Seems like they are stretching their numbers a little. All Nicads and Nimh are rated at 1.2 volts HOWEVER when they are fully charged they can reach 1.6 volts. They wont stay at this voltage for long, but it sounds good.
After watching your vid a while back, I got a whole box full of "bad" batteries from work. I learned something you didn't mention. I charged the battery and immediately opened it and checked the cell voltages and discarded the bad cells, replaced with good cells from another. After a few days the "New" battery was totally dead. On later attempts, I charge the bad battery and discarded dead cells, then waited a couple days and checked and discarded more cells. Now reassembling with cells thus sorted a got a couple really good batteries that hold a charge for a long time. Lesson: A cell may take a charge but loose it after a couple days, still it's a bad cell.
+tinkersdamnworkshop Yeah, I didn't want to go too much into the theory of load testing the cells. You can charge the pack and let it sit for a few days/week. Then put a flash light 3v bulb onto a individual cell and measure the voltage as the bulb is attached. You'll be able to determine the strong cells vs the weak. The good cells should stay around 1.3 volts or more. You'll see some drop right under a volt immediately. Letting it sit for a while shows you the cells with high self discharge rates.
Lightly sanding or scratching the battery helps the solder to stick rapidly. Tin(apply solder to) your wire and the battery tops/bottoms before you join them. This allows a quick bond. If you enjoyed the video: let me know below, thumbs up, or Subscribe for more.
sixtyfiveford That's a awesome solder gun you got there even though its got some years on it probably. My father had the same one, from the late 70's, but it finally died on me a couple years a go and I had to upgrade. Thanx for your vids and keep up the good work 65!!!
Sb Akash Sorry, I don't know if they are interchangeable by size but adding higher mah is just fine and won't harm the power tool. It will just run longer.
Thank you so much for your informative video. My best friend asked me to look after his cordless drill while he went back home on holiday and he passed away while out there. The batteries no longer work and i didn't want to get rid of the drill as a mark of remembrance. So thank you very much again. Keep up the good work.Peace.
I used some 14 gauge stranded wire. Yes, the tabbed ones work great as well. You will need to scuff them up so solder sticks and you will need to remove 1 tab from each battery. It will make sense once your putting them together.
If you get them from Ebay, you can get the same name brand cells for under $2 a piece which makes it a cheap alternative to buying a new pack. Most of the other online stores gouge on shipping making a rebuild of a 14.4v pack over $50 and a 18v almost $70 compared to $22 and $28. Thanks
Hey 65,waer s glad I found you.I'm a man than likes to take spare parts or someones junk parts and make use of them for something else.I have a small propane heater that has a fan running on 6 d cell batteries.It eats them.My fridge went out and I removed it out yesterday.I was just looking at the parts and noticed the freezer fan.Well it now has a cord and its a great fan for my heater.Keep up the good work.
The terminals pry off easiest with a pair of needle nose pliers. Also to disassemble the tabs from the batteries grab with needle nose pliers and roll your wrist to force them apart. They sometimes distort but are easily reshaped. The paper can be reused or use: card stock, cereal box cardboard or the like.
Thank you for your informative educational video! It was exactly what I needed in order to repair my drill at the most economical avenue and I believe I can repair/replace the battery cells competently on my own, which is exactly what I was looking to do! Very appreciated!
Good Video, technical correction....it is milli-amp not micro-amp ratings on the cells, ie 2200 mah (milli-amp hour) or 2.2 Ah (amp hour). I use a Dremel to rough up the surface which helps in pre-tinning the cells so when you connect them, you use less heat which is the enemy of the cells. That's why they use spot welders in the manufacturing process as much less heat is delivered to make the connections.
hey ,if anyone else is searching for how to recondition batteries at home try Knewreck Rapid Renew Guide (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my work buddy got great results with it.
I looked at your vid to see what you did. Invest in a new multimeter. Up front advise on batteries for replacement and where to find etc. Also a caution on battery replacement and hazard involved with same. I like your template idea for the pack for top and bottom view. Also finding a dead battery in the pack and replacing that one only from another dead pack. Also comment above is good and valid. DONT feel bad about the mistakes as its easy to point them out vs not making a vid but being a critic. Your vid has lots of good info in it but also some raises questions for the uninitiated and newbie wanting to do a repair.
Thanks for this video. I have a good worrking set of battery tools that I thought I was going to have to dispose of because the batteries were going bad and were no longer available. Now I can recover these babies. Thanks again.
The small pencil one is 35Watt, the gun shaped one is 150Watts and the large one is 225watts. The smallest one works you just have to wait between each joint for it to get to max heat again. If you have several battery packs you should first try combining good batteries out of several packs to make one good pack. This trick works great.
Someone may have already pointed it out to you but the current rating for a battery is not microamps it is milliamps. Instead of using wire to connect the batteries together I use flat copper tape. It comes in rolls of 1/8 inch 1/4 inch and other widths to suit your needs. I clean the battery contacts and lightly sand them with 400 grit sandpaper then tin them before applying the tape. If it appears that the sticky side of the tape may come in contact with the opposing + or - terminal then insert some insulating material beneath it. It works great and makes instalation in tight quarters simpler than the bulky wire. Check UA-cam for videos on how to repair a bad NICAD cell. USE SOLDER MADE FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND NOT PLUMBING SOLDER. Best regards, Mick Bradford
Mick Bradford Yeah, I misspoke. Solder tabbing strips do make it nicer in confined areas. But you need to make sure they are heavy duty enough to transmit the amperes. I always have extra bits of copper wire laying around so generally that is what I use. You can also pull all the sheathing off the stranded wire and it will lay as flat as tabbing strips.As far as "shocking" Nicad cells to revive them it is snake oil. Though you may get a superficial voltage they will have no capacity or have extremely high self discharge rates. Making them unusable.
My 9.6 and 14.4 have been shelved for years due to the insane price of batteries. Thanks for posting this vid! I'm glad I found it and cannot wait to get them back in operation. I never thought to tear them apart and I have the tools to do this. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to get 2-3 good batteries from the 4 packs. Thanks again!
Glen Lynch Sorry about that. It seams a few people have had issues with that. There was a fair amount of white noise from the Coke machine behind me so some speakers drown out my voice. Usually trying a set of headphones or different speaker and you'll be able to hear it a lot better.
