Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 24 May 2020 12:29:00 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?

If the batteries are no good anymore, ww used to have someone h ere how
replaced he cells in tool batteries. Idon't remember where he bought
them or what, but maybe you can find them in the google archives, or
maybe someone here remembers.

On 5/24/2020 3:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?

How old are the batteries? If more than a few years either toss or
rebuild them. Yes, both will dies around the same time period
especially if sitting for long periods of time.

On Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 3:46:33 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 5/24/2020 3:29 PM,
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?

How old are the batteries? If more than a few years either toss or
rebuild them. Yes, both will dies around the same time period
especially if sitting for long periods of time.

Yeah, but what's weird is that everyone else whose batteries die, they say that the charger doesn't recognize them. It flashes an error, or whatever. My charger seems perfectly happy to receive these batteries, which I assume means they've got some power left in them. It even thinks its charged them -- the light changes from red to green. So that's what makes me wonder if it's maybe not the batteries after all. I guess I need a multimeter to check the power?

On Sun, 24 May 2020 15:46:31 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 5/24/2020 3:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here?
I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently.
Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green
-- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight
(i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them,
lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they
don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts?
Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow,
even though it appears to be operating as usual?


How old are the batteries? If more than a few years either toss or
rebuild them. Yes, both will dies around the same time period
especially if sitting for long periods of time.


What type of battery ? The old Ni-Cad didn't like sitting
un-charged for any length of time. Lithium are much better.
That said - I'm just starting to think about replacing my old
cheapo B&D weed snipper circa 2008 ish
- replacement Ni-Cad batteries cost WAY too much.
.... when the day comes that I can't get my yard trimmed with
the 2 old batteries - I'll probably buy a Ryobi because I've
already got 2 batteries with my new-ish drill.
John T.

On Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 4:05:11 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2020 15:46:31 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 5/24/2020 3:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here?
I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently.
Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green
-- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight
(i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them,
lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they
don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts?
Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow,
even though it appears to be operating as usual?


How old are the batteries? If more than a few years either toss or
rebuild them. Yes, both will dies around the same time period
especially if sitting for long periods of time.


What type of battery ? The old Ni-Cad didn't like sitting
un-charged for any length of time. Lithium are much better.
That said - I'm just starting to think about replacing my old
cheapo B&D weed snipper circa 2008 ish
- replacement Ni-Cad batteries cost WAY too much.
... when the day comes that I can't get my yard trimmed with
the 2 old batteries - I'll probably buy a Ryobi because I've
already got 2 batteries with my new-ish drill.
John T.

They're 12 volt ni-cd. There are instructions online for "jump starting" these batteries from a working battery (or maybe a stripped ac adapter) but again, those batteries don't seem to work in the charger. Mine do -- they just...I don't know. Either the charger thinks its charging them but isn't, or something else is going on. Again, I suppose if I had a multimeter I could check if they have power, although if they had power they'd operate the tools, right?

They're 12 volt ni-cd.

Don't over think it ... the batteries are history.
12 volt ni-cads must be ~ 15 years old ?
... the date might be on them.
John T.

On Sun, 24 May 2020 16:22:38 -0400, wrote:



They're 12 volt ni-cd.

Don't over think it ... the batteries are history.
12 volt ni-cads must be ~ 15 years old ?
.. the date might be on them.
John T.
I hate throwing out things that can be used - butunless there is a
lithium ion conversion for those tools retire them and replace with a
new set of lithium powered tools. Nicads are just not worth rebuilding
any more - IMNSHO

In article ,
Clare Snyder wrote:

On Sun, 24 May 2020 16:22:38 -0400, wrote:



They're 12 volt ni-cd.

Don't over think it ... the batteries are history.
12 volt ni-cads must be ~ 15 years old ?
.. the date might be on them.
John T.
I hate throwing out things that can be used - butunless there is a
lithium ion conversion for those tools retire them and replace with a
new set of lithium powered tools. Nicads are just not worth rebuilding
any more - IMNSHO

I agree, and have replaced most of my old Ni-cad tools. The newer
Lithium batteries hold their charge for MUCH longer periods.

If you insist on giving the old tools another chance, see if a company
like "Batteries Plus" will rebuild the old Ni-cad batteries or has
store-brand replacements.

If you do, remember that you have a tool whose battery has a limited
life. You could easily spend more on batteries than the cost of new
tools.

Fred

In article ,
says...
John T.
I hate throwing out things that can be used - butunless there is a
lithium ion conversion for those tools retire them and replace with a
new set of lithium powered tools. Nicads are just not worth rebuilding
any more - IMNSHO

I agree, and have replaced most of my old Ni-cad tools. The newer
Lithium batteries hold their charge for MUCH longer periods.




I agree. Most of the time you can get new tools, batteries and charger
for what just a battery or two cost. I have a good almost unused drill
with 2 dead batteries and charger that I replaced a few years back with
some new Dewalt tools that usually go on sale during some holidays for
less than the replacement batteries .

I don't like throwing things out either, but when just the replacement
part costs almost as a new item, then it goes.

Many years ago I went to Sears to get a repacement wratchet for my
socket set by another company. They had a sale for about $ 2 more I
could get the complete set of 3/8 inch sockets and wratchet. I did not
throw out the old sockets, but put them in the back of the tool storage.

In t Ralph Mowery writes:

[snip...]

Many years ago I went to Sears to get a repacement wratchet for my
socket set by another company. They had a sale for about $ 2 more I
could get the complete set of 3/8 inch sockets and wratchet. I did not
throw out the old sockets, but put them in the back of the tool storage.

