Thanx for the responses.

I didn't really think polarity was related to my batteries suddenly
losing potency, but it was a recent discovery in my "new" house and I
know a few things are sensitive to polarity, so I threw out the
question onto the wRECk..

The batteries are probably past their prime, in spite of not a whole
lot of use. They're the 18v Milwaukee, NiMh I believe, and probably
about 3 years old.

Thanx
Renata