There are several factors in fixing a car battery. One resource I discovered which successfully combines these is the Magic Mender Wizard (check it out on google) definately the no.1 course that I've seen. look at this unbelievable site.
You can also use the OHM setting (resistance) to measure each cell. I've found over the years that as NiCads age, with hi amperage charging.. The peak voltages actually rise. eg. a 7.2V pack can peak at 10-11V with charge current applied, 3A to 15A.
You should really do this with the cells fully discharged. If there is a mismatch in the SOC on one of those cells, you could cause it to vent. It also lessons the danger if you accidentally short cells when you are working. Good NiCad cells can discharge at 20C (and will reach that in a short). If these are 2000mAH cells, every cell is capably of putting out up to 40 amps
I have seen a few people come up with some ideas. The best is to just wirr to run off your car battery or a car battery charger. They actually work very very well on the 12-14 volts from a car battery even though they may be an 18 or 14.4v drill. Just open the handle and hook the 2 wires pos and neg to some wires that lead out. Put some alligator clips on the ends and hook it to a car battery.
Ok .. I know what I'm working on this weekend! That video was awesome. I've got a couple of almost dead, expensive Milwaukee batteries that I wasn't looking forward to buying new ones. Thanks!!
Great info, well done. Rebuild works same for most portable battery packs; Sears, Skil, generic drills sold by auto stores. New NiCad Sub-C batteries available thru Megabatteries, several online sites. Remember they're Sub-C batteries, not the same as regular household C cells. $4-$5 for each rechargeable cell.
I have not personally done a Bosch 14.4. I have never seen a battery pack that didn't just have the screws removed and the 2 halves pulled apart. Some brands put screws under thick decals.
I HATE nickel batteries. I rebuild my packs to do away with them entirely. I put a 3Ah 5S lithium polymer pack in the empty pack (after discarding the nicad cells) for my 18V class drill. It has about twice the capacity, 10 times the discharge capacity (easily), and it weighs less than half as much as the original nicad cells did. I use my digital R/C battery charger to charge it, now. That charger will also recondition old nicad packs, if I gave a fxxx about them. I do it for others from time to time. In addition, although my cheap, dinky charger won't really do it, if I had a bigger one, the lithium batteries can be recharged a bunch faster than the nicads can be. The only thing about it is that the drill felt top heavy with the new pack in. But when I took the drill apart, as I thought, and is more often than not the case, they had lead weights in the drill to counterbalance the original heavy pack, so I just took them out, and not only got it to balance better, it weighs even less, now. And my 18V drill has more torque than any 24v drill with nickel batteries, because of the high "C" rating of my lipo pack. My 3Ah, 20C (cheapest, and about the lowest "C" rating there is) pack can be completely discharged in 3 minutes @ 60A. More than enough for a drill. Friends that are in construction for a living loved mine, and did the same. The extended capacity is nice, as is the lack of the need to cycle the packs dead every time like you are supposed to do to nickel batteries. With them is's about the weight of the tool. Working over their heads with them all day, they really feel the weight of the tool at the end of the day. They always have the 24v drills, since they need the power. I get more out of my 18v drill, and it's about half the weight, and it runs twice as long on a charge, they love that. They say their elbows don't hurt at the end of every day. The battery I used was $20, and the charger was about $25, so it was less than $50, and I got my drill for free, because there was no charger, and the pack was completely dead. DEAL!
+UNITED POLICE STATES OF AMERICA That sounds like a brilliant idea, why don't you make video and show us how it's done. I'm sure loads of us would love to do that with a few pointers to get us started.
It's been a while, so that's hard to link. But you can get both at HobbyKing, the charger I use is the iMax B6. It does require a healthy 12v power supply, though, it's an r/c charger, so it usually runs from your car's battery.
Yes, The paper behind the contact strip was the first thing I tried. It actually has a burnt out circuit for that particular lcd spot. The funny thing is I knew I was going to burn my hand before I did it. Thanks for the tip on the LCD.
On your Ryobi, one cell in the pack is probably bad causing your frustration. I would open both packs and test for the 1 bad cell and replace it with a cell from the other pack or you can buy a single cell and replace it. This will usually give a battery pack an extra 2 yrs of homeowner use.
Thanks man. You explained everything really well. I was going to take a pack to a battery shop and have them rebuild it, but I'll give it a go myself. I just did a battery replacement on an Oral B toothbrush that died, and it works great. So I'm sure this won't be a problem for me either. It's nice to see someone actually do it though before I try it myself.
The little pencil one I use is 30 watts. It will work and I have done entire battery packs but it is a little slow as you have to let it heat back up between connections. I prefer something with a little more watts.
The discharge rate is higher but the drill or whatever it is powering doesn't draw that much power that fast. The lithium would work great but you will need to get a different charger for your new lithium batteries. By the time you do that it is generally cheaper to buy a new drill that already uses lithium batteries.
Oh sorry I thought you meant the battery pack. I don't have a defective one around to make a video. If it just do anything when the trigger is pulled, it could be several things:worn brushes, shorted trigger, or burnt up rotor-stator windings. Worn brushes will usually allow you to spin it by hand and it will start spinning (really rough). Shorted switch just usually needs to be cleaned. Shorted rotor or stator windings are generally the death of your tool.
They have been around a long time but they are relatively reliable, cheap, and light weight. They already are becoming less common in new tools but are still common place in mid to lower end tools that the majority of people buy. I see more and more LIPO and lithium batteries being used more but I don't see NiCad batteries becoming obsolete for the next decade. There's hours of reading on the subject and each battery has pros and cons.
I just bought a Skill professional drill at a garage sale for five dollars with battery packs that won't charge. Price on line for a new battery is 60 bucks. Thanks for the video, it'll sure help.
I want to thank you for your demonstration. I also like your idea of "mapping" the cells on cardboard. With the use of "mapping" the cells for my 19.2 Volt Craftsman battery pack, I was easily able to rebuilt it, using 2900mAH batteries....It works great. I expect that the new mAH rating for these new cells is much better than what came in the original pack. I do have some concerns though about some of your recommendations though. As my battery packs were starting to go bad, I did test the individual cells and found that only "some" of the cells were not charging. By the time I rebuilt it, NONE of the cells would hold a charge. Therefore, I would recommend that; if your going to rebuild a battery back, then replace every one of the cells, as to avoid having to redo it in the very near future. Further, I had no way of knowing nor telling what the mAH rating was for each original cell in the pack. So replacing "all" of them with new cells of the same rating seems like the better option. What do you think? Does this sound like it would work better?? -Thanks.
sixtyfiveford Success! Just got done and seems to work fine. Not sure I'd do it again. Cost about $28 for the tabbed 14.4V pack and took about 1-1/2 hours. Dewalt's 14.4 setup has a single cell above the rest of the group, making for an awkward setup. There's aftermarket ones on Amazon for about the same price. Still, it was fun to do. Tough to get solder to stick to flat surface. See why you go without tabs. They cost more, you throw more than half away, have to watch their direction top and bottom...just more of a hassle.
