Ive fixed so many batteries by saving them with another charged battery and never had issues long term. This happens a lot in cold environment from my experience as a construction worker. Such a simple and easy fix
I usually charge them as PB or NiMH or other crap depending on voltage to trick the charger into charge them and them move to li-ion charge, however usually if they are left a good time without charge, battery capacity might be heavily affected or might have dead cells that won't keep any charge and just discharge pretty fast...
A cheap bench top power supply is great for rescuing dead batteries because you can set a 200 mA current limit keep the wires cool, and bring the packs up gently before moving it to a real battery charger to finish. Still needs supervision in case the batteries go boom but a lot safer.
You can also make a simple circuit for current limiting. Of course, it will lose a bit of voltage, but it will provide a steady current with just a couple diodes and resistors in its simplest form. Circuits are readily available on Google, I don't study electronics, I am just getting into them, but I have heard some people use such circuits successfully to recharge dead vape batteries (usually a Li-ion battery). These are "single use" on disposable vapes, but you can still recharge them after use.
@@Deja117 Just about all th adjustable bench supplies have a built-in (and adjustable) current limit. Just set it to 200 mA, as suggested, and the appropriate battery pack voltage for start. When the pack has reached the dialed (nominal) voltage, the current limit indicator-light typically drops out. Then you can adjust the current limit down to a float level, maybe 50 mA and adjust the voltage up to maintenance level, calculated from number of cells in the pack times 4.2 V (normal for lithium cells). That assumes all the cells are wired in a single series.. Most likely your packs have 2 or more sets wired in parallel. “MAX” series tell the maximum CHARGING voltage, taking the 4.2 V already into account, which makes the calculations not required. Hope this covers everything needed in understandable way!
@@InssiAjaton Thanks, that was quite informative and well put. I am actually partial to bench top power supplies myself for their ease of use in this area, but a decent one costs around $100. You can make a circuit specifically for safely charging those batteries for maybe $5 in total. They are definitely worth the investment though, and I'm actually quite surprised Steve doesn't have one already.
My wife and I have a baby monitor which was struggling to charge properly. We even bought a 3rd party cable, which only worked for a short time. THIS channel inspired me to take it apart. I stripped a USB cable. Connected the Positive and Negative cables (of the USB) to the positive and negative of the device (soldering it) and it's worked perfectly since. This channel inspired that. Thank you! You saved us from having to buy a new baby monitor.
Interesting technique for those that don't have the tools, but yeah, a bench power supply give you much better control and is safer. You can target individual cells to charge, and set voltage & current limits to bring them back up gently.
I've been using this method and a 18650 battery charger. You can connect leads to the cells that are low and charge them in the pack. Works pretty well. I definitely want to get a bench power supply sometime
For rust.. you should buy some Evapo-Rust. It lasts a LONG time (can rehydrate it with water) and will even clean metals that don't have rust. It's less destructive than just sanding.
The last video you did fixing power tools my neighbor asked me to look at his tools. I was able to fix several of his battery packs and later some of his Milwaukee tools. I bought a 18650 charger and you can set it up with leaders to charge the batteries without breaking the pack
i had a 12.0Ah milwaukee battery that came with my cordless tablesaw. i liked using the saw, and the battery would allow me to work on my DIY stuff for a while. i didn't use the battery and saw for a few months and were just in a shed. just A WEEK AFTER the warranty expired, the battery stopped holding a charge. i would fully charge it, cut 1 piece of wood, and it's blinking (very low charge). when i put in the charger, it would take 10 minutes to show fully charged. i searched around and found out it was probably the cells that got out of charge synchronization from the BMS. i had to learn the hard way how to fix it but it was back to business after that!
If I remember correctly, Milwaukee battery management system doesn't actually balance the pack. Since they were drained so low, I'd recommend opening it up and charge each cell individually to full. When the individual cells get that low, their voltage will vary a lot, and charging them full on factory charger just means one of the cell hit 4.2V and the charger stops. So you're not getting the full capacity from a full pack, and when it discharges, the lowest cell will hit that cut off much sooner. That's my understanding based on internet dissection videos.
@@theEskalaatori would sell it as a salvage pack for pieces and get rid of it. I dont need all those cells that sat dead for years to be charged and hot on my kitchen table.
At this point I would get 8 Samsung INR18650 batteries and replace them inside the unit after charging them all to 4.2 volts and send the old ones for recycling.
