Ryobi Tools Randomly Quit

[lowe.joshua51]

I have quite a few Ryobi 18 volt tools and some of them seem to just shut off right in the middle of a big job. My 1/2" impact can't even take off 5 lug nuts without quiting for a few seconds. They all come back after 10 seconds or so (except the multitool, I used that to undercut 3 door jams for laminate and it quit half way through for good. Home Depot did replace it though) It's super annoying. The most common ones that this happens with are the 1/2" impact and the brushless hammer drill. The grinder does it as well but only after a long time of serious grinding so I understand that if it's over heated. The hammer drill and impact are nearly useless for anything that needs a larger drill bit or tough bolt broken loose.

Does anyone have any ideas? I have 9 batteries and it doesn't matter which I use. I obviously make sure I'm using fully charged batteries when this happens. The only tool that this hasn't happened to me with is the little hex driver impact (and the lights). I love that tool.

 

[Jhoff310]

li-on or nicd batteries? mine will do the same thing as the batteries start getting towards the end of their charge, thn run for a few more seconds and repeat. What amp hour batteries are you using?

 

[cm cm]

Make sure you tell the people who just KNOW all the big brands come from the same factory in China... that way they get some new info.

Ryobi is garbage... you should’ve asked around.

 

[finn]

My Milwaukee hacksall does that as the batteries approach full discharge. Annoying.

Haven’t noticed it on the Dewalt or Bosch stuff, but they are 18/20 volts rather than 12 on the Milwaukee, so maybe I never run out of battery with the higher voltage & bigger batteries.

 

[vavet]

My Ridgid tools will do this when I’m really working them hard. I find they are less likely to do it when using a 4 ah battery than a 1.5 ah battery.
I’ve assumed it’s something in the control circuit in the battery itself that is shutting down, it detects too much current and figures something is wrong or is trying to protect itself from overheating from rapid discharge, but I don’t know this to be fact.

 

[finn]

Make sure you tell the people who just KNOW all the big brands come from the same factory in China... that way they get some new info.

Ryobi is garbage... you should’ve asked around.

Ryobi is made by the same company as Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Craftsman.

 

[lowe.joshua51]

Make sure you tell the people who just KNOW all the big brands come from the same factory in China... that way they get some new info.

Ryobi is garbage... you should’ve asked around.

Thank you for your well written, educated and edifying response.


Everyone else, thanks for the response. I have 5 of the 4ah Ryobi batteries and 4 of the 1.5ah (I think, maybe 2?) batteries. All are the Lithium ones. The grey ones with the battery checker on it. I don't have any of the older batteries or the lithium ones without the meter checker on it.

Honestly, I like most, bought Ryobi because they're a ton cheaper than the other brands. I also bought them 2 years ago when I was in college just doing small projects (shelves, small auto repairs, etc.) and now I have bought and gutted/remodeled my house and just installed a lift, in the process of rebuilding a Blazer. A lot changed in 2 years and I'm using them for much more than I bought them for and Homedepot just keeps giving me new ones so I have nothing to really complain about.

I just think that if this is normal then I'm not going to buy more, I'll pick a better brand and start collecting those.

 

[lowe.joshua51]

Ryobi is made by the same company as Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Craftsman.

I've considered Ridgid for the LSA (I don't want this to get controversial. I've had great luck with the LSA's I've used on some corded tools)

I've also considered Milwaukee Fuel because it's the 'high end' brand. However, with them both made by the same parent company as Ryobi I wonder how different the actual products are.

I've also considered the DeWalt line because I've heard great things about the 60v grinder among others. Also, my dad has always had DeWalt and his 15ish year old nicad system still kicks great.

 

[brianh]

That happens with the lithium batteries on high draw tools with partial discharge on the battery, especially if its the 2ah battery, overall I am very satisfied by the ryobi cordless line. Just bought the brushless grinder when it was on sale more for the 2 4ah batteries, I was impressed with the quality now use it quite a bit more than my corded ones.

 

[Jhoff310]

For people to say Ryboi tools are JUNK is just foolish. We all have our own preferences and budgets.
I have had Ryobi cordless tools since 2003. I have beat the holy hell out of them, and I cant kill them. I am extremely hard on my power tools. I do demolition, general construction, and other various tasks that require power tools. My original NiCd batteries from 2003 finally gave up the ghost last year. I purchased a new drill/driver combo for the LION batteries and dual chemistry charger. I have since expanded my battery collection and added some new power tools to my collection as well.
My son has Rigid tools, I personally don't care for them...Again that's opinion. Tools are like trucks.....some love chevy, others hate them...some love ford, again others hate them...and so on and son on.
To be a "toolsnob" or disrespectful to someone who has their own preference shows some shallowness in your life. If you don't like his brand of tools why dont YOU offer to buy him a new set of your liking?