You'll be happy you did it. The Chinese battery packs on Amazon are bad. Few people have long term luck with them. On a side note the number 1 thing that kills these packs is over draining the pack. Once you realize it's getting weak, stop and charge it. That 1 last screw or extra hole to drill stresses the weaker cells and can permanently damage them. They will actually reverse polarity. Most battery packs get junked because of this.
Great educational and instructional video. This is a great alternative to filling our landfills with toxins and keeping with re-cycling.. Thank you for sharing. No better gift than the gift of knowledge..
You can also takes these to batteries plus and have them do it. A lot of pack solder causes spacing issues because they are so tightly in there. You need a spot welder in that situation
thanks thats great, don't like throwing them away and must have 5-6 in the shed , NIMH and LITH but no NiCad although the Ni Cad are a lot older, will let you know how it goes, thanks again for your help, all the best, Andy
Their chargers are designed to sense the charge state accordingly. Some cheaper brands do it with a timer which would ruin Nicd if it was timed to charge Nimh.
Well done and very informative. Enjoyed your step by step details and the why behind the process. Thanks for sharing and helping us prolong the life of our favourite power tools.
....cont fully charge it or fully discharge it within a couple month period the memory would stay... The thing that kills these battery packs is useing them after the drop off power. The moment you notice that the battery pack is weakening STOP. Below this point some of the battery cells can actually reverse polarity and will be permanently damaged. It is usually a cell in the middle of the circuit.
I may be reviving a couple old Dewalt battery packs, after watching this. Already upgraded the drill to a new Porter Cable, and a added nice Bosch 12v Li-Ion for small work. Guess it never hurts to have another spare drill. That damn ugly old battle axe Dewalt is never going to die now. I suppose, rather than combining two old batteries to form one good one, I could evaluate the dead cells and simply replace those, leaving myself with two good packs at minimal cost. This video is full of win. Thanks, man.
sixtyfiveford Not having done this, I'm only taking a wild guess as to how many bad cells I will find. I may be seriously underestimating the number. I guess I'll find out.
----cont. A study was done and publicized about the "memory effect" that Nicads have. They also found that if the fully charge these same batteries every couple of months and fully drained them any memory was completely erased. For the average person to feel memory effects with our power tools we would have to drill the exact same amount everyday and then under charge it the exact same amount, time after time after time. And as long as we didn't accidentally fully charge it or ......cont
Thanks, I have a 18 volt drill I have hardly used. Both battery's are dead and useless. Will be trying this right now. Thanks for the video...HUGE help.
Yeah, good instructional vid. I did similar with my old Ryobi 2.4V cordless driver when the original batteries gave out. It was a much simpler job (only two sub C 1.2V batteries and no temp sensors) but the principle is exactly the same. Result: one old driver back to better than new. I can now repack my 12V cordless battery pack when it eventually dies. with confidence.
Great vid, I'm just working my way through ur back catalog and there is some really great stuff on ur channel. When ur saying micro amps, u mean to say milliamps. 1000 microamps is one milliamp and 1000 milliamps is one amp.
You Rock! I've watched a few of your videees and both your info and your presentation are excellent. I also have to say that your lighting is spot on! Your camera work is perfect for the content. And most of all, your info is practical and timely. Great job. Thanks for what you do.
Yeah, the only issue I had was that you need to speak louder sometimes (or turn up your mic while recording if possible) because I had both my computer's volume and the video's volume cranked all the way up to max and I still had to get really close to the speakers in order to hear what you were saying! I do not have a problem with most other videos on you tube, (they are oftentimes even too loud and therefore distorted, which you don't want either of course), but yours was really low volume... Otherwise good though, except where you were referring to the cells ratings' in micro-amphours instead of the standard milliamp-hours! There's a difference of 1000 times between those two terms!
They are NiCad, but either way, the math works for what you are saying. Great job on the video. It answered all the questions I had. And all the questions I would have had.
i have 5 rigid battery packs, and have taken them apart, i saw thet only one or two were fried, so after researching, i found out that laptop battery packs have the same 186500 type lithium-ion batteries, so i dismantled thre battery packs and ,VOILA! free batteries. thanks for the video i can once again use my drills
Few battery packs came with NIMH, but if they did I would stick to NIMH as there are different types of chargers. Most chargers it wont make a difference but some are timer operated and could overcharge a NICAD. NIMH.. give out more power slowly so they also take longer to take a charge. If power is drawn or given to quickly the overheat. NICAD... give out the power quickly and also take a charge quicker. This is why they are more popular.
Thank You! This was the most informative video I have seen so far! You show how to put them together, which types to buy, and where to find them. Awesome!
Great information....I am a Carpenter and over the years, I have accumulated quite a lot of old battery packs, that stopped charging....Most of the time, what happens with me, is the cost of two new batteries, are so high, that I can catch a tool sale, pay just a little more, and get a whole new drill, two batteries, charger, and case...Or the next new, more powerful drill, has come out on the market, and I upgrade to the next best thing....So I have ended up with used, but good working, intire drill kits, with dead batteries.....and you see tons of thoses on CraigsList for a dime a dozen.....
The Lithium are a different beast entirely. Your drill wouldn't mind but your battery charger would. 20 volts would would more than likely fry your drill. Any solder that says "electrical" solder will work (plumbing solder no). As far as memory goes, according to numerous technical articles it is a wives tale. The thing that kills your drill batteries is using them when the start to drop off in power. Generally you just need to screw in "1 more screw" or the like. This kills individual cells.
I was glad to find this as I have 3 portable drills with batteries that have stopped taking a charge or that have dead cells.I don't use them much and they seem to die when in disuse.I will trade my batty cells inside hopefully to end up with one that works.I think these batteries are too costly.Especially since I really don't do to many drilling operations.Great idea and thanks.
great idea i found you can do this with cordless telephone batteries usualy only 1 is bad and if you have a gang of phones they start to crap out around the same time so you can get 1 or 2 going again by your method great show keep up the good work!!!!
