Dead DeWalt Batteries

[armo.]

I have two batteries (Li-Ion - 14,4 V - 1.3 Ah) for a cordless DeWalt drill like these ones:

DeWalt DCB145 Replacement Battery - Li-Ion - 14,4 V - 1.3 Ah: Amazon.co.uk: DIY Tools

Unfortunately both are dead and when placed on the charger neither shows indication of life - usually the charger light blinks red when actively charging a battery or shows solid red when a battery is fully charged. In the case of these two, the charger light shows no indication at all when they are on the charger. I know that the charger is not the problem as it fully charged another battery yesterday.

Question: is there any way to recover the batteries?

 

[paul o']

I had around 30 battery's last month all had gone south over the last few years none were of any use and even with testing on another charger still were dead ,no one had a way of re-charging them once they had gone past there prime, they would not even take them as scrap . Dry your eyes mty its only money lol think tool line were still doing them ? I have moved onto Makita 4/5amp 18 v now as they are doing away with the 3amp and the new body's won't take the 3amp just as good imo

 

[Red Dragon 2]

With the NiCad ones you could resurrect them sometimes, however the Li-ion ones have a built in charge counter which when reached kills the battery, I have the same problem as you, seem to be fine one minute and then dead the next day. Gradually going back to corded stuff when the budget allows and if needed outdoors take the genny with me

 

[armo.]

Looks like there is a way to wake them - after reading RD's helpful post, I found this: BU Summarized: How to Awaken a Sleeping Li-ion - Cadex Ecomm Platform

Not sure the expense of buying such a charger is warranted but there must be a service where the batteries can be sent to. New ones are £30+ so worth it.

 

[simonl]

however the Li-ion ones have a built in charge counter which when reached kills the battery, I

Not sure I believe that. Built in obsolescence is commonplace nowadays, but to deliberately nobble would be brand damaging & costly. (as Apple found out recently)

More likely scenarios are
1. Dead cell - there are 4 cells in series. One may have failed, rendering the whole thing useless unless you want to get inside it & test/replace.
2. Stored near empty & self discharge has them at too low a voltage to be recognised.

They are the same cells as those in Tesla cars, power packs, laptops etc. You only get so many charge/discharge cycles, but some cells are prone to early life failure.

 

[375 mag]

I zapped my old batteries with an electric welder I got another years use out of them before they died again.

 

[Odders]

Individual commercial cells are often available for significantly less than the cost of a branded battery pack.
If you're up to cutting the case open & soldering up a new set of cells then taping/gluing the battery pack back together, that might be the way to go.
Depends on how much you charge for your time...

 

[simonl]

Individual commercial cells are often available for significantly less than the cost of a branded battery pack.
If you're up to cutting the case open & soldering up a new set of cells then taping/gluing the battery pack back together, that might be the way to go.
Depends on how much you charge for your time...

Except the Dewalt cells are high discharge rate. Some people buy their batteries to disassemble for the cells.

 

[GWP]

Try these somone posted awhile back NICAD NIMH Power Tool Battery Repair Service - Home

 

[armo.]

Try these somone posted awhile back NICAD NIMH Power Tool Battery Repair Service - Home

I will.

 

[landkeeper]

read his notes re li-ion batteries 1st

 

[gixer1]

As a side note, I bought a heap of Milwaukee cordless tools - they are fantastic however I needed a small part for the electrics on an impact gun the other day and Milwaukee supplier over here only do the complete electrical unit so that would cost £74 + delivery, the impact gun could be replaced completely for £109, not sure how they justify not keeping a £2 switch in stock!

I have had De-walt in the past for cordless drill/driver but they didn't last, I have not had an issue with the Milwaukee version although I still use dewalt for a cordless framing nailer as they are the only people who do a decent one without having to use gas and battery (Paslode) although the framing nailer has a pretty small battery and seems to last ages.

Regards,

Gixer

 

[Alantoo]

Try these somone posted awhile back NICAD NIMH Power Tool Battery Repair Service - Home

I was one somone that posted that address some time ago...he repaired one, and re-celled another of my Ni-MH Makita batteries...He can't do the Li-Ion ones because they are chipped I think.

