"Dave_s" wrote in message
...
I have a model 2207 3.6v SKIL Twist Cordless Screw Driver with a battery
pack that won't
run the driver. Charging only makes the pack feel warm. No load voltage
measures 4.034 volts.
Souinds like you folks have succeeded in opening the SKIL battery pack
to replace the three NiCd cells
and reuse the battery pack? Replacement cost for battery is $25
including shipping. I have tried but cannot see how to open the pack.

These are 3.6V units and can leave the charger as hot as 4.3V. Your voltage
sounds as though the pack is still good.

This model of screwdriver is infamous for its bad battery contacts deep
within the guts of the screwdriver (I own many which is why I know).

Look down the insides of the unit with the pack out and try to see whether
the two spring terminals are clear of corrosion. I'll bet there's plenty.
I often have enough crud on the contacts to make a brand new pack appear
bad. They are very hard to clean (I use a Dremel grinding head mounted on
the end of a dowel and do it manually) but they *are* cleanable, eventually.
If the collet lock is off, and the battery reads over 4VDC, then you
*should* have some sort of reaction from the drill. Since that doesn't seem
to be your case, I'd vote strongly for the corroded contacts as the first
place to look.

You could take the unit apart to clean the contacts, but there's an enormous
number of gears, rings, plates, etc. that tend to fall out and become very
difficult to reassemble. I would try very hard to clean it without taking
it apart.

I've even taken to gluing small strips of sandpaper on a dead pack, right on
top of the battery contacts. Inserting the "sandpaper enhanced" pack and
removing in a few dozen times often cleans the contacts enough to put you
back in business.

If you are convinced it's the battery, you twist off the cap with the red
"ears" - it's like a bayonnet lock, and the batteries slide out very nicely.
It's one of the easiest packs I've run across for rebuilding, although at
$12 a pack from Ebay, I have little incentive to "roll my own" anymore.

The Skil 2207 is a great screwdriver - fits well in the hand, has a single
pushbutton for forward and reverse, a collet lock and enough power to do the
job without shredding the screwhead. I've bought a lot of other power
screwdrivers, but none has measured up to the Skil.

--
Bobby G.