As someone who grew up in a family business of battery rebuilding... Here is a good tip. I love the creativity, but a spot welder and some nickel tabs would go a long way! Check out MTO Battery though if you are looking for a quality rebuild service. It’s my father’s company that he started when I was just a little ankle biter and used to be in our garage... now it’s one of the largest on the east coast.
Yes. After an even more careful inspection, the long cells are actually 2 sub c's wrapped in a uniform cardboard. I need to cut a little away and make sure one of those isn't dead.
Sorry for the delay in response. Scratch up the top of the battery lightly with a sharp edge or use sand paper. Apply solder to the battery top separately, melt it then put your tab or wire on and apply heat. They will bond.
I had an issue, like the ones you are having with the numbers not displaying properly, with my volt meter that is very similar to yours. I took it apart and put a new 9 volt into it, and all of my numbers came back to life. Just a thought. Good info in your video and thank you.
cakraft24 Thanks for watching. Yeah, this one has a short on the board (I dropped it hard). I've used the death out of it for the last 20 years and just found an identical old one that is in new condition. If I get another 20 years out of the replacement I'll be happy.
Thanks for the video sixtyfiveford - over here the cells cost about half what the replacement battery pack does, definitely worth adding to my services!
I read your response to someone when watching the video as I was wondering the cost efficiency I am 57 years old and began using cordless tools in the late 1980s being in the Construction business for 35 years I’ve discarded many worn out battery packs as years ago it wasn’t plauseable to do this before the Internet and so many things being made in China and exported so cheaply
Scuff the surface of the battery with a piece of sand paper or put a dozen small scratches with the tip of a pocket knife. It gives the solder something to bite to. Let me know how that works.
I used 3 different ones, you can see them all at 6:27 in the video. I didn't need all of them, just one. The small pencil one is 35Watt, the gun shaped one is 150Watts and the large one is 225watts. The smallest one works good you just have to wait between each joint for it to get to max heat again. The largest one just gets the job done faster.
I want to thank you so very much because I looked at up and you were the first one that came up and you explained it very easily. Thank you so very much again and you rock!
Good video with valuable info. Should not have skipped all the soldering, since heavy duty solder was used with a small iron. It would have been good to see that done once or twice because it is the critical step in making this work.
It takes a little patience soldering them in, but it's a great sense of accomplishment when you get it done. Lightly scuff(sand or file) the tops/bottoms of the batteries and the solder will stick a lot easier/quicker.
@foryzdp I usually combine all the ones from severall packs to make a couple good packs. If only one is needed I would only do the one but you need to do it with the same capacity battery. The main reason to do all new cells is for the longest life.
Thank you for the video! I will be disassembling my current packs to make a couple good packs and then will build one new after watching this video. Holy soldering iron @ 6:27!
Right on, reclaiming the 18650s is the way to go. The thing that fries individual cells is draining the battery pack to low. When they noticeably drop off and you still need to screw in 2 mores screws, don't. Weaker cells can actually be forced so low that they reverse polarity and are damaged forever.
great video! 1 bad battery kills the whole pack. I usually get battery packs off the discount table and tear them apart for the batteries. Also don't over heat the batteries when you are soldering
Awesome video.... Getting ready to rebuild my dewalt with new brushes and new batteries.. Love the diagram and explanation of using copper wire in place of straps. You only have one thing wrong with your video...your love of Fords. Chevy!!!!
Seems like they are stretching their numbers a little. All Nicads and Nimh are rated at 1.2 volts HOWEVER when they are fully charged they can reach 1.6 volts. They wont stay at this voltage for long, but it sounds good.
After watching your vid a while back, I got a whole box full of "bad" batteries from work.
I learned something you didn't mention. I charged the battery and immediately opened it and checked the cell voltages and discarded the bad cells, replaced with good cells from another. After a few days the "New" battery was totally dead. On later attempts, I charge the bad battery and discarded dead cells, then waited a couple days and checked and discarded more cells. Now reassembling with cells thus sorted a got a couple really good batteries that hold a charge for a long time. Lesson: A cell may take a charge but loose it after a couple days, still it's a bad cell.
+tinkersdamnworkshop Yeah, I didn't want to go too much into the theory of load testing the cells. You can charge the pack and let it sit for a few days/week. Then put a flash light 3v bulb onto a individual cell and measure the voltage as the bulb is attached. You'll be able to determine the strong cells vs the weak. The good cells should stay around 1.3 volts or more. You'll see some drop right under a volt immediately. Letting it sit for a while shows you the cells with high self discharge rates.
Lightly sanding or scratching the battery helps the solder to stick rapidly. Tin(apply solder to) your wire and the battery tops/bottoms before you join them. This allows a quick bond.
If you enjoyed the video: let me know below, thumbs up, or Subscribe for more.
sixtyfiveford That's a awesome solder gun you got there even though its got some years on it probably. My father had the same one, from the late 70's, but it finally died on me a couple years a go and I had to upgrade. Thanx for your vids and keep up the good work 65!!!
william delmer
Hey Thanks..
Sb Akash
Sorry, I don't know if they are interchangeable by size but adding higher mah is just fine and won't harm the power tool. It will just run longer.
Nice and thanks sixfiveford ..
Check out this website if you want to learn the best method to recondition your batteries: JoxCharge. com
Thank you so much for your informative video. My best friend asked me to look after his cordless drill while he went back home on holiday and he passed away while out there. The batteries no longer work and i didn't want to get rid of the drill as a mark of remembrance. So thank you very much again. Keep up the good work.Peace.
I'm glad the video was helpful.
Thanks again bro. Peace.
I used some 14 gauge stranded wire. Yes, the tabbed ones work great as well. You will need to scuff them up so solder sticks and you will need to remove 1 tab from each battery. It will make sense once your putting them together.
Finally, someone that offers some actual help without a lot of additonal garbage. Thanks
If you get them from Ebay, you can get the same name brand cells for under $2 a piece which makes it a cheap alternative to buying a new pack. Most of the other online stores gouge on shipping making a rebuild of a 14.4v pack over $50 and a 18v almost $70 compared to $22 and $28. Thanks
Hey 65,waer s glad I found you.I'm a man than likes to take spare parts or someones junk parts and make use of them for something else.I have a small propane heater that has a fan running on 6 d cell batteries.It eats them.My fridge went out and I removed it out yesterday.I was just looking at the parts and noticed the freezer fan.Well it now has a cord and its a great fan for my heater.Keep up the good work.
