In message , Piers
Finlayson wrote
I cracked open an el cheapo cordless power tool set at the weekend. I put
an uncharged battery into the charger an after a few seconds the charger
indicated charging was complete. The battery was still uncharged. I then
tried with the other battery and got the same problem.

I tried again today, this time using the charger inside the house instead
of an unheated outbuilding. Initially I got the same problem so rang the
service center up and they said the charger must be faulty and they'd send
a new one.

However, after a few hours - now the charger has come up to room
temperature (from around freezing) - it seems to be working fine and
charging the batteries

Have others experienced this, or does it sound like a fault? There's no
operating temperature in the instructions, although the charger does say
for indoor use only (and I'd claim my outbuilding is still indoors!).


The components themselves in your charger should work at 0C or below
however you can get condensation forming on the exposed electronics
causing a short or resistive path between components or component
connections. Brining the charger into a room at 20/25C would have dried
out the moisture and allowed it to work again.

--
Alan
news2006 {at} amac {dot} f2s {dot} com