Ridgid 18V battery connector?

I have been looking for this in my spare time for a few months now with no luck. I just thought, why not ask here?

I am trying to see if I can find JUST the battery connector used for connecting 18V Ridgid battery packs to their tools. I attached a pic to show what I need. I have been watching CL and Ebay as well as generic searches trying to find a supplier for them, but no success. Perhaps I'm searching for the wrong thing.

What I have is an old cordless Dustbuster vac with dead batteries. I was going to junk it (they're cheap) but then had the idea that if I could get the connector cheap then I could retrofit it to take these batteries I already have.

I see a lot of tools pop up for sale on CL, but even with dead batteries people know they're worth money. I also hate the idea of destroying a working tool to cannibalize one little part. I'm hoping to source just the connector or find a broken tool.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Hi Bare, see my thread here for some ideas:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229042

You can do this, but have to be a little creative and may need to make your own connector or use a donor tool that is dead otherwise like I did.

If you run something at a higher voltage than original, it will spin faster, so you can do that within limits but may have to cool off the motor every so often to avoid overheating a motor. Generally +/- 20% voltage is pretty safe. 14.4 running on 18, 18 running on 20, etc. but 12 running on 18 may be too much. Realize too that 20 or 20 max really is 18 and has been for years as 18 starts at 20 or so when a new charge. - Paul

270015155

That's the part number for a switch assy with battery connector used on the R849 flashlight. It lists around $3.50. Put it in the box that says "add item" here or google it and buy it someplace cheaper. Pretty sure that will work.

pauls_workshop said:

Hi Bare, see my thread here for some ideas:

Click to expand...

I enjoyed reading what you did, we're definitely on the same page. My problem is that what I'm trying to adapt had a battery pack inside the tool that wasn't changeable, so I have nothing to modify. I removed the old battery back so I have space in the tool, but I looked at the battery packs and just don't see any way I can create what I need. As far as changing voltages, the dustbuster was 15.6V so I'm only making a small change and I knew it would be close enough to work.

dankicksass said:

270015155

That's the part number for a switch assy with battery connector used on the R849 flashlight. It lists around $3.50. Put it in the box that says "add item" here or google it and buy it someplace cheaper. Pretty sure that will work.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much!!! This was what I needed. I tried going to Ridgid's parts site and pulling part #'s but everything I found was expensive. I was looking at tool parts and not flashlight parts, so I guess that was why.

Thanks to both of you for helping me find my way!

Bare, good luck and do post what you do here! I need further inspiration to know what I want to play with next as a project!

Also I dig seeing a CS LEWIS quote on GJ! Try ScrewTape Letters for a good read or the Narnia series for the kids. - Paul

Just a follow up to this in case anyone finds this thread in the future. The number given above (270015155) was a great number for what I needed. I did find other numbers that crossed to similar parts but that number seemed to be the cheapest available for buying the battery clip that I needed. I found it at the link given above, but ended up finding a company that sells on Amazon and Ebay. I contacted them directly and they mailed me the part for about $5 including shipping.

http://stores.ebay.com/lcpowerparts/

Pictures attached below of the actual item.

That's a great find for the connector! So show us the final project when it is all done! - Paul

You're welcome. I bought a used drill on here a couple weeks ago to sacrifice for my snowblower to gain a light. My project went well, hope yours does too.