That's a neat modification. I always love doing things like that. It great to meet you.
GREAT TUTORIAL,EASY TO FOLLOW FOR THE NOVICE. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK,LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING MORE.
The terminals pry off easiest with a pair of needle nose pliers. Also to disassemble the tabs from the batteries grab with needle nose pliers and roll your wrist to force them apart. They sometimes distort but are easily reshaped. The paper can be reused or use: card stock, cereal box cardboard or the like.
Thank you for your informative educational video! It was exactly what I needed in order to repair my drill at the most economical avenue and I believe I can repair/replace the battery cells competently on my own, which is exactly what I was looking to do! Very appreciated!
Thanks, I'm glad it helped.
Did you do it?
Where can buy the new cells Please
got 4 screw guns in the shop I just threw in box cause they didn't work, thought the charger was bad. now I know how to fix !!! thx guy !!!
Good Video, technical correction....it is milli-amp not micro-amp ratings on the cells, ie 2200 mah (milli-amp hour) or 2.2 Ah (amp hour). I use a Dremel to rough up the surface which helps in pre-tinning the cells so when you connect them, you use less heat which is the enemy of the cells. That's why they use spot welders in the manufacturing process as much less heat is delivered to make the connections.
This is why I went to the comments. His uAh batteries would be dead in seconds.
hey ,if anyone else is searching for how to recondition batteries at home try Knewreck Rapid Renew Guide (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my work buddy got great results with it.
I looked at your vid to see what you did. Invest in a new multimeter. Up front advise on batteries for replacement and where to find etc. Also a caution on battery replacement and hazard involved with same. I like your template idea for the pack for top and bottom view. Also finding a dead battery in the pack and replacing that one only from another dead pack. Also comment above is good and valid. DONT feel bad about the mistakes as its easy to point them out vs not making a vid but being a critic. Your vid has lots of good info in it but also some raises questions for the uninitiated and newbie wanting to do a repair.
Thanks for this video. I have a good worrking set of battery tools that I thought I was going to have to dispose of because the batteries were going bad and were no longer available. Now I can recover these babies. Thanks again.
Glad the video helped. I would be a shame to throw away some good Milwaukee tools because of outrageously priced batteries.
The small pencil one is 35Watt, the gun shaped one is 150Watts and the large one is 225watts. The smallest one works you just have to wait between each joint for it to get to max heat again.
If you have several battery packs you should first try combining good batteries out of several packs to make one good pack. This trick works great.
Someone may have already pointed it out to you but the current rating for a battery is not microamps it is milliamps.
Instead of using wire to connect the batteries together I use flat copper tape. It comes in rolls of 1/8 inch 1/4 inch and other widths to suit your needs. I clean the battery contacts and lightly sand them with 400 grit sandpaper then tin them before applying the tape. If it appears that the sticky side of the tape may come in contact with the opposing + or - terminal then insert some insulating material beneath it. It works great and makes instalation in tight quarters simpler than the bulky wire. Check UA-cam for videos on how to repair a bad NICAD cell.
USE SOLDER MADE FOR ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND NOT PLUMBING SOLDER.
Best regards,
Mick Bradford
Mick Bradford Yeah, I misspoke. Solder tabbing strips do make it nicer in confined areas. But you need to make sure they are heavy duty enough to transmit the amperes. I always have extra bits of copper wire laying around so generally that is what I use. You can also pull all the sheathing off the stranded wire and it will lay as flat as tabbing strips.As far as "shocking" Nicad cells to revive them it is snake oil. Though you may get a superficial voltage they will have no capacity or have extremely high self discharge rates. Making them unusable.
My 9.6 and 14.4 have been shelved for years due to the insane price of batteries. Thanks for posting this vid! I'm glad I found it and cannot wait to get them back in operation. I never thought to tear them apart and I have the tools to do this. Maybe I'll get lucky and be able to get 2-3 good batteries from the 4 packs. Thanks again!
Yeah, you can usually always find a couple good ones.
I have volume turned up all the way and having trouble hearing you. Thanks for the info.
Glen Lynch Sorry about that. It seams a few people have had issues with that. There was a fair amount of white noise from the Coke machine behind me so some speakers drown out my voice. Usually trying a set of headphones or different speaker and you'll be able to hear it a lot better.
sixtyfiveford
Do you have a Mic? maybe use it if you can or get one if you don't have one
OMG!!! This video I loving.. I have recommendation for knewreck rapid renew guide, Super how to refurbish cordless drill batteries Search in Google
There are several factors in fixing a car battery. One resource I discovered which successfully combines these is the Magic Mender Wizard (check it out on google) definately the no.1 course that I've seen. look at this unbelievable site.
You can also use the OHM setting (resistance) to measure each cell. I've found over the years that as NiCads age, with hi amperage charging.. The peak voltages actually rise. eg. a 7.2V pack can peak at 10-11V with charge current applied, 3A to 15A.
You should really do this with the cells fully discharged. If there is a mismatch in the SOC on one of those cells, you could cause it to vent. It also lessons the danger if you accidentally short cells when you are working. Good NiCad cells can discharge at 20C (and will reach that in a short). If these are 2000mAH cells, every cell is capably of putting out up to 40 amps
^
I have seen a few people come up with some ideas. The best is to just wirr to run off your car battery or a car battery charger. They actually work very very well on the 12-14 volts from a car battery even though they may be an 18 or 14.4v drill. Just open the handle and hook the 2 wires pos and neg to some wires that lead out. Put some alligator clips on the ends and hook it to a car battery.
Ugh. I wish I would have known this before giving Home Depot my two "dead" batteries last year in their drop box.
Ok .. I know what I'm working on this weekend! That video was awesome. I've got a couple of almost dead, expensive Milwaukee batteries that I wasn't looking forward to buying new ones. Thanks!!
Can you do the same on a Li-ion 18v 1.5 Ah Hitachi battery?????
miguel caro
try it. find out. explore your curiosity
Great info, well done. Rebuild works same for most portable battery packs; Sears, Skil, generic drills sold by auto stores. New NiCad Sub-C batteries available thru Megabatteries, several online sites. Remember they're Sub-C batteries, not the same as regular household C cells. $4-$5 for each rechargeable cell.
