charger. And it was time to change batteries. :(

I know these things need to be replaced eventually, but can I be reasonably sure it's the batteries before I go spend the bucks?

[Dale Rodabaugh]

Wish I could help you on that one.Only thing I can think of would be to take them to a good service center and have them checked out.I am having the same problem with a Craftsman drill/driver.I had an old Craftsman yrs.ago that worked just fine.When it started not holding a charge I replaced it with the one I have now.It is only a couple yrs.old and has never work half as good as the old one.When I replace this one it will sure not be another Craftsman.:( :( :cool:

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Kirk, do you have more than one battery for the drill? If you do and one is good and the other is not, it's the battery. If neither hold the charge, well I still can't help you.

I would take them to a "Batteries Plus" type store. They will rebuild the batteries for you at a higher capacity than new and less price. They should also be able to test out the batteries.

[Randy Meijer]

...I would take them to a "Batteries Plus" type store. They will rebuild the batteries for you at a higher capacity than new and less price. They should also be able to test out the batteries.

The above will be true for the high end tools; but it has been my experience that, frequently, it is just cheaper to buy a new drill if you are using moderately priced tools or Chinese/Taiwanese specials. You can test the charger with a voltage meter to see if you are getting a couple of volts more than the battery rating; but the charger may be putting out the correct voltage and cutting off too soon. If it is putting out less voltage or none, it's shot. Same with the batteries. After a full charge cycle, they should produce the rated voltage. If not they are shot. Unfortunately, they could read the rated voltage and still be weak because of reduced capacity. Bottom line....typical homeowner could test for and detect catastrophic failures; but some conditions can only be detected with more sophisticated tests than most folks can do at home. Take'em to a pro!!

[Dan Oliphant]

Kirk,
Before you spend a lot of money to replace the unit or the batteries, make sure the batteries are COMPLETLY run down before placing them on the charger. All batteries have a memory and must be completly drained prior to recharging. If they have aquired a memory, you may need to do this once or twice before they will accept a full charge.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Your local Milwaukee Service Center should have the equipment to test the batteries and the charger.

[Randy Meijer]

.....All batteries have a memory and must be completly drained prior to recharging. If they have aquired a memory, you may need to do this once or twice before they will accept a full charge.....

The above is true for NiCad batteries; but some of the newer batteries use different chemistry and do NOT have "MEMORY" problems.(wish I could get some of that chemistry!!) And if your batteries have acquired a memory problem the charge/discharge remedy may or may not fix the problem.....depends on how deeply entrenched the problem is.

[Bill Fields]

Agree with all the above, especially the "Batteries Plus" type re-buil program. Makes sense.


My mystery--still running 9.6v batteries on a couple of 1993 era Makita drills, saws, etc. Started with 3 battereries--2 died--but ONE IS STILL GOING STRONG. Drills will be still running 10-20 years from now.

Why?

THe now-widely circulated and usually accepted theory about NiCad battery "memory" has been challenged.

Now, most of my battery stuff is HF. Cheap, not-for-the-long-haul quality. But they work and every time you buy something, you get another battery and charger--all interchangeable.

Bill Fields

[Ken Kimbrell]

Kirk, your charger may be setup to give you an indication as to the battery’s condition, my Dewalt charger gives off a different blink pattern on the charge indicator light to let you know if the battery is good or not. And, as Randy noted, the newer NiCad batteries that some makers are using do not have memories.
It is recommended (by Dewalt) that you charge for a full 24 hours every few charge cycles and it is not supposed to hurt the battery if you forget and leave it on the charger now and then. As for the life of a battery, the local Dewalt rep has stated to me that you should only expect 3-4 years from a battery, anything more is a bonus.
Chances are your Milwaukee</ST1:p works close to the same way, but your user manual may be able to help with a little better info.

I have thought about the ‘rebuilt’ route, but am concerned that after all the bother and fuss you still have a used battery for almost the money of a new one. Guess I should check to see if there is a Batteries Plus around close so that I can make a more informed decision next time one of my tools needs a battery…
As it happens, on one of my older drills (Dewalt 9.6) both batteries were dead so it was parked on the shelf because new batteries were $50 ea… but then the BORG came out with a sale on a kit that included the 9.6 ‘compact’ drill with two batteries, a charger and the plastic box for $100, so I picked one up this past Monday... Works for me :)

Hope you can find an economical way to resolve the issue Kirk, sometimes this stuff just costs way too much!<O:p</O:p

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I have talked about battery life with the Bosch rep I got my Bosch set-up from. He stated the 3-4 years figure as well, for pro use, every day. I don't know that I will get 6-8 years out of mine, but heres to hoping!

As far as the cost to rebuild goes, on cheaper tools, it may end up being the same as buying a new battery. However, rebuilding one is normally much better. The last time I had my dad's 18v batteries rebuilt they increased the capacity by 30% over stock and used longer lasting cells. New 18v batteries cost somewhere around $70 then, it cost $35 to get them rebuilt to stock and $50 the way we did it. Sure the batteries look beat up, but they are brand new inside! :)

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Thanx for the replies. I do park the battery in the charger and leave it until time to swap 'em...and I tend to use it in 'cycles'...a lot for a week, then not at all for two weeks. I might oughta read the book and see what it says. :o

I know the light comes one when I first put it in, and is off when I take it out. Also warm to the touch even after being in there for a week, which prolly isn't a good thing.

I guess I don't feel too bad...I got the hammer drill for $99, including two batteries a couple years ago. I've gotten my money's worth...but now I'm spoiled. :(

KC

[Ken Kimbrell]

Just found a Batteries Plus store about 11 miles from me Jeff and sent them an email asking for quotes. I did not know that they were able to increase the capacity by so much on the rebuilds, if their prices are not too high at this store I just may have to give it a try next time.

[Andy Henriksen]

Thanx for the replies. I do park the battery in the charger and leave it until time to swap 'em...and I tend to use it in 'cycles'...a lot for a week, then not at all for two weeks. I might oughta read the book and see what it says. :o
KC

I typically do the same thing, and recently had my piece of junk Black and Decker cordless drill charger die. Is this a bad habit - leaving the battery in the charger for a LOOOOONG Time? Is this why the charger died?

[Ken Kimbrell]

I typically do the same thing, and recently had my piece of junk Black and Decker cordless drill charger die. Is this a bad habit - leaving the battery in the charger for a LOOOOONG Time? Is this why the charger died?

Don't know about Black & Decker Andy, but on my Dewalt they say that it is not supposed to hurt them. They do say that if you leave it in a charger that is unpluged that it might drain the battery.

[Harry Goodwin]

Kirk: My 18 volt Milwaukees were bad from factory in my opinion and of course after replacing charger and my warranty gone and Raleigh too far away finally
Granger out of the goodness of their heart replaced them. Very nice gesture after the warranty period. Jeff had good idea to try number 2 but both of mine were shot so that didn't help. Harry

[Randy Meijer]

I typically do the same thing, and recently had my piece of junk Black and Decker cordless drill charger die. Is this a bad habit - leaving the battery in the charger for a LOOOOONG Time? Is this why the charger died?

Depends upon the battery and the charger and how they are designed. For some it is OK and for some it is not. Only way to know for sure is to check your operator's manual!!

I've got 2 drills. One, I leave plugged in all of the time and the other I have on a timer to charge for a very specific length of time. Both modes are specifically called for in the manual of the individual drill......follow instructions!!! Different drills are different.