I love your computer and gaming repairs. I think they’re very straightforward and insightful, I would love to see a series on power tool repair. that seems to be fascinating especially from the both mechanical and the electronics part. Keep up the good work, sir love it.
Good job! Personally I'd use a bench power supply so you can set it at 18v and a low mA current to try resurrections. If you do more tools with semi-failed battery packs it is fun to invest in a cheap battery tab spot welder and change out the individual cells that won't keep a charge for replacement ones as it's usually only one or two that give up. You can often make 2 decent packs from 3 failed ones. Love the random item videos as a change from your usual stuff. Keep up the great work!
Long time without watching these vids and im really happy you doing well Steve! even the hair seems very healthy as heck. Also another 15 min watched like its nothing, amazing content as always.
I've seen this many times where someone goes and buys the same item, takes the new batteries and puts the old batteries in the case and then returns it claiming it's broken. Before you know it it's on youtube in a repair video. lol You can often also bring the batteries back to life by testing to find the bad cells and then charging each cell individually. If you can get the cell to at least 2V, even for a short period oftentimes the charger will start a "repair" charge. I use those little USB TP4056 modules and they work great for this. Don't even have to disconnect the cells. Just use alligator clips from the module to the cell. Generally though I let the module charge each cell fully. Takes a while but slower charge is WAY better for the battery.
I would agree but that battery still looked new, the top of the M18 gets scratched where the mount is after the 2nd swap and this battery didnt look to have any scratches. Got a feeling someone bough it, put in there garage and didnt use it for a year or 2 and when they needed it the battery was dead so they just bought a new set that was on sale instead of buying a new battery and donated this one
For that price, and even buying a new battery online you still would be making out great. I've seen a couple videos where batteries of these types are completely dead. So dead, they will not charge. They show an easy way to discharge the battery to make charging possible. Of course I saw the video after throwing away a battery and buying a replacement.
Not a multimeter in sight at the beginning. If it read low (or no) voltage, then jumping it with a good battery, may get it started charging as others have pointed out. THEN the screws can come out if none of that worked.
Not a lot people know this but Milwaukee has a cost free 5 year warranty on all their tools and to them it doesn’t matter if you bought the thing from goodwill or you bought it new from Home Depot. I had a $400 Milwaukee Nailer serviced a few months back I only paid $25 on because it wouldn’t work half the time, the warranty hadn’t expired on it yet based off of the manufacturing date on the side so I sent it in free of charge without any receipt and Milwaukee replaced the entire thing basically due to some board issues. Luckily this time it was just a battery needing jump started which I’ve seen hundreds of times in my line of work.
I'm pretty sure that battpack hasn't been used at all, It looks almost new. I think the previous owner just bought it, took it off the packaging and stored it until the batt was completly discharged, thought it was deffective and ended in yor hands because of it.
I’ve done this with my Milwaukee battery I got a great deal at a pawn shop cause of a dead battery impact worked so I changed it up with a nother battery till I could charge it left it over night on a normal charger and it still works and that was prob 3 /4 years ago
The milwaukee m18 battery charger will start on a pack below 10v. I have seen 8.91v total pack voltage but the pcb in the pack monitors individual cell voltage. If one cell group is too low, it wont charge.
Batteries and chargers like this often intentionally lock out charge at very low voltages because the cells can be seriously damaged from sitting at very low voltages for a long time. Recharging them aggressively (such as “jump starting” with another pack) is really bad too for numerous reasons (look up lithium ion battery fires - unregulated charge current is not a good idea) and can also further damage the pack.
if you want to limit the current, you can just use a power resistor (V=IR, so for "18V", a 6Ω resistor should limit it to 3A) either way, best to use a li-ion charger (such as the VC4S series) to charge the cells individually (I use small neodymium magnets to connect probes electrically to the cell)
bro actually jumpstarted the batteries without a thermal runaway. usually if the battery cell, not the entire pack, is below 3v the battery cell is dead and needs recycling. I have tried jumpstarting but it just ends up in a either thermal runaway or a battery that lasts like a week at most (from my experience with lithium batteries)
Would he have to worry about a thermal runaway with those small of jumper wires? I would think the wires would fail before it get's hot enough to runaway?
I’m just starting this video. I enjoy the rest of your stuff. But I am seriously interested in this type of video! I am a big Milwaukee fan and a professional service tech. I really want to know more about how to fix my tools. Or refurbish.