Thanks, I really enjoyed your video and it was easily understood. You're a good teacher.
656trav Thanks for watching.
@@sixtyfivefordYes sixty five Ford. You did open our eyes on this. 👍
I have not personally done a Bosch 14.4. I have never seen a battery pack that didn't just have the screws removed and the 2 halves pulled apart. Some brands put screws under thick decals.
I HATE nickel batteries. I rebuild my packs to do away with them entirely. I put a 3Ah 5S lithium polymer pack in the empty pack (after discarding the nicad cells) for my 18V class drill. It has about twice the capacity, 10 times the discharge capacity (easily), and it weighs less than half as much as the original nicad cells did. I use my digital R/C battery charger to charge it, now. That charger will also recondition old nicad packs, if I gave a fxxx about them. I do it for others from time to time. In addition, although my cheap, dinky charger won't really do it, if I had a bigger one, the lithium batteries can be recharged a bunch faster than the nicads can be. The only thing about it is that the drill felt top heavy with the new pack in. But when I took the drill apart, as I thought, and is more often than not the case, they had lead weights in the drill to counterbalance the original heavy pack, so I just took them out, and not only got it to balance better, it weighs even less, now. And my 18V drill has more torque than any 24v drill with nickel batteries, because of the high "C" rating of my lipo pack. My 3Ah, 20C (cheapest, and about the lowest "C" rating there is) pack can be completely discharged in 3 minutes @ 60A. More than enough for a drill. Friends that are in construction for a living loved mine, and did the same. The extended capacity is nice, as is the lack of the need to cycle the packs dead every time like you are supposed to do to nickel batteries. With them is's about the weight of the tool. Working over their heads with them all day, they really feel the weight of the tool at the end of the day. They always have the 24v drills, since they need the power. I get more out of my 18v drill, and it's about half the weight, and it runs twice as long on a charge, they love that. They say their elbows don't hurt at the end of every day. The battery I used was $20, and the charger was about $25, so it was less than $50, and I got my drill for free, because there was no charger, and the pack was completely dead. DEAL!
+UNITED POLICE STATES OF AMERICA That sounds like a brilliant idea, why don't you make video and show us how it's done. I'm sure loads of us would love to do that with a few pointers to get us started.
can you give me a link to the charger?
and the li-ion battery you put in?
It's been a while, so that's hard to link. But you can get both at HobbyKing, the charger I use is the iMax B6. It does require a healthy 12v power supply, though, it's an r/c charger, so it usually runs from your car's battery.
so what R/C charger ? you have a model?
Check out this website if you want to learn the best method to recondition your batteries: JoxCharge. com
I was able to pry them off. They did get a little deformed but I easily straightened them out. Yours might be on better than mine though.
Yes, The paper behind the contact strip was the first thing I tried. It actually has a burnt out circuit for that particular lcd spot. The funny thing is I knew I was going to burn my hand before I did it. Thanks for the tip on the LCD.
I have a bunch of old drills and dead battery packs. Good thing I didn't throw them away. Now I know that I can replace the cells. Thanks!
Floyd R. Turbo You're welcome. I'm glad you found the video.
On your Ryobi, one cell in the pack is probably bad causing your frustration. I would open both packs and test for the 1 bad cell and replace it with a cell from the other pack or you can buy a single cell and replace it. This will usually give a battery pack an extra 2 yrs of homeowner use.
Thanks man. You explained everything really well. I was going to take a pack to a battery shop and have them rebuild it, but I'll give it a go myself. I just did a battery replacement on an Oral B toothbrush that died, and it works great. So I'm sure this won't be a problem for me either. It's nice to see someone actually do it though before I try it myself.
Let me know how it goes.
The little pencil one I use is 30 watts. It will work and I have done entire battery packs but it is a little slow as you have to let it heat back up between connections. I prefer something with a little more watts.
applying solder to the battery without applying the tab can help. Then heat the tab by pressing it against the battery and soldering iron
Yes I use acid/rosin core solder.
The discharge rate is higher but the drill or whatever it is powering doesn't draw that much power that fast. The lithium would work great but you will need to get a different charger for your new lithium batteries. By the time you do that it is generally cheaper to buy a new drill that already uses lithium batteries.
Oh sorry I thought you meant the battery pack. I don't have a defective one around to make a video. If it just do anything when the trigger is pulled, it could be several things:worn brushes, shorted trigger, or burnt up rotor-stator windings. Worn brushes will usually allow you to spin it by hand and it will start spinning (really rough). Shorted switch just usually needs to be cleaned. Shorted rotor or stator windings are generally the death of your tool.
They have been around a long time but they are relatively reliable, cheap, and light weight. They already are becoming less common in new tools but are still common place in mid to lower end tools that the majority of people buy. I see more and more LIPO and lithium batteries being used more but I don't see NiCad batteries becoming obsolete for the next decade. There's hours of reading on the subject and each battery has pros and cons.
I just bought a Skill professional drill at a garage sale for five dollars with battery packs that won't charge. Price on line for a new battery is 60 bucks. Thanks for the video, it'll sure help.
I hope it does. You should be able to take two packs apart and make one good one.
I want to thank you for your demonstration. I also like your idea of "mapping" the cells on cardboard.
With the use of "mapping" the cells for my 19.2 Volt Craftsman battery pack, I was easily able to rebuilt it, using 2900mAH batteries....It works great. I expect that the new mAH rating for these new cells is much better than what came in the original pack.
I do have some concerns though about some of your recommendations though. As my battery packs were starting to go bad, I did test the individual cells and found that only "some" of the cells were not charging. By the time I rebuilt it, NONE of the cells would hold a charge. Therefore, I would recommend that; if your going to rebuild a battery back, then replace every one of the cells, as to avoid having to redo it in the very near future.
Further, I had no way of knowing nor telling what the mAH rating was for each original cell in the pack. So replacing "all" of them with new cells of the same rating seems like the better option.
What do you think? Does this sound like it would work better??
-Thanks.