 

[Tundra]

I have one 4aH Ryobi One + that cuts out (full charge) only when using a tool that has vibration such as an impact tool or hammer drill. My other batteries are fine. I'm guessing there's a bad connection within the pack.

 

[joop1987]

YouTube tool reviews for TI brands (Milwaukee, Ryobi) show that they have a cutoff when the load is too high. It's supposed to make them last longer. That's how they last through the 5 year warranty. The Harbor Freight Bauer tools don't have this and you can see them smoke the circuit boards when the tool jams.

 

[6PTsocket]

Make sure you tell the people who just KNOW all the big brands come from the same factory in China... that way they get some new info.

Ryobi is garbage... you should’ve asked around.

They are all made to a price point, wherever they are made. Royobi is made to compete with Craftsman, Black and Decker, maybe one of the HF brands. I am not trying to make any kind of best to worst list but Royobi is aimed at the homeowner and you trade durability, precision and power for lower cost. It can be a good deal for the occasional user.
Lithium batteries will cut power to the tool if the voltage gets too low, as that can ruin the battery. They probably cut off if the battery gets too hot. Lithiums have a lot of capacity but they are fussy and need protective circuitry. Over charge-fire. Over discharge- permanent danage. Discharge at too high a rate- BAD.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[L5wolvesf]

For people to say Ryboi tools are JUNK is just foolish. We all have our own preferences and budgets.
I have had Ryobi cordless tools since 2003. I have beat the holy hell out of them, and I cant kill them. I am extremely hard on my power tools. I do demolition, general construction, and other various tasks that require power tools. My original NiCd batteries from 2003 finally gave up the ghost last year. I purchased a new drill/driver combo for the LION batteries and dual chemistry charger. I have since expanded my battery collection and added some new power tools to my collection as well.
My son has Rigid tools, I personally don't care for them...Again that's opinion. Tools are like trucks.....some love chevy, others hate them...some love ford, again others hate them...and so on and son on.
To be a "toolsnob" or disrespectful to someone who has their own preference shows some shallowness in your life. If you don't like his brand of tools why dont YOU offer to buy him a new set of your liking?

Agreed, I've been using Ryobi 18v tools at home and for work since around 2007. Good tools IMO. Most of the tools are the older dark blue ones many picked up off of CL. My batteries are all Li. The Li cuts out once the charge is low as others have said.

 

[wolf_from_wv]

Shutting off for over-current protection is better than the battery exploding.

 

[EOC_Jason]

I have a bunch of Craftsman (all the same style as Ryobi), a little over 2 years old... Never experienced the problem you describe EXCEPT when the battery charge is about out. Yours sounds more like an overload issue, which I've never experienced...

I don't use my 1/2" impact wrench much, but it's never cut out...
I've used the snot out of my 1/2" regular drill & impact driver, they run like champs till the battery cuts them off...
I've used my grinder a lot, going through even two or three batteries once in succession and it never cut out (except when the batteries went dead)...


I did use a friend's ryobi once, it was an older model blue one with a new Lithium battery. It worked fine at first, then cut out. I kind of banged my hand against the side of it a couple times and it started working again. I figured maybe the brushes or some contact was corroded a little since I know that drill didn't get much use at all...

 

[tonyciambrone]

Ryobi is made by the same company as Milwaukee, Ridgid, and Craftsman.

So what?

Are the parts of these products the same? Boards the same? Batteries the same?

No. Are we done here...

 

[Dingleburry]

Which batteries do you have when this happens? I took a fully charged m18 1.5ah battery on the big 1/2 impact, hammering a pipe extractor, it literally lasted for 10 seconds or less of hammer action. And died. Pretty sure its not over current protection, cause it came back and as i was in hammer mode i checked fuel gauge was blinkimg as dead. But then recovers. I think the small battery just cant supply enough volt-amps, volts drop, sends signal to battery "im dead" and shuts down. Then recovers. Etc. Grabbed a 5ah battery, worked no problem.

 

[ARFLY]

My circular saw cuts out a lot. It doesn't matter which battery I use or how much charge it has. It's frustrating to the point it's almost unusable.

 

[ca90ss]

I've had the 1/2" impact cut out but only with the 1.3ah battery, never with a 4ah battery.

