Cordless drill batteries bad, need some advice.

[country83]

Hello all, I have an older Makita cordless drill that came with Ni-MH batteries. I never used the drill much, and now the batteries are dead and won't take a charge (charger blinks the bad battery code). My question is, are these batteries repairable, or should I get new ones? I see on Amazon I can get 2 Nicads for $30ish, but they're no-names from God knows where and I don't want to waste my money if they're junk. I hate to spend the money on replacing the whole tool with new since it's still in good shape. What say you?

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[Eric29]

Different voltage, but I’ve used knock offs for my 18 V Makita tools and they’ve worked fine.

 

[Rabid Badger]

NiMH batteries are not nearly as fussy as lithium.
They don't require complex protection circuitry, so knock-offs aren't nearly as worrisome. If you'd prefer to stick with the original packs I hear Batteries Plus can rebuild them with new cells.

 

[marinusdees]

Sometimes Nicad batteries can be revived by connecting a DC power supply of 50 to 100 percent higher than the battery voltage for a brief time. Google the problem for an explanation of how this works. I have used this method on Makita 9.6 volt batteries that are antiques, as am I. I have used this method more than once on some of them. I am not earning a living with these tools, I'm 81. I'd suggest wearing safety glasses and gloves, although I've never had an incident.
The downside of Nicads for me is that they are dead when I want them and I don't have time to wait for a charge. Li-ions hold their charge longer, so this is much less of a problem.

 

[marinusdees]

NiMH batteries are not nearly as fussy as lithium.
They don't require complex protection circuitry, so knock-offs aren't nearly as worrisome. If you'd prefer to stick with the original packs I hear Batteries Plus can rebuild them with new cells.

If you're willing to cut the plastic battery pack open, you can rebuild them yourself buying the cells on ebay or Amazon. Batteries Plus rebuild will likely cost more than the no-names.
I'd try overvoltage zapping first, then if that isn't successful rebuild them myself. I've rebuilt by buying discontinued Harbor Freight Nicads and cutting them open and cannibalizing the cells, and by buying replacement cells on ebay. They come in different ma capacity, the higher the more expensive.

 

[Mr_B]

Sometimes Nicad batteries can be revived by connecting a DC power supply of 50 to 100 percent higher than the battery voltage for a brief time. Google the problem for an explanation of how this works. I have used this method on Makita 9.6 volt batteries that are antiques, as am I. I have used this method more than once on some of them. I am not earning a living with these tools, I'm 81. I'd suggest wearing safety glasses and gloves, although I've never had an incident.
The downside of Nicads for me is that they are dead when I want them and I don't have time to wait for a charge. Li-ions hold their charge longer, so this is much less of a problem.

I done similar using my mig welder on 60amp setting and giving it multiple 1-2 second voltage shocks that break down the calcium deposits that stop it charging, keep checking voltage of battery pack too.
revived 2 cells on old 18v makita and it still doing rough tasks in the workshop now after several months .

 

[mrvm]

Batteries Plus is a decent place to start looking at repairing the old Makita batteries. New cordless tool technology can't be ignored as they will be lighter, brushless, lithium-powered and more powerful. Even the basic 18V Ryobi cordless drill will outgun the old Makita.

 

[Showkey]

If your going rebuild the packs with unknown cells of unknown quality ..........never ever leave them charging unattended.

I have the 18v version of that era Makita stuff.........eBay replacement batteries were marginal at best.

Sometimes it’s better to walk away and start new.......sell the tools bare tools on eBay.

 

[dnschmidt]

You reach a point of diminishing returns. I had a slew of Milwaukee 14.4V NiCd tools that were virtually brand new that I threw into the trash of gave to Goodwill as the batteries weren't that much cheaper than buying new M18.

 

[Citation]

I wouldn't bother trying to replace the cells in the batteries. Not really an easy thing to do if you don't have a spot welder for those cells. Also, every time I've tried to look up the price of sub-C cells it's just not worth it.

Here is my take, you can either risk something like this
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076HHJHHZ/?tag=atomicindus08-20
which is cheap but who knows in terms of quality or you can go with OEM or expensive aftermarket (maybe) in which case you have to ask, is it worth it vs just getting a new drill?

I faced this problem with my older DeWalt 12V drill. It was a very good drill in perhaps 2006 but the original batteries were dead. At the time I had just a 12V Cman Nextex which is handy but not very powerful. I ended up spending about $30 for a pair of aftermarket batteries and I've been reasonably happy. I looked into a similar plan for a Hitachi drill my wife had... nope. The batteries were far too expensive so it's done even though the drill could be good for many more years.

In the end even my DeWalt battery purchase wasn't worth it. I found I could sell my Nextec impact driver and net enough money to buy a new Ridgid 18V drill and impact driver combo. The Ridgid stuff made the DeWalt redundant even though it's still a very serviceable tool.

 

[Professional Tool User]

This is the problem with cordless tools. By the time your battery stops working, it could be obsolete. You can try tricking it into charging, but if that doesn't work I say it's time to move on.