Can't wait to try this on my Dewalt 14.4 battery packs. Thanks for posting, and for replying to all the questions.
cember01 Glad the video helps. Let me know how it goes.
sixtyfiveford
Success! Just got done and seems to work fine. Not sure I'd do it again. Cost about $28 for the tabbed 14.4V pack and took about 1-1/2 hours. Dewalt's 14.4 setup has a single cell above the rest of the group, making for an awkward setup. There's aftermarket ones on Amazon for about the same price. Still, it was fun to do. Tough to get solder to stick to flat surface. See why you go without tabs. They cost more, you throw more than half away, have to watch their direction top and bottom...just more of a hassle.
You'll be happy you did it. The Chinese battery packs on Amazon are bad. Few people have long term luck with them. On a side note the number 1 thing that kills these packs is over draining the pack. Once you realize it's getting weak, stop and charge it. That 1 last screw or extra hole to drill stresses the weaker cells and can permanently damage them. They will actually reverse polarity. Most battery packs get junked because of this.
Thanks. Let mean know if you need any help.
Great educational and instructional video. This is a great alternative to filling our landfills with toxins and keeping with re-cycling..
Thank you for sharing. No better gift than the gift of knowledge..
You can also takes these to batteries plus and have them do it. A lot of pack solder causes spacing issues because they are so tightly in there. You need a spot welder in that situation
thanks thats great, don't like throwing them away and must have 5-6 in the shed , NIMH and LITH but no NiCad although the Ni Cad are a lot older, will let you know how it goes, thanks again for your help, all the best, Andy
Bought a new iron and no problems now ...Thanks
Their chargers are designed to sense the charge state accordingly. Some cheaper brands do it with a timer which would ruin Nicd if it was timed to charge Nimh.
I really like the simple idea of the template that you use on your bench.
Thanks.
Well done and very informative. Enjoyed your step by step details and the why behind the process. Thanks for sharing and helping us prolong the life of our favourite power tools.
....cont fully charge it or fully discharge it within a couple month period the memory would stay... The thing that kills these battery packs is useing them after the drop off power. The moment you notice that the battery pack is weakening STOP. Below this point some of the battery cells can actually reverse polarity and will be permanently damaged. It is usually a cell in the middle of the circuit.
I may be reviving a couple old Dewalt battery packs, after watching this. Already upgraded the drill to a new Porter Cable, and a added nice Bosch 12v Li-Ion for small work. Guess it never hurts to have another spare drill. That damn ugly old battle axe Dewalt is never going to die now.
I suppose, rather than combining two old batteries to form one good one, I could evaluate the dead cells and simply replace those, leaving myself with two good packs at minimal cost.
This video is full of win. Thanks, man.
Thanks. Out of 2 I will generally make 1 salvage pack and one completely new one.
sixtyfiveford Not having done this, I'm only taking a wild guess as to how many bad cells I will find. I may be seriously underestimating the number. I guess I'll find out.
----cont. A study was done and publicized about the "memory effect" that Nicads have. They also found that if the fully charge these same batteries every couple of months and fully drained them any memory was completely erased. For the average person to feel memory effects with our power tools we would have to drill the exact same amount everyday and then under charge it the exact same amount, time after time after time. And as long as we didn't accidentally fully charge it or ......cont
Thanks, I have a 18 volt drill I have hardly used. Both battery's are dead and useless. Will be trying this right now. Thanks for the video...HUGE help.
butch holland Thanks for watching.
sixtyfiveford You are very welcome. You make a good video. I am hoping one day I will have equipment to make a few video's too. Take care
Yeah, good instructional vid. I did similar with my old Ryobi 2.4V cordless driver when the original batteries gave out. It was a much simpler job (only two sub C 1.2V batteries and no temp sensors) but the principle is exactly the same. Result: one old driver back to better than new. I can now repack my 12V cordless battery pack when it eventually dies. with confidence.
Nicely done.
Great vid, I'm just working my way through ur back catalog and there is some really great stuff on ur channel. When ur saying micro amps, u mean to say milliamps. 1000 microamps is one milliamp and 1000 milliamps is one amp.
Nitris Yeah, I misspoke.
You Rock! I've watched a few of your videees and both your info and your presentation are excellent. I also have to say that your lighting is spot on! Your camera work is perfect for the content. And most of all, your info is practical and timely. Great job. Thanks for what you do.
Thanks for the great compliments and thanks for watching. -Moe
Yeah, the only issue I had was that you need to speak louder sometimes (or turn up your mic while recording if possible) because I had both my computer's volume and the video's volume cranked all the way up to max and I still had to get really close to the speakers in order to hear what you were saying! I do not have a problem with most other videos on you tube, (they are oftentimes even too loud and therefore distorted, which you don't want either of course), but yours was really low volume... Otherwise good though, except where you were referring to the cells ratings' in micro-amphours instead of the standard milliamp-hours! There's a difference of 1000 times between those two terms!
Really appreciate the info...this will save me a lot of money...you are a winner. Thanks for helping so many people!
Excellent instruction. Straight to the point, now its time to get busy on my 12volt DeWALT battery packs. Thank You!!
+Kenneth N. Amend You're welcome, I'm glad you found the video.
I just wanted to see the soldering clearer, I wanted to know how to solder the tabs or use a spot welder wit tabs, good video
They are NiCad, but either way, the math works for what you are saying. Great job on the video. It answered all the questions I had. And all the questions I would have had.
i have 5 rigid battery packs, and have taken them apart, i saw thet only one or two were fried, so after researching, i found out that laptop battery packs have the same 186500 type lithium-ion batteries, so i dismantled thre battery packs and ,VOILA! free batteries.
thanks for the video i can once again use my drills
Still watching, still enjoying, still sending them to my friends. Thanks.
656trav Awesome. Thanks Man!
Few battery packs came with NIMH, but if they did I would stick to NIMH as there are different types of chargers. Most chargers it wont make a difference but some are timer operated and could overcharge a NICAD.
NIMH.. give out more power slowly so they also take longer to take a charge. If power is drawn or given to quickly the overheat.
NICAD... give out the power quickly and also take a charge quicker. This is why they are more popular.
Very good video. Years ago my friend and I re-built Makita battery pack exactly this way. It worked well.
Thanks.
Thank You! This was the most informative video I have seen so far! You show how to put them together, which types to buy, and where to find them. Awesome!
