I have a 18V cordless drill (without instructions) and the charging
base has both green and red LEDs. When a battery is being charged,
the green LED is on. When should the red LED be on?

"Art Deco" wrote in message
...
I have a 18V cordless drill (without instructions) and the charging
base has both green and red LEDs. When a battery is being charged,
the green LED is on. When should the red LED be on?


Err, when it's finished charging?

--
Mike W

VisionSet wrote:
"Art Deco" wrote in message
...
I have a 18V cordless drill (without instructions) and the charging
base has both green and red LEDs. When a battery is being charged,
the green LED is on. When should the red LED be on?


Err, when it's finished charging?

--
Mike W

I would guess that it should be the other way around. Red= not
charged, green=charged. If the battery was bought separately to the
charger then it might not work properly. I have to use different
chargers to charge different battery packs of the same make.

wrote in message
ups.com...

When should the red LED be on?


Err, when it's finished charging?



I would guess that it should be the other way around. Red= not
charged, green=charged. If the battery was bought separately to the
charger then it might not work properly. I have to use different
chargers to charge different battery packs of the same make.

Yes that's the way mine works, perhaps the OP is trying to charge an already
charged battery.

--
Mike W

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:10:33 GMT, "VisionSet"
wrote:


wrote in message
oups.com...

When should the red LED be on?


Err, when it's finished charging?



I would guess that it should be the other way around. Red= not
charged, green=charged. If the battery was bought separately to the
charger then it might not work properly. I have to use different
chargers to charge different battery packs of the same make.

Yes that's the way mine works, perhaps the OP is trying to charge an already
charged battery.

The battery I'm trying to charge isn't charged but I am mixing and
matching the charging base with mains chargers which is porbably why
it doesn't work as it should (as described above, which makes sense).

Art Deco wrote:
On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:10:33 GMT, "VisionSet"
wrote:

wrote in message
ups.com...
When should the red LED be on?

Err, when it's finished charging?

I would guess that it should be the other way around. Red= not
charged, green=charged. If the battery was bought separately to the
charger then it might not work properly. I have to use different
chargers to charge different battery packs of the same make.
Yes that's the way mine works, perhaps the OP is trying to charge an already
charged battery.

The battery I'm trying to charge isn't charged but I am mixing and
matching the charging base with mains chargers which is porbably why
it doesn't work as it should (as described above, which makes sense).

My Dewalt charger has a single led... blinks while charging, constant
light when charged and a third fast blink if the battery is kaput. I
doubt that the red light is the kaput light but you never know!

In article ,
Art Deco wrote:
The battery I'm trying to charge isn't charged but I am mixing and
matching the charging base with mains chargers which is porbably why
it doesn't work as it should (as described above, which makes sense).

Not a good idea unless everything is to original spec. Some chargers are
incredibly crude and may only use a resistor to give an approximation of a
constant current charge, and altering the PSU feeding that can only make
matters worse. ;-)

--
*I have my own little world - but it's OK...they know me here*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Art Deco wrote:

I have a 18V cordless drill (without instructions) and the charging
base has both green and red LEDs.

They'll mean "power is applied" and "battery is connected"
Unless it's a real charger, then you certainly _won't_ have a "charging
complete" light.

Cheap chargers kill batteries. Your best option is to either replace it
(which is certainly worth it if they're quality cells in there) or at
very least to run it through a timeswitch and never run it for more
than the recommended 5 hours. Personally I have an old half-hour
"boost" timer that I use for this and charge the battery in a number of
short blasts. This gives it a chance to cool down between bursts.

But those cheap chargers are just crude battery killers. Avoid them if
you possibly can.

In article om,
wrote:
Cheap chargers kill batteries. Your best option is to either replace it
(which is certainly worth it if they're quality cells in there) or at
very least to run it through a timeswitch and never run it for more
than the recommended 5 hours. Personally I have an old half-hour
"boost" timer that I use for this and charge the battery in a number of
short blasts. This gives it a chance to cool down between bursts.

But those cheap chargers are just crude battery killers. Avoid them if
you possibly can.

I've modified a few to constant current charge at 1/10th battery capacity
- ie approx a 14 hour charge. Overnight is really no more of a problem
than 4 or five hours, and guarantees the longest cell life. It costs less
than a quid for the components.

--
*Xerox and Wurlitzer will merge to market reproductive organs.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Art Deco wrote:

The battery I'm trying to charge isn't charged but I am mixing and
matching the charging base with mains chargers which is porbably why
it doesn't work as it should (as described above, which makes sense).

I have two 18v batteries- both seem to be the same spec and size but if
I put one on the other charger then it does like you say.
Both of mine (with the right batteries) go from red to green.

On 26 Sep 2006 06:19:39 -0700, wrote:

Cheap chargers kill batteries. Your best option is to either replace it
(which is certainly worth it if they're quality cells in there) or at
very least to run it through a timeswitch and never run it for more
than the recommended 5 hours. Personally I have an old half-hour
"boost" timer that I use for this and charge the battery in a number of
short blasts. This gives it a chance to cool down between bursts.