Great to see you branching out your repairs. Love them. Ever thought of going another step further and repairing some non electronic stuff? Maybe gas powered like blowers or chainsaws. Your level of detail would be great to see with that kind of stuff.
once lithium batteries like these go below there minimum voltage they are bad forever. It's why the charge circuit in the battery said it was bad. If you do force a battery like this to charge and manage to do it without catching fire, in the best case is will be severely below capacity and worst case a fire hazard. You should not ship or sell a battery in this case because you could start a fire in a plane, delivery vehicle, etc.
I used to repair these on a daily basis for a tool hire company. They are relatively easy to repair, however if it’s a battery it’s always best just to replace it. Downside though is they do cost a fortune.
I’ve had to jump start my batteries multiple times the cold is really hard on them and i would jump them with another battery and go straight to the charger works every time
Well yes, but we know what he meant. The higher the voltage difference between the two batteries, the higher the current between them. Having done this with Lead Acid batteries, you need heavy gauge wires between them. He could do with a bit heavier leads if they get noticeably hot,
There has always been an area of "missing fundamentals" on this channel. Kind of surprised that after all of these years, the very basic concepts of electronics are still lacking. I mean, that information is accessible everywhere.
Did anyone else notice the broken casing on the battery back, next to the positive side. Like someone broke it off to see what type of battery the cell was made of?
From my experience, when the batteries "whine" during charging, it's time to scrap them! Continuing to use them like that usually end up bulging or, for older types, leak.
The thing with the red team is, there are basically no replacement parts available, at least here in europe, so you are stuck with a broken tool after the mandatory 24mo or extended 36mo of warranty expire.
I'm surprised you didn't check the voltages of each pair of cells. I've had several Milwaukee batteries that became unbalanced between the cells or have been completely dead like yours. The best way, I have found, to remedy this is to get an 18650 charger and charge each pair of cells to 1v (repeat for each pair) then charge them to 2v (repeat for each pair) then balance each pair to the exact same voltage near 3v. Once charged and balanced and stable put it in the charger. I feel it safer also since lower voltage is used. Milwaukee batteries in my experience will drain to 0v and no longer charge when used in NON Milwaukee tools (like aftermarket flashlights)
I've used half a dozen different milwaukee chargers without ever hearing that noise. Sometimes a high pitch hum on the rapid chargers but no other noises of any kind.
I have revived a dead AGM sealed motorcycle battery with a DC power supply. I hooked up the battery giving it about 14 volts at 5 amps. The battery was monitored for any issues and came back to life for a short period. Basically it was an experiment and it did work but not recommended and its just way easier to get a new battery.
The proper way to restore a over discharge battery with long idle time, is to check each cell (set of parallel conected cells) voltage level. If one of the cell is higher than 2.4v, try to charge the remains cells one by one to the same level of the highest recorded voltage cell. Or all the cell are below 2.4v, then recharge it one by one to reach 2.4v. Once all the cell block reach the same voltage level( either 2.4v or same as the recorded highest voltage) then you can insert the battery into original charger to charge it back to usable level. (Need to used a standard single cell lithium battery charge in this operation or a health fully charge 18650 cell through a 10ohms resistor) If one of the cell (blcok of cell) cannot restore to 2.4v or higher then that cell(s) need to be replaced Direct force charge with high voltage migth cause damage to cell that already at high voltage level by forcing high current into all series of cells
Better to charge cell by cell at 4.2 volts instead because an inballacnce in cell impedance could lead to wayover charging a cell and make it pop with fire "i've burn't down my shed years ago with similar story""
I'm thinking, since the battery was showing the error signal, just use another Milwaukee battery. Simple fix. Once isolated, the problem could be repaired from there on out. (revive the battery as shown) The tool itself could have been sold as "tool only", same as the charger. I mean, if the item came from a retailer, that would be the simple way to recoup the cost of the wholesale price. $68 bucks for a $300 dollar tool is a great find, even without the battery.
I wouldn't worry too much about your jumper leads getting hot, nowadays they are made with steel wire and not copper which increases their resistance, so they will get warm with only a smallish current, mine get warm with only 1 amp going through them.
Looks like it sat in a garage for years with the battery pack attached. The rust on one side looks like it was moderately exposed to the elements and the battery just degraded over time.
I hope you have a bucket of sand next to you when jump starting these batteries (with extra sand to pour on top), and you are close to a door going outside that's fairly easy to open with a smoking 18650 Li-ion battery covered in a bucket of sand in your hand. Safety is always a priority when dealing with these batteries. Speaking of safety, you could make a quick and dirty current limiting circuit to stop things getting too hot. I've been meaning to read up more on them, since I heard they're very useful for things like this. Btw, tinfoil is usually better for chromed stuff. Scrub gently and be patient. It's less likely to scratch it up, and it's also a lot more gentle on the chromed coating.
