Ivan Vegvary wrote:

I have a Makita cordless 18v drill (gift from family) that uses 18v
Lithium Ion batter packs. Battery model BL1815.
BTW, this is one of those 'quick charge' batteries that only require
about 12 minutes.

Short story. Battery fell into water during an outdoor plumbing repair.
Recovered within 15 seconds. Battery charged OK 2 more times and now,
upon trying to charge, is shown as "defective" by the intelligent?
charger. It will not charge.

Took battery apart. Unlike older storage packs these batteries come
apart by simply removing 4 screws. Inside is a small circuit board with
many components, a battery pack and hint of silt from the dunking.

Any chance that this can be fixed somehow? It has only been cycled 5
times total. Son-in-law (who gave me the gift) simply says take it
back, or, he will reverse charges on his AmEx credit card. I won't do
this. This is simply not a manufacturer's defect.

All advice appreciated. Trying to save $ 65.

Ivan Vegvary


First, let me say you have my admiration for not wanting to scam the
manufacturer. If lots more people thought that way there'd be more hope
for this dumb old world of ours.

And anyway, maybe Makita'd have some way of knowing water got into the
pack, like those tell tale dots inside cell phones which turn bright red
when the phone takes a swim.

In addition to the distilled water advice, I'm in the habit of squirting
denatured alcohol on electronics which have taken the plunge and letting
it evaporate.

If all the cleaning doesn't help and you've got some kind of variable dc
voltage source and the guts to try, you might try disconnecting the
electronics from the charger and running some current into the batteries
to see if they'll take a charge and run the drill. That might help
localize the problem to the batteries or the electronics.

Good Luck,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.