One of those old style 'pin' timers are good for this. Just have an
off 'pin' say every 6 hours, then turn the dial as required (so 1 hr
after a pin for 5 hrs charge) and switch on. Good for rechargable
spotlights too.

The OP might find that the battery isn't pushed in properly, or the
charger needs a 'third pin' on the battery and there isn't one.

cheers,
Pete.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article om,
wrote:
Cheap chargers kill batteries. Your best option is to either replace it
(which is certainly worth it if they're quality cells in there) or at
very least to run it through a timeswitch and never run it for more
than the recommended 5 hours. Personally I have an old half-hour
"boost" timer that I use for this and charge the battery in a number of
short blasts. This gives it a chance to cool down between bursts.

But those cheap chargers are just crude battery killers. Avoid them if
you possibly can.

I've modified a few to constant current charge at 1/10th battery capacity
- ie approx a 14 hour charge. Overnight is really no more of a problem
than 4 or five hours, and guarantees the longest cell life. It costs less
than a quid for the components.

Ah, but how much does it cost for the expertise?! ;-(

David

In article ,
Lobster wrote:
I've modified a few to constant current charge at 1/10th battery
capacity - ie approx a 14 hour charge. Overnight is really no more of
a problem than 4 or five hours, and guarantees the longest cell life.
It costs less than a quid for the components.

Ah, but how much does it cost for the expertise?! ;-(

Building something like that - ie the mechanics of it - should be well
within the scope of the average DIYer who can solder. The circuit is
extremely simple and the parts available from the likes of Maplin.

--
*Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:55:51 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Art Deco wrote:
The battery I'm trying to charge isn't charged but I am mixing and
matching the charging base with mains chargers which is porbably why
it doesn't work as it should (as described above, which makes sense).

Not a good idea unless everything is to original spec. Some chargers are
incredibly crude and may only use a resistor to give an approximation of a
constant current charge, and altering the PSU feeding that can only make
matters worse. ;-)

Is constant current charge critical then?

On 26 Sep 2006 06:19:39 -0700, wrote:


Art Deco wrote:

I have a 18V cordless drill (without instructions) and the charging
base has both green and red LEDs.

They'll mean "power is applied" and "battery is connected"
Unless it's a real charger, then you certainly _won't_ have a "charging
complete" light.

Cheap chargers kill batteries. Your best option is to either replace it
(which is certainly worth it if they're quality cells in there) or at
very least to run it through a timeswitch and never run it for more
than the recommended 5 hours. Personally I have an old half-hour
"boost" timer that I use for this and charge the battery in a number of
short blasts. This gives it a chance to cool down between bursts.

But those cheap chargers are just crude battery killers. Avoid them if
you possibly can.

I've got another one where the base has no circuitry at all. It has
an input for the mains charger and nothing else!

In article ,
Art Deco wrote:
Not a good idea unless everything is to original spec. Some chargers
are incredibly crude and may only use a resistor to give an
approximation of a constant current charge, and altering the PSU
feeding that can only make matters worse. ;-)

Is constant current charge critical then?

It's the traditional way, but modern chargers can be rather different.
However, IMHO it's still the best way for long cell life.

--
*If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Art Deco wrote:
But those cheap chargers are just crude battery killers. Avoid them if
you possibly can.

I've got another one where the base has no circuitry at all. It has
an input for the mains charger and nothing else!

The electronics can be built into the wall wart. More of a problem, size
wise, with a high current charger. These tend to not be wall warts.

--
*I got a sweater for Christmas. I really wanted a screamer or a moaner*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

The message
from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Is constant current charge critical then?

It's the traditional way, but modern chargers can be rather different.
However, IMHO it's still the best way for long cell life.

Is that really true? With constant current as the cell approaches fully
charged the voltage will rise and rise and rise as the charger tries to
achieve a constant current. Doesn't sound like a good thing to do unless
it's also got a temperature sensor and a cut-off at full charge.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article om,
wrote:
Cheap chargers kill batteries.

I've modified a few to constant current charge

Not worth it, IMHO. If you're going to faff with it, faff with it so
you end up with a real and intelligent charger. The chipsets are cheap
enough and it's simple enough that the manufacturer's data sheet (try
RS) is enough guidance to work from.

In article . com,
wrote:
I've modified a few to constant current charge

Not worth it, IMHO. If you're going to faff with it, faff with it so
you end up with a real and intelligent charger. The chipsets are cheap
enough and it's simple enough that the manufacturer's data sheet (try
RS) is enough guidance to work from.

The ones I modified were a few years ago when such chips weren't so
readily available. And I had all the necessary bits in stock anyway.

--
*If God dropped acid, would he see people?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Guy King wrote:
It's the traditional way, but modern chargers can be rather different.
However, IMHO it's still the best way for long cell life.

Is that really true? With constant current as the cell approaches fully
charged the voltage will rise and rise and rise as the charger tries to
achieve a constant current. Doesn't sound like a good thing to do unless
it's also got a temperature sensor and a cut-off at full charge.

At 1/10th capacity charge current they don't heat up significantly. And
you only charge for 14 hours. I have a timer switch on the charging bench.
Although for many putting it on charge at 6pm and removing at 8am will be
convenient anyway.

--
*If you ate pasta and anti-pasta, would you still be hungry?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.