I know nothing about battery packs/electricals but watching Steve tinker around with live current made me a bit anxious 😬 Was there any real risk to him getting shocked in this video? 😢
Creat video. I would have used a wire wheel on the latches, then sealed with a coat of clear enamel. I have jumped started a few batteries. I use very low voltage to get just enough power into the cell to get the regular charger to recognize the battery as being capable of charging. If you notice the battery going flat after pulling it off the charger, that battery is dead, or has a dead cell.
In the future I'd recommend you use a rust converter instead. Try Evaporust - it's completely non-toxic and super efficient (yes, you can drink it though it tastes bad. Yes, I tasted it myself.)
I love to see you figure out how to repair stuff, the thought process and execution. I think there's another channel, that does power tools, that you yourself would appreciate, his skills and knowledge is something to behold in this power tool genre. Check out Dean Doherty, assuming you may not have heard of him, an Irishman, and he has a quite brilliant UA-cam channel, you won't regret it, and possibly ye could do a collaboration 👍
Great to see you looking so well, Steve. Long may that continue! ❤
Ive fixed so many batteries by saving them with another charged battery and never had issues long term. This happens a lot in cold environment from my experience as a construction worker.
Such a simple and easy fix
Also if the battery is left for a long time like in dead stock
I've never understood how battery could be ruined beyond repair.
@@Tesnopesno well when it's hard a lot of charge cycles. Like my laptop battery is dead
I usually charge them as PB or NiMH or other crap depending on voltage to trick the charger into charge them and them move to li-ion charge, however usually if they are left a good time without charge, battery capacity might be heavily affected or might have dead cells that won't keep any charge and just discharge pretty fast...
@@Tesnopesno usually due to bms broken or a bunch of cells broken
A cheap bench top power supply is great for rescuing dead batteries because you can set a 200 mA current limit keep the wires cool, and bring the packs up gently before moving it to a real battery charger to finish. Still needs supervision in case the batteries go boom but a lot safer.
You can also make a simple circuit for current limiting. Of course, it will lose a bit of voltage, but it will provide a steady current with just a couple diodes and resistors in its simplest form. Circuits are readily available on Google, I don't study electronics, I am just getting into them, but I have heard some people use such circuits successfully to recharge dead vape batteries (usually a Li-ion battery). These are "single use" on disposable vapes, but you can still recharge them after use.
@@Deja117 Just about all th adjustable bench supplies have a built-in (and adjustable) current limit. Just set it to 200 mA, as suggested, and the appropriate battery pack voltage for start. When the pack has reached the dialed (nominal) voltage, the current limit indicator-light typically drops out. Then you can adjust the current limit down to a float level, maybe 50 mA and adjust the voltage up to maintenance level, calculated from number of cells in the pack times 4.2 V (normal for lithium cells). That assumes all the cells are wired in a single series.. Most likely your packs have 2 or more sets wired in parallel. “MAX” series tell the maximum CHARGING voltage, taking the 4.2 V already into account, which makes the calculations not required. Hope this covers everything needed in understandable way!
@@InssiAjaton Thanks, that was quite informative and well put. I am actually partial to bench top power supplies myself for their ease of use in this area, but a decent one costs around $100. You can make a circuit specifically for safely charging those batteries for maybe $5 in total.
They are definitely worth the investment though, and I'm actually quite surprised Steve doesn't have one already.
My knowledge about electronics is quite limited, but seeing Steve fix anything and everything is super interesting
My wife and I have a baby monitor which was struggling to charge properly. We even bought a 3rd party cable, which only worked for a short time. THIS channel inspired me to take it apart. I stripped a USB cable. Connected the Positive and Negative cables (of the USB) to the positive and negative of the device (soldering it) and it's worked perfectly since.
This channel inspired that. Thank you! You saved us from having to buy a new baby monitor.
Perfect use case for a bench power supply.
Interesting technique for those that don't have the tools, but yeah, a bench power supply give you much better control and is safer.
You can target individual cells to charge, and set voltage & current limits to bring them back up gently.
Im honestly surprised he does not have a bench supply
@@fouroakfarmyes... 1,5mil Channel and power supply isnt even that expensive
My first thoughts...you can get some simple power supply really cheap, not even at the price range of some of the tools he is repairing :)
I've been using this method and a 18650 battery charger. You can connect leads to the cells that are low and charge them in the pack. Works pretty well. I definitely want to get a bench power supply sometime
My guess is someone bought this used it once then stored it for so long that the battery died and it rusted a bit
HD has so many SKUs this probably was just too expensive and sat in the store. The bare tool plus battery deals are like half price.