Great information....I am a Carpenter and over the years, I have accumulated quite a lot of old battery packs, that stopped charging....Most of the time, what happens with me, is the cost of two new batteries, are so high, that I can catch a tool sale, pay just a little more, and get a whole new drill, two batteries, charger, and case...Or the next new, more powerful drill, has come out on the market, and I upgrade to the next best thing....So I have ended up with used, but good working, intire drill kits, with dead batteries.....and you see tons of thoses on CraigsList for a dime a dozen.....
Timmy Gee Thanks. Yeah, they charge way more than they should for replacement battery packs, but it sells new tools.
The best value I have found is from Ebay. I really like the T-Energy brand.
The Lithium are a different beast entirely. Your drill wouldn't mind but your battery charger would. 20 volts would would more than likely fry your drill. Any solder that says "electrical" solder will work (plumbing solder no). As far as memory goes, according to numerous technical articles it is a wives tale. The thing that kills your drill batteries is using them when the start to drop off in power. Generally you just need to screw in "1 more screw" or the like. This kills individual cells.
I was glad to find this as I have 3 portable drills with batteries that have stopped taking a charge or that have dead cells.I don't use them much and they seem to die when in disuse.I will trade my batty cells inside hopefully to end up with one that works.I think these batteries are too costly.Especially since I really don't do to many drilling operations.Great idea and thanks.
+Gary Wright You're welcome. Good luck.
great idea i found you can do this with cordless telephone batteries usualy only 1 is bad and if you have a gang of phones they start to crap out around the same time so you can get 1 or 2 going again by your method great show keep up the good work!!!!
As someone who grew up in a family business of battery rebuilding... Here is a good tip. I love the creativity, but a spot welder and some nickel tabs would go a long way! Check out MTO Battery though if you are looking for a quality rebuild service. It’s my father’s company that he started when I was just a little ankle biter and used to be in our garage... now it’s one of the largest on the east coast.
For sure a spot welder if trying to make money/do this for a business.
Yes. After an even more careful inspection, the long cells are actually 2 sub c's wrapped in a uniform cardboard. I need to cut a little away and make sure one of those isn't dead.
Sorry for the delay in response. Scratch up the top of the battery lightly with a sharp edge or use sand paper. Apply solder to the battery top separately, melt it then put your tab or wire on and apply heat. They will bond.
Thanks a lot. I have been searching for 12V replacement batteries and ran across this video. Much appreciated. I have subscribed.
Its most likely a lithium and has 3.7 volt 18650 lithium cells. They are situated just like these. The gauge is just soldered in.
Electrical lead/tin solder with rosin core.
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.
Hope they are an easy fix.
I had an issue, like the ones you are having with the numbers not displaying properly, with my volt meter that is very similar to yours. I took it apart and put a new 9 volt into it, and all of my numbers came back to life. Just a thought. Good info in your video and thank you.
cakraft24 Thanks for watching. Yeah, this one has a short on the board (I dropped it hard). I've used the death out of it for the last 20 years and just found an identical old one that is in new condition. If I get another 20 years out of the replacement I'll be happy.
Thanks for the headsup on this. Going to try this out. Have a 12v Wagner drill, and the batteries no longer work. Keep up the good work
Brown Bones You're welcome. You should be able to keep it alive for a long time. Ebay is the best deal on these cells.
Thanks bud, take care and have a good day.
man I am going to get all my bad 19.2 craftsman batteries out & test them now!! Thanks dude!
Some brands sold the same tool with either NiCd or NiMh batteries with the same charger. The Festool TDK series is an example of that.
Thanks for the video sixtyfiveford - over here the cells cost about half what the replacement battery pack does, definitely worth adding to my services!
Albinus81 Thanks, I'm glad you like the video. Half the cost is a good savings.
I read your response to someone when watching the video as I was wondering the cost efficiency I am 57 years old and began using cordless tools in the late 1980s being in the Construction business for 35 years I’ve discarded many worn out battery packs as years ago it wasn’t plauseable to do this before the Internet and so many things being made in China and exported so cheaply
Scuff the surface of the battery with a piece of sand paper or put a dozen small scratches with the tip of a pocket knife. It gives the solder something to bite to. Let me know how that works.
I used 3 different ones, you can see them all at 6:27 in the video. I didn't need all of them, just one. The small pencil one is 35Watt, the gun shaped one is 150Watts and the large one is 225watts. The smallest one works good you just have to wait between each joint for it to get to max heat again. The largest one just gets the job done faster.
I want to thank you so very much because I looked at up and you were the first one that came up and you explained it very easily. Thank you so very much again and you rock!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
I just began watching your videos very recently and they are extremely informative. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Mussie Tesfay Thanks Man.
Good video with valuable info. Should not have skipped all the soldering, since heavy duty solder was used with a small iron. It would have been good to see that done once or twice because it is the critical step in making this work.
Are the longer cells paper wrapped and actually 2 cells end to end.
Answered my questions. Have replacement batteries ordered. Once upon a time I would not have attempted this, thanks.
It takes a little patience soldering them in, but it's a great sense of accomplishment when you get it done. Lightly scuff(sand or file) the tops/bottoms of the batteries and the solder will stick a lot easier/quicker.
@foryzdp I usually combine all the ones from severall packs to make a couple good packs. If only one is needed I would only do the one but you need to do it with the same capacity battery. The main reason to do all new cells is for the longest life.
Thank you for the video! I will be disassembling my current packs to make a couple good packs and then will build one new after watching this video. Holy soldering iron @ 6:27!
wallrat76 Yeah, that's a big one.
Right on, reclaiming the 18650s is the way to go. The thing that fries individual cells is draining the battery pack to low. When they noticeably drop off and you still need to screw in 2 mores screws, don't. Weaker cells can actually be forced so low that they reverse polarity and are damaged forever.
great video! 1 bad battery kills the whole pack. I usually get battery packs off the discount table and tear them apart for the batteries. Also don't over heat the batteries when you are soldering
Thanks... Yeah, too much heat can shorten their life.
FXNorm that's not true. As long as they haven't been charged and discharged allot or left on the charger for ever.
Good demonstration and explanation of rebuild and design features...and why one should handle machinery with care
Fred C Dobbs Hey Thanks.
How many volts reading did you get? Can you set the meter to read lower voltage(under 2 volts)?
Awesome video.... Getting ready to rebuild my dewalt with new brushes and new batteries.. Love the diagram and explanation of using copper wire in place of straps. You only have one thing wrong with your video...your love of Fords. Chevy!!!!
Let's compromise and say no to Dodge.