I've been bringing the old sockets to my local
car repair gals. They're always losing or breaking
some and love the replacements.

Of course the ones I bring are never the ones they need...


--
__________________________________________________ ___
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key

[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

On Sun, 24 May 2020 17:42:01 -0400, Fred McKenzie
wrote:

In article ,
Clare Snyder wrote:

On Sun, 24 May 2020 16:22:38 -0400, wrote:



They're 12 volt ni-cd.

Don't over think it ... the batteries are history.
12 volt ni-cads must be ~ 15 years old ?
.. the date might be on them.
John T.
I hate throwing out things that can be used - butunless there is a
lithium ion conversion for those tools retire them and replace with a
new set of lithium powered tools. Nicads are just not worth rebuilding
any more - IMNSHO

I agree, and have replaced most of my old Ni-cad tools. The newer
Lithium batteries hold their charge for MUCH longer periods.

If you insist on giving the old tools another chance, see if a company
like "Batteries Plus" will rebuild the old Ni-cad batteries or has
store-brand replacements.

If you do, remember that you have a tool whose battery has a limited
life. You could easily spend more on batteries than the cost of new
tools.

Fred
Another option for 12 volt tools is to add a "cord" and run them off
12 volt lead acid batteries

On Sun, 24 May 2020 18:36:25 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article ,
says...
John T.
I hate throwing out things that can be used - butunless there is a
lithium ion conversion for those tools retire them and replace with a
new set of lithium powered tools. Nicads are just not worth rebuilding
any more - IMNSHO

I agree, and have replaced most of my old Ni-cad tools. The newer
Lithium batteries hold their charge for MUCH longer periods.




I agree. Most of the time you can get new tools, batteries and charger
for what just a battery or two cost. I have a good almost unused drill
with 2 dead batteries and charger that I replaced a few years back with
some new Dewalt tools that usually go on sale during some holidays for
less than the replacement batteries .

I don't like throwing things out either, but when just the replacement
part costs almost as a new item, then it goes.

When I was upgrading my cordless tools, I dropped the old stuff off at
Goodwill with the idea that someone who had good batteries would find them
and they'd go to a good home. That's probably unlikely, but who knows.

On 5/24/2020 12:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?


Try wiggling the F/W switch as you pull the trigger, or pull the trigger
and slide the battery in and out a little as you do. Most likely in my
experience is a battery contact problem.

On 25/5/20 6:05 am, wrote:
On Sunday, May 24, 2020 at 3:46:33 PM UTC-4, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 5/24/2020 3:29 PM,
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?

How old are the batteries? If more than a few years either toss or
rebuild them. Yes, both will dies around the same time period
especially if sitting for long periods of time.

Yeah, but what's weird is that everyone else whose batteries die, they say that the charger doesn't recognize them. It flashes an error, or whatever. My charger seems perfectly happy to receive these batteries, which I assume means they've got some power left in them. It even thinks its charged them -- the light changes from red to green. So that's what makes me wonder if it's maybe not the batteries after all. I guess I need a multimeter to check the power?

I think you will find the charger is seeing a high resistance in the
batteries and it thinks they are charged.

With those batteries, self discharge is an issue. You should drag them
out at least every three months and top them up if they have long
periods of disuse.

There may be a way to get charge into them but you will probably find it
isn't worthwhile.


--

Xeno


Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On Sun, 24 May 2020 21:41:22 -0700, Bob F wrote:

On 5/24/2020 12:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?


Try wiggling the F/W switch as you pull the trigger, or pull the trigger
and slide the battery in and out a little as you do. Most likely in my
experience is a battery contact problem.
The flashlight AND drill both don't work so that pretty much rules
out the switch or tool contact - and both batteries at once pretty
much rules out the battery contacts

On 26/5/20 6:20 am, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2020 21:41:22 -0700, Bob F wrote:

On 5/24/2020 12:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?


Try wiggling the F/W switch as you pull the trigger, or pull the trigger
and slide the battery in and out a little as you do. Most likely in my
experience is a battery contact problem.
The flashlight AND drill both don't work so that pretty much rules
out the switch or tool contact - and both batteries at once pretty
much rules out the battery contacts

Indeed! A bit of deductive reasoning works every time! ;-)

--

Xeno


Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 5:01:18 AM UTC-4, Xeno wrote:
On 26/5/20 6:20 am, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sun, 24 May 2020 21:41:22 -0700, Bob F wrote:

On 5/24/2020 12:29 PM, wrote:
Anyone have any insight here? I have two Makita cordless drill batteries that I use infrequently. Stuck them in the charger, which lit up red, then after a while green -- like usual -- but neither battery would operate either my drill or my flashlight (i.e. appears they have no power). But the charger recognizes them, lights up red and then green, so this is not the usual situation where they don't have enough charge to trigger the charger. Any thoughts? Weird that it's both. Maybe the charger is busted somehow, even though it appears to be operating as usual?


Try wiggling the F/W switch as you pull the trigger, or pull the trigger
and slide the battery in and out a little as you do. Most likely in my
experience is a battery contact problem.
The flashlight AND drill both don't work so that pretty much rules
out the switch or tool contact - and both batteries at once pretty
much rules out the battery contacts

Indeed! A bit of deductive reasoning works every time! ;-)

--

Xeno


Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Well, glad we narrowed it down to whatever we narrowed it down to! Anyway, I took the majority advice and just gave it all away on craigslist and got a new drill. Never really used that flashlight anyway.