For rust.. you should buy some Evapo-Rust. It lasts a LONG time (can rehydrate it with water) and will even clean metals that don't have rust. It's less destructive than just sanding.
The last video you did fixing power tools my neighbor asked me to look at his tools. I was able to fix several of his battery packs and later some of his Milwaukee tools. I bought a 18650 charger and you can set it up with leaders to charge the batteries without breaking the pack
i had a 12.0Ah milwaukee battery that came with my cordless tablesaw. i liked using the saw, and the battery would allow me to work on my DIY stuff for a while.
i didn't use the battery and saw for a few months and were just in a shed. just A WEEK AFTER the warranty expired, the battery stopped holding a charge. i would fully charge it, cut 1 piece of wood, and it's blinking (very low charge). when i put in the charger, it would take 10 minutes to show fully charged. i searched around and found out it was probably the cells that got out of charge synchronization from the BMS. i had to learn the hard way how to fix it but it was back to business after that!
You’re looking great! ❤🎉
If I remember correctly, Milwaukee battery management system doesn't actually balance the pack. Since they were drained so low, I'd recommend opening it up and charge each cell individually to full. When the individual cells get that low, their voltage will vary a lot, and charging them full on factory charger just means one of the cell hit 4.2V and the charger stops. So you're not getting the full capacity from a full pack, and when it discharges, the lowest cell will hit that cut off much sooner. That's my understanding based on internet dissection videos.
Since it was so low for who knows how long - I wouldn't trust the battery pack
@@theEskalaatori would sell it as a salvage pack for pieces and get rid of it. I dont need all those cells that sat dead for years to be charged and hot on my kitchen table.
At this point I would get 8 Samsung INR18650 batteries and replace them inside the unit after charging them all to 4.2 volts and send the old ones for recycling.
I love your computer and gaming repairs. I think they’re very straightforward and insightful, I would love to see a series on power tool repair. that seems to be fascinating especially from the both mechanical and the electronics part. Keep up the good work, sir love it.
Thank-you, Steve, for this change of pace. It's great when you mix things up a bit.
1st time back in awhile vid was finally recommended good to see you are looking better bro 👍
Good job! Personally I'd use a bench power supply so you can set it at 18v and a low mA current to try resurrections. If you do more tools with semi-failed battery packs it is fun to invest in a cheap battery tab spot welder and change out the individual cells that won't keep a charge for replacement ones as it's usually only one or two that give up. You can often make 2 decent packs from 3 failed ones. Love the random item videos as a change from your usual stuff. Keep up the great work!
Batteries cost half of whole thing.
I build all my own power tool batteries. It costs half what the real things do and I can use upgraded cells 👍
A 5.0 on its own is $150 new
@@JoshHatfield Do they have warranty on new batteries?
@@mgomez5606 everything new has warranty.
@@mgomez5606and the tool costs 10-20% of the price of the batteries. Some of the higher power batteries are insane prices
Great to see you looking more healthy good job on the fix happy new year buddy
I don't care that much about tools, but found this very interesting. You should do more tool videos.
I jumped one of my M18 packs, 2 years ago :). Still working. So always worth a try
Long time without watching these vids and im really happy you doing well Steve! even the hair seems very healthy as heck. Also another 15 min watched like its nothing, amazing content as always.
Cool to see the depth of your knowledge. Gaming systems to power tools. Good stuff, brother!
You look awesome. Thank you, really needed that
Awesome Video Steve. I appreciated this repair, actually. Thanks
Really loving these tool repair videos
it's so cool you're able to buy any old thing and potentially fix it even if you had no previous experience
I enjoy watching you fix power tools .,. Thank for sharing
I've seen this many times where someone goes and buys the same item, takes the new batteries and puts the old batteries in the case and then returns it claiming it's broken. Before you know it it's on youtube in a repair video. lol
You can often also bring the batteries back to life by testing to find the bad cells and then charging each cell individually. If you can get the cell to at least 2V, even for a short period oftentimes the charger will start a "repair" charge. I use those little USB TP4056 modules and they work great for this. Don't even have to disconnect the cells. Just use alligator clips from the module to the cell. Generally though I let the module charge each cell fully. Takes a while but slower charge is WAY better for the battery.
