By Cheri Sicard
The video below from Eric at Flannel Guy DIY has millions of views. Needing to know how to fix drill batteries that won’t charge must be a common problem, and since drills are such an essential RV tool, this is also likely a common RV problem.
The tips in the video will work for 20v, 18v or almost any lithium battery for your tools. It works for DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Black & Decker, Rigid, and more.
Will it always work? No, but it merits trying before tossing or replacing a battery that still might work.
The demonstration begins by comparing a good battery versus one that won’t charge and how they react on a charger.
Of course, the defective battery will not power the tool and will not charge when connected to the charger.
What our host discovered is that for a battery to charge, it must have a little power left in it to send a signal to the charger that it needs to be charged. If your battery is completely dead, it can’t send the signal that triggers the charge and therefore, nothing happens, and you think the battery is defective. But it might not be!
To find out, you have to give the battery a bit of a jump-start.
How do you do that? Watch the demonstration in the video, as it will be more beneficial than me describing it. But judging from the 117,000 likes and nearly 3,200 comments on the video, the technique works, and it may save you from having to buy another battery.
In the video demo, it worked perfectly. A short jump-start of the dead battery, and it started charging again, as always. Watch as he demos with two different style batteries.
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RVDT2890
Before I retired there was a guy who would replace the batteries in them. I keep thinking about taking one of mine apart. To see what it takes. Like everything else I keep forgetting.
I’ve converted some 4.8v NiCad batteries to nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), by replacing the cells, and that’s breathed new life into a couple of very useful Metabo tools. They already had a NiMH-compatible charger and the battery packs were small, so it was pretty easy. I also rebuilt some simple 12v lighting system packs that used 18650 cells, and that wasn’t difficult, either.
That said, I opened an 18V lithium power tool battery recently and it was an entirely different animal, with more cells held captive in a glued plastic frame, and much more complex wiring due to their feedback and monitoring circuitry. I’m not willing to buy the spot welder needed to rebuild it, nor risk a fire.
Tried this a while ago and it worked perfectly. A great hack.
Doesn’t always work
I’ve tried it on multiple batteries and it has never worked.
Thank you for reminding us of this valuable information, Emily. Thank you, Cheri, for discovering this helpful video way back when. Lithium batteries still exist and they still can get so worn that they refuse to charge, so this information isn’t likely to become passe. Have a great day and safe travels!