Alan

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Not sure I believe that. Built in obsolescence is commonplace nowadays, but to deliberately nobble would be brand damaging & costly. (as Apple found out recently)

More likely scenarios are
1. Dead cell - there are 4 cells in series. One may have failed, rendering the whole thing useless unless you want to get inside it & test/replace.
2. Stored near empty & self discharge has them at too low a voltage to be recognised.

They are the same cells as those in Tesla cars, power packs, laptops etc. You only get so many charge/discharge cycles, but some cells are prone to early life failure.

FYI, Tesla use C cell batteries. I saw them being made up when I worked at the plant a few years ago.

 

[armo.]

I was one somone that posted that address some time ago...he repaired one, and re-celled another of my Ni-MH Makita batteries...He can't do the Li-Ion ones because they are chipped I think.

Alan

This company does LI-ion batteries: http://www.sertronicsbatteries.co.uk/

 

[rodp]

FYI, Tesla use C cell batteries. I saw them being made up when I worked at the plant a few years ago.

Said on tv the other night that they now use 18650's, thousands of them per vehicle. It was a program about batteries.

 

[Alantoo]

This company does LI-ion batteries: http://www.sertronicsbatteries.co.uk/

Certainly be worth asking them.

Although Sertronics only give prices for Ni-Cad and Ni-MH they say they can do some Li-Ion...but it is the built in cycle counting chip which I understood is the problem with many of those recent batteries.

It may be possible to replace the cells and then charge them up on a non-branded charger which does not have the chip reader perhaps.

I did buy a cheap Floureon battery off Amazon while I was waiting fo the repair guy to do his bit, that has been going fine for the last 18 months at least. It cost less than the repaired one and around a quarter the price of a Makita branded one.

Alan

 

[simonl]

..but it is the built in cycle counting chip which I understood is the problem with many of those recent batteries.
Alan

They have electronics to control/monitor charge/discharge but I'd be keen to understand about the 'cycle counting chip' - I think it's a myth

 

[Alantoo]

They have electronics to control/monitor charge/discharge but I'd be keen to understand about the 'cycle counting chip' - I think it's a myth

Could well be a myth.

But the guy that repaired my Ni-MH ones talks about it on his web site, Li-ION section copied below...I had no reason to doubt him.

As a battery repair man it would be a bit short sighted of him business-wise to limit his potential repair service unnecessarily.

Do you have any reason to think he is mistaken?

Alan

Lithium Ion - Advantages, disadvantages
Advantages are no memory effect, much greater capacity for same weight as Nimh or Nicad. Ability to hold full charge for long periods. Disposal is non toxic.
Disadvantages include - liable to explode if overcharged, or damage if cell voltage drops too low. For power tools this can be an abrupt stop as sensors detect this. Generally not as good power output as Nicad or Nimh (tends to die under heavy loads). Complicated charging circuits with circuit boards inside the battery.
What equipment should I buy - NICAD, NIMH or Li-ION?
My advise would be to avoid Lithium Ion batteries and stick to the traditional HQ NICAD or NIMH type.
Reason for this is because manufacturers of Lithium Ion batteries have become very clever in their design of protective circuits that are necessary but easy to include extras that prevent repairs, thus ensuring you have to buy a replacement from them at their price - which will be high!
Makita for example on their 14.4V and 18V, 3Ah range the circuit locks up after 750 charges, it will no longer charge on a Makita charger again, regardless if the battery is still good. Or if it detects a fault on the cells, after 3 attempts to re-charge, locks up and will never charge again on a Makita charger, even if the cells have been replaced. There is no way round this and Makita will not even answer queries about it. There are also 3 different types of Li-Ion cells used by various manufactures which are all difficult to obtain in the UK.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Said on tv the other night that they now use 18650's, thousands of them per vehicle. It was a program about batteries.

They must have upgraded them then, as I left Tesla in Dec 2014. They had used 4500 C cells per vehicle at the time. hence the S models very low centre of gravity.