I would agree but that battery still looked new, the top of the M18 gets scratched where the mount is after the 2nd swap and this battery didnt look to have any scratches. Got a feeling someone bough it, put in there garage and didnt use it for a year or 2 and when they needed it the battery was dead so they just bought a new set that was on sale instead of buying a new battery and donated this one
You should invest in a variable dc power supply. Easy and safe to slowly raise the voltage.
For that price, and even buying a new battery online you still would be making out great. I've seen a couple videos where batteries of these types are completely dead. So dead, they will not charge. They show an easy way to discharge the battery to make charging possible. Of course I saw the video after throwing away a battery and buying a replacement.
Not a multimeter in sight at the beginning. If it read low (or no) voltage, then jumping it with a good battery, may get it started charging as others have pointed out. THEN the screws can come out if none of that worked.
Not a lot people know this but Milwaukee has a cost free 5 year warranty on all their tools and to them it doesn’t matter if you bought the thing from goodwill or you bought it new from Home Depot. I had a $400 Milwaukee Nailer serviced a few months back I only paid $25 on because it wouldn’t work half the time, the warranty hadn’t expired on it yet based off of the manufacturing date on the side so I sent it in free of charge without any receipt and Milwaukee replaced the entire thing basically due to some board issues. Luckily this time it was just a battery needing jump started which I’ve seen hundreds of times in my line of work.
I'm pretty sure that battpack hasn't been used at all, It looks almost new. I think the previous owner just bought it, took it off the packaging and stored it until the batt was completly discharged, thought it was deffective and ended in yor hands because of it.
I’ve done this with my Milwaukee battery I got a great deal at a pawn shop cause of a dead battery impact worked so I changed it up with a nother battery till I could charge it left it over night on a normal charger and it still works and that was prob 3 /4 years ago
The milwaukee m18 battery charger will start on a pack below 10v. I have seen 8.91v total pack voltage but the pcb in the pack monitors individual cell voltage. If one cell group is too low, it wont charge.
You probably have everything you need to nickel plate latches. It’s very simple. Salt, vinegar, an old phone charger and nickel to make the solution.
Batteries and chargers like this often intentionally lock out charge at very low voltages because the cells can be seriously damaged from sitting at very low voltages for a long time. Recharging them aggressively (such as “jump starting” with another pack) is really bad too for numerous reasons (look up lithium ion battery fires - unregulated charge current is not a good idea) and can also further damage the pack.
if you want to limit the current, you can just use a power resistor (V=IR, so for "18V", a 6Ω resistor should limit it to 3A)
either way, best to use a li-ion charger (such as the VC4S series) to charge the cells individually (I use small neodymium magnets to connect probes electrically to the cell)
Steve, great video as always! What I really do hope you have - is a bucket full of sand in case something goes wrong.. :)
You can jump the battery with another battery when it flashes red/green to fix it , the battery is not toast
Good morning watching while also repairing something too 😂
What are you fixing?
I'm fixing breakfast! 🤪@@Tronicsfix
@ an AGV at a manufacturing plant.
Swapping drive boards filled with corrosion.
I'm fixing breakfast 😋
You should use a current limited supply to do that more safely!
Uses a 26awg jumper cable to jump start a dead battery, while amps are flowing through a small wire. TronixFix: “hmm this is getting hot” 😂😂
bro actually jumpstarted the batteries without a thermal runaway. usually if the battery cell, not the entire pack, is below 3v the battery cell is dead and needs recycling. I have tried jumpstarting but it just ends up in a either thermal runaway or a battery that lasts like a week at most (from my experience with lithium batteries)
👆 This
Would he have to worry about a thermal runaway with those small of jumper wires? I would think the wires would fail before it get's hot enough to runaway?
I've used the same process to restore battery packs multiple times now with zero issues and there still working great years later.
The "jumpstart" is extremely momentary. You only bridge the points for a second....maybe two.
tou Can go to 2,5v totaly fine... batteries are even tested to that voltage for cycle tests
I’m just starting this video. I enjoy the rest of your stuff. But I am seriously interested in this type of video! I am a big Milwaukee fan and a professional service tech. I really want to know more about how to fix my tools. Or refurbish.
When recovering dead batteries, it's a better idea to use a bench power supply so you can carefully monitor the current.
