Ridgid Battery Fuse Tab Broken

[Ian S.]

I have a Ridgid 18v Max 2.5 Ah battery that did not charge anymore. I took the case apart and found there is a fuse tab between two of the batteries that is blown.

I connected the two halves of the fuse with a test lead and put it in my charger and it charged, but the wire on the test lead burned. I tested the voltage in the battery and it is around 18v. I put the battery ion my drill and the drill worked, (I didn't use the drill, just turned it on).

I am curious about the fuse though. Why do they blow in the first place and was the wire on the test lead too thin and burned, or is the battery toast?

If the battery is still good, what can I use to fix the fuse?


Thanks,
Ian

 

[beamrider]

That's not a fuse tab, per se, just sheet nickel used for interconnects. If the pack has generated enough heat/energy to melt that interconnect, and you smoked a test lead bridging it, I'd say one of those two cells is bad. Meter all the cells individually, and you'll find which are good, and which are bad. Sub C nicad/NiMh cells with solder tabs can be had rather cheaply, just replace the bad cells.

 

[Ian S.]

That's not a fuse tab, per se, just sheet nickel used for interconnects. Meter all the cells individually, and you'll find which are good, and which are bad.

I tested all the cell individually and got 1.33v each.

I figured it was a fuse as it has a hole in the middle where none of the other tabs have a hole. Also it's the only tab with a slightly different shape than the others.

Ian

 

[beamrider]

Sounds like the pack is at full charge already. Possible then that was a fusible link. If you're feeling brave, you can clean up that link and re-bridge with a few scraps of copper wire and solder. Re-assemble, run the pack half dead, and re-charge it outside, in case of explosion.

 

[uart]

I tested all the cell individually and got 1.33v each.

I figured it was a fuse as it has a hole in the middle where none of the other tabs have a hole. Also it's the only tab with a slightly different shape than the others.

Yeah it does look a bit different than the others, so you may be right about it being a fusible link. If it is a fusible link then it may be a different alloy than the other links, and it may be more difficult to solder onto.

I'd start by cleaning it up with some emery paper and trying to get some solder to stick to it. To avoid getting the cells too hot, try to solder near the broken edge of the tab, as far away as possible from the actual cells. It might help bending each broken half tab upward before cleaning and trying to get some solder onto it. If it's some type of "goofy" alloy then you may need some additional flux to make it stick.

Once you get some solder to stick to each side of the tab then it should be easy enough to solder a wire bridge across to repair it. You'll need a wire of fairly decent thickness, so you might get a problem trying to fit it back into the case. There's often not too much free space in those cases and a thick piece of wire might get in the way. If you have some other dead pack or similar that you can cannibalise, then try to salvage a piece of flat interconnect from that to make the bridge.

 

[Bruce4310TX]

if you registered your tool when you bought it Ridgid has free lifetime battery replacement.

 

[Kracin]

if you registered your tool when you bought it Ridgid has free lifetime battery replacement.

... not anymore lol...

 

[Ian S.]

if you registered your tool when you bought it Ridgid has free lifetime battery replacement.

The battery isn't mine, it's a friend's that I took to try to fix. I have a Ridgid drill with 2 batteries that I bought about 5 or 6 years ago. After not using the drill for a year or so, (I had bought a Dewalt set and put the Ridgid aside), the batteries wouldn't charge. I had registered the drill and I got 2 new batteries. Love it.

I was at an auction last year and bought a Ridgid drill and impact driver (no batteries or charger) and I love the drill. It's compact and fits my hand perfectly. Now it's the Dewalt's turn to sit.

On another note, the Ridgid impact driver did not came with the part on the chuck that holds the bit in place. The small spring and the c-clip that holds everything in place. Any idea where I can get this part?

Thanks,
Ian

 

[Ian S.]

... not anymore lol...

I found this on the Ridgid site...

The 3 Year Limited Warranty, The Recon Limited Warranty and the lifetime
Service Agreement covers all worn parts in properly maintained tools.
This includes normal wear items such as brushes, chucks, motors, switches,
gears and even cordless batteries in your qualifying RIDGID Brand hand held
and stationary power tools. These programs also cover replacement rings, driver
blades and bumpers on RIDGID Brand pneumatic tools. This service coverage
does not apply to other ineligible RIDGID Brand products.

The Home Depot site shows that Ridgid cordless drill come with the Lieftime Service Agreement.

Ian

 

[MBfreak]

The way Iunderstand it is that the metal bridge that has burned off is a connection to create a series circuit of two batteriy cells. If there are ie 10 individual cells then there would be 9 bridges and external connections to the first and last cell that drives the load or connects to the charger.

My guess is that the cans adjacent to each other where the bridge has burned somehow has made contact. That will create a short circuit over one cell and a fully charged battery will easily melt the bridge. It can crank out well in excess of 50 Amps into a short circuit.

Check the insulation on the cells and you may find the troublespot.

It is also a fire hazard. The energy stored in a modern battery pack is quite high!

Which ie IBM found out some ten years ago when they had to replace a massive amount of lap top batteries due to poor design of the cell external insulation and the between cell bridges in the battery pack.

Best regards

 

[Ian S.]

The battery works fine now. I cut a small piece of thin metal (old license plate) and slid it under the broken tab. I then filed the tab to get a bit of a tooth in it and using my 100w soldering iron and flux, I soldered it. I charged it and used it for a couple of minutes.

I guess time will tell if it holds.

Ian

 

[Fugio]

Nice job!

I've fixed a few old NiCd ones by replacing bad cells and tabs too.

I wouldn't do that with a LiIon though!

 

[Kracin]

I found this on the Ridgid site...

The 3 Year Limited Warranty, The Recon Limited Warranty and the lifetime
Service Agreement covers all worn parts in properly maintained tools.
This includes normal wear items such as brushes, chucks, motors, switches,
gears and even cordless batteries in your qualifying RIDGID Brand hand held
and stationary power tools. These programs also cover replacement rings, driver
blades and bumpers on RIDGID Brand pneumatic tools. This service coverage
does not apply to other ineligible RIDGID Brand products.

The Home Depot site shows that Ridgid cordless drill come with the Lieftime Service Agreement.

Ian

I said that as a joke because most warrantys are void if you open the tool or battery up and you arent a certified tech or refurbishing center