 

[kctyphoon]

Put the batteries on the charger. Plug the charger in, and bump the plug in and out of the wall socket several times, applying power on and off the pack quickly a few times. Sometimes the voltage in the batteries drop below a certain threshold and the charger will read them as “bad”. Plugging and unplugging the charger a few times can jolt some voltage back into the packs and help bring them back up above that “dead cell” threshold. You can do the same thing using a 9v battery, or a car battery charger, - and just see if you can get some voltage back into the cells to get that charger willing to work.

Nothing wrong with trying aftermarket packs, but youll have to decide for yourself if its worth it for you - the investment of money i mean. You can easily buy a modern 12v lithium drill that will outperform that old 3/8 drill. You can get an m12 drill with a 1/2” chuck, new batteries, new charger, for probably not much more (relatively speaking) than buying 2 new batteries for what you have, and eliminate the risk of having aftermarket packs die on you a few months or a years later.

My honest opinion is its not worth it. That what you have it probably 20 - 25 years old, and its time. Buying something new may also opens up future possibilities of getting other new tools too. BUT - its your money, and your choice. If you just “want” to keep the old drill for whatever reason - buy some new packs if you want, if you cant revive the old.

Ebay looks like your best option to pick up some aftermarkets.. you can get 14.4 Nimh packs for not a lot of money. You can even swap the cellpack back into the original Makita battery cases. I have a few cheap aftermarket m12 packs. They work, cant really give a torture test between factory - but they seem to work fine.

If you shop around - or ask some guys to help out - we could prob find a new Milwaukee m12, m18, or Dewalt drill set with lithium batteries for like $100.. 2 aftermarket packs for your makita look like they’d cost you around $35 - $60 all the way up to $120 depending on where you find them.

 

[bonneyman]

Most of the older generation Makita drills had motors that will eat nails. (It was the batteries that were the weak spot). They can take a little over voltage without ill effects, though long run times at higher voltages cause them to run hot. (You just give them a break every so often to cool off).

So, if you can make an 18v pack run your 14.4v drill, do it. The drill is probably got lots of life left. Or you can rebuild the existing packs - or have a battery place do the work. Hell I have an old 9.6v Makita running off of an old school car 12v battery charger. Installed the gutters on my house with the set-up. (Had the drill, couldn't find reasonable batteries, came up with the idea just to use the drill). Looks weird but worked fine!

 

[mrobins297aaa]

If you're willing to cut the plastic battery pack open, you can rebuild them yourself buying the cells on ebay or Amazon. Batteries Plus rebuild will likely cost more than the no-names.
I'd try overvoltage zapping first, then if that isn't successful rebuild them myself. I've rebuilt by buying discontinued Harbor Freight Nicads and cutting them open and cannibalizing the cells, and by buying replacement cells on ebay. They come in different ma capacity, the higher the more expensive.

I did the same thing, buying the HF 18v ni-cad batteries and used them in a sears 12v that the batteries were bad.

Even if they come a part with screws it's still a lot of work. I think I spent about $13 (with the 20% coupon) for the HF battery.

you end up with a few extra batteries, The 18v = 15 1.2v batteries, and the 12v uses 10 1.2v batteries.

 

[IndyGarage]

I've bought those cheap knock off batteries on Ebay for a couple of tools and they work great.

 

[Fialaja]

I’m in the same boat with the same battery platform I have 4 chargers,2 impacts, 4 drills, a light and a circ saw and I’m kinds thinking about whether or not I want to invest in a whole new brand and platform as moneY is tight and I’m a home gamer.

 

[P0234]

Batteries Plus is a decent place to start looking at repairing the old Makita batteries. New cordless tool technology can't be ignored as they will be lighter, brushless, lithium-powered and more powerful. Even the basic 18V Ryobi cordless drill will outgun the old Makita.

Amen. I paid to get my porter cable packs rebuilt a couple of time. Finally I noticed a Ryobi One starter drill was cheaper than another rebuild.

It was hard throwing away that expensive drill but the POS Ryobi is so much better. Lasts 5x as long and way more powerful.

 

[ekimneirbo]

Where were you guys when I posted the thread for people to talk about batteries and how they fail? Bout the only people with something to say were the ones whose batteries lasted forever. Me, every two years my Dewalt batteries failed as soon as they were out of warranty. Had 4 bad ones. Gave the drills to my son cause he still had some good batteries. Went and bought Kobalt Lithium Brushless. Great drill for $99 w/charger and 2ah battery. Spent $49 for a 4ah which is half what Craftsman wants for a 4ah battery.Kobalt gives 3 yr bat warranty and 5 yr tool warranty. Craftsman bat costs twice as much and has a 2 year warranty. I LUV my Kobalt....went and bough two more and my son bought one too!

 

[dr_clyde]

That drill is so old I’m surprised you can even get knockoff batteries for it still.

Buy a new drill and throw that thing away.

 

[jimreed2160]

The holiday tool sales are just around the corner. Donate the parts to Goodwill if that makes you feel better. Then treat yourself to a new tool. I am working on my fifth of sixth gen of cordless and am blown away every time by the improved performance.