Great to see you branching out your repairs. Love them. Ever thought of going another step further and repairing some non electronic stuff? Maybe gas powered like blowers or chainsaws. Your level of detail would be great to see with that kind of stuff.
once lithium batteries like these go below there minimum voltage they are bad forever. It's why the charge circuit in the battery said it was bad. If you do force a battery like this to charge and manage to do it without catching fire, in the best case is will be severely below capacity and worst case a fire hazard. You should not ship or sell a battery in this case because you could start a fire in a plane, delivery vehicle, etc.
Would definitely add a little deoxit grease to the battery contacts. Given rust on other stuff, and how hard it seemed to be to get battery to seat.
I used to repair these on a daily basis for a tool hire company. They are relatively easy to repair, however if it’s a battery it’s always best just to replace it. Downside though is they do cost a fortune.
I like the power tool fixes since I have several myself. Keep 'em coming :-)
At 11:58 you can see that the internal battery plastic was broken. Not sure if that was done by the previous owner or Steve.
I’ve had to jump start my batteries multiple times the cold is really hard on them and i would jump them with another battery and go straight to the charger works every time
I tripped over your channel a few weeks ago, now again. I could watch this long enough to chase girl friends away. I love it.
nickel plate or metal polish or even cold bluing the latches
Thank you for the class and very interesting the way to test the battery, I promise not to do it at home. By the way, Happy New Year.
Lol!
Saved it from the recycling bin. Nicely done.
I noticed that you mixed up one thing: These wires are not getting warm because of high voltage, but because of high current.
Well yes, but we know what he meant. The higher the voltage difference between the two batteries, the higher the current between them. Having done this with Lead Acid batteries, you need heavy gauge wires between them. He could do with a bit heavier leads if they get noticeably hot,
There has always been an area of "missing fundamentals" on this channel. Kind of surprised that after all of these years, the very basic concepts of electronics are still lacking. I mean, that information is accessible everywhere.
@@mykalimba Aww, you poor baby.
@@edwardmclaughlin719 Yep, you sound like the target consumer for dumbed-down content.
@@mykalimba Are you going to be ok? Do you need a safe space?
Next time, try upstarting the battery above it’s minimum charge. Once you get one solid or even flashing light you can put it on the charger.
Love these tool fix vids 👍🏻
Need a cheap Dremel tool to sand and polish those clasps nice and easy. I'm sure you fixed some way back in the day that you could use 😅.
not that you have much use case for it but, Evaporust is an amazing product.
You're great. Greetings from Poland.
Most chargers have a minimum value before they will even try to start. It would have probably worked after it reached 6 volts.
Did anyone else notice the broken casing on the battery back, next to the positive side. Like someone broke it off to see what type of battery the cell was made of?
Wow, good eyes. Yeah, that was me. I bought some replacement cells in case I needed to replace one or two.
From my experience, when the batteries "whine" during charging, it's time to scrap them! Continuing to use them like that usually end up bulging or, for older types, leak.
You need to test each pair of cells in that pack to confirm they're all good and then top balance them to 4.2V
charger will take care of that
Your looking good n healthy glad to see
The thing with the red team is, there are basically no replacement parts available, at least here in europe, so you are stuck with a broken tool after the mandatory 24mo or extended 36mo of warranty expire.
the BMS will not charge a battery when goes below a set threshold
I'm surprised you didn't check the voltages of each pair of cells. I've had several Milwaukee batteries that became unbalanced between the cells or have been completely dead like yours. The best way, I have found, to remedy this is to get an 18650 charger and charge each pair of cells to 1v (repeat for each pair) then charge them to 2v (repeat for each pair) then balance each pair to the exact same voltage near 3v. Once charged and balanced and stable put it in the charger. I feel it safer also since lower voltage is used.
Milwaukee batteries in my experience will drain to 0v and no longer charge when used in NON Milwaukee tools (like aftermarket flashlights)
@@ThorHargrave I'm surprised a channel named something fix doesn't do basic stuff like that
As always, thank you Tronics.🙌🙏
I've used half a dozen different milwaukee chargers without ever hearing that noise. Sometimes a high pitch hum on the rapid chargers but no other noises of any kind.
All that for a dead battery, good find for that price. Also that’s a fuel/ brushless motor tool they would sell for a bit more
I was just going to say that.
Yes, why would anyone sell a tool at such a loss just because its replaceable battery wouldn't charge? ⁉
I love finding cheap “dead” batteries qnd jumping them back to life. Once you have one led on or even flashing you can put it back on thr charger.