 

[Rarified27]

If someone already posted this, I apologize for missing it, but aren't some of the M12/M18 tools protected by electronics which stop the charge from leaving the battery if it reaches a certain temperature? This usually occurs before the battery is drained. I experience a similar thing with my hackzall all the time on longer cuts. Not a big deal to me; I just change the battery anyway, but I understand how this might be annoying for pros.

PS- I have blue Ryobi tools from 2002 which have never failed. I doubt my experience is an outlier.

 

[ddawg16]

Another Ryobi user here.....I've used the dog **** out of mine. Had one drill with over 14 years of use before the gearbox grenaded when I was using it to run 1/4" lag bolts in. It was strong enough to break some of those lag bolts.

I have about 12 Ryobi tools....all but two are battery powered.

I'm now using Li....and I've seen the same above....but, rarely...

There is a battery management board in the battery pack. If the cells get too warm from heavy use, it shuts it down. If the voltage gets too low, it shuts it down. One issue with Li, if they get below the 2 volt level per cell, the cell is basically done. You can't bring it back up. This is one of the reasons it's best to put the battery pack on the charger as soon as possible after it shuts down from low voltage.

 

[mv213]

Using the 4AH battery packs will definitely minimize this issue. I used my green Ryobi drill (don’t have the model number handy) to frame my 8x12 garden shed using 3” deck screws to hold the 2x’s together. I was seriously impressed with how many a freshly charged battery would drive without complaint.

 

[Fbmoose48]

It probably isn't random. If you can determine what the failures have in common you'd have a better chance at diagnosing the cause.

 

[lowe.joshua51]

I did a little bit of testing since I posted this.

First I did exactly what I always have been but numbered my batteries and tested each one. They all (9 total, 5 4ah and 4 1.5ah) exhibited the exact same problem on the 1/2" impact taking off lugnuts; however, the 4ah took off about double the lugnuts before the problems showed.

Next I brought all my batteries and tools inside (my garage is unheated) for the night. Tried it the next night and I was able to replicate the problems with a couple of the 1.5ah batteries but the 4ah batteries worked great.

I'm going to just chalk it up to the batteries and tools being cold, even though this did happen in the middle of the summer, just not as often.


Edit: I should note just for clarity sake that in all tests the batteries were fully charged.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

Lithium ion batteries will do this as they run low. I believe it's to prevent complete discharge, which is bad for the lithium ion batteries. Basically a built-circuitry protecting the battery.

 

[EOC_Jason]

If you try your test again, take a multi-meter to measure the battery voltage before & after.

 

[Jon_E]

I have all Ryobi One+ tools, and I will tell you from personal experience that they don't run worth a **** when they are cold. Doesn't make sense to me but it happens. I have to charge my batteries in my heated basement, although the tools themselves are just fine if left in an unheated garage.

I have not experienced an abrupt shutoff like you have, unless the battery is more or less dead.

 

[Richard D]

Since the original question has been answered, I will just chime in that I have had good luck with Ryobi for nearly 20 years, as a homeowner and we use some at work. In fact, I reach over the DeWalt and grab the Ryobi for some reason.I don't "Drink the Kool-Aid" of buying the more expensive but still made in China tools. Higher cost doesn't always equal higher quality.

 

[Druder]

I have all Ryobi One+ tools, and I will tell you from personal experience that they don't run worth a **** when they are cold. Doesn't make sense to me but it happens. I have to charge my batteries in my heated basement, although the tools themselves are just fine if left in an unheated garage.

I have not experienced an abrupt shutoff like you have, unless the battery is more or less dead.

Hit the nail on the head. I was drilling to mount a vise and my ryobi drill kept stopping. Grabbed a fresh battery from inside (the drill was in the garage with a battery installed) and finished the last 3 holes with zero stoppage. This was a day in the 20s but the garage was likely in the low 40s if I had to guess.

 

[Richard D]

Wow I keep forgetting in other parts of the country you don't have the air conditioner AND fans running today like me...

 

[Lassen Forge]

I've had the same POS Ryobi 18v drill as a power screwdriver for years, got it as one of those 3 tool combo packs for $49.95 or something... I've replaced the batteries on it 3 times, started with nicads and now on LiIons. On all of them what I found is if the battery gets hot it will thermally shut down. Let it cool, and it magically comes back to life.

As to being a POS - mine has a bearing that's been howling since the drill was 3 years old, but it hasn't failed yet. If it ever dies I'll replace it, but hey, I'll drive it into the ground first. Maybe turn it into a drill lamp or something equally bizarre. Sure got my $50 worth.