I have revived a dead AGM sealed motorcycle battery with a DC power supply. I hooked up the battery giving it about 14 volts at 5 amps. The battery was monitored for any issues and came back to life for a short period. Basically it was an experiment and it did work but not recommended and its just way easier to get a new battery.
byť this is Li-Ion... absolute something else
@@denisnamisnak4980 The concept is the same....
Ive had to do that to a dewalt battery that got drained. Works great years later
The proper way to restore a over discharge battery with long idle time, is to check each cell (set of parallel conected cells) voltage level.
If one of the cell is higher than 2.4v, try to charge the remains cells one by one to the same level of the highest recorded voltage cell. Or all the cell are below 2.4v, then recharge it one by one to reach 2.4v. Once all the cell block reach the same voltage level( either 2.4v or same as the recorded highest voltage) then you can insert the battery into original charger to charge it back to usable level. (Need to used a standard single cell lithium battery charge in this operation or a health fully charge 18650 cell through a 10ohms resistor)
If one of the cell (blcok of cell) cannot restore to 2.4v or higher then that cell(s) need to be replaced
Direct force charge with high voltage migth cause damage to cell that already at high voltage level by forcing high current into all series of cells
I support your channel 💙
Better to charge cell by cell at 4.2 volts instead because an inballacnce in cell impedance could lead to wayover charging a cell and make it pop with fire "i've burn't down my shed years ago with similar story""
Ps. Thankyou sir for your fine content.
I'm thinking, since the battery was showing the error signal, just use another Milwaukee battery. Simple fix.
Once isolated, the problem could be repaired from there on out. (revive the battery as shown)
The tool itself could have been sold as "tool only", same as the charger. I mean, if the item came from a retailer, that would be the simple way to recoup the cost of the wholesale price. $68 bucks for a $300 dollar tool is a great find, even without the battery.
After sanding those clasps, they're going to be vulnerable to flash rusting. At a bare minimum you should rub some oil into them.
I wouldn't worry too much about your jumper leads getting hot, nowadays they are made with steel wire and not copper which increases their resistance, so they will get warm with only a smallish current, mine get warm with only 1 amp going through them.
Looks like it sat in a garage for years with the battery pack attached. The rust on one side looks like it was moderately exposed to the elements and the battery just degraded over time.
I hope you have a bucket of sand next to you when jump starting these batteries (with extra sand to pour on top), and you are close to a door going outside that's fairly easy to open with a smoking 18650 Li-ion battery covered in a bucket of sand in your hand. Safety is always a priority when dealing with these batteries.
Speaking of safety, you could make a quick and dirty current limiting circuit to stop things getting too hot. I've been meaning to read up more on them, since I heard they're very useful for things like this.
Btw, tinfoil is usually better for chromed stuff. Scrub gently and be patient. It's less likely to scratch it up, and it's also a lot more gentle on the chromed coating.
Hey Thanks for the great content.
Was it me i would have charged on the individual cell groups with 1s charger.
You can use variable DC voltage adapter and slowly increase the voltage?
I know nothing about battery packs/electricals but watching Steve tinker around with live current made me a bit anxious 😬
Was there any real risk to him getting shocked in this video? 😢
I’ve jumped these batteries with two scrap wires and another battery. A good thing to know if someone plans on throwing theirs out.
My brother bought a ryobi drill that came with two batteries. One no longer charges and its out of warranty. I'll have to try this to wake it up.
Those M12 M18 multi chargers play up with some batteries try a straight M18 charger for a better result.
Dude... carpentry fixes now? Cool!
Interesting fix. Yeah I would never mess with the internals of a battery. Seems like a bad day.
Nice job. I like when you fix different items.
Please get a bench power supply...
It's a rafter hanger. I've jump started batteries. It seems it's a 50 50 chance.
Creat video. I would have used a wire wheel on the latches, then sealed with a coat of clear enamel. I have jumped started a few batteries. I use very low voltage to get just enough power into the cell to get the regular charger to recognize the battery as being capable of charging. If you notice the battery going flat after pulling it off the charger, that battery is dead, or has a dead cell.
Happy New Year Steve 2025
In the future I'd recommend you use a rust converter instead. Try Evaporust - it's completely non-toxic and super efficient (yes, you can drink it though it tastes bad. Yes, I tasted it myself.)
I love to see you figure out how to repair stuff, the thought process and execution. I think there's another channel, that does power tools, that you yourself would appreciate, his skills and knowledge is something to behold in this power tool genre. Check out Dean Doherty, assuming you may not have heard of him, an Irishman, and he has a quite brilliant UA-cam channel, you won't regret it, and possibly ye could do a collaboration 👍