Snap-on 18v lithium battery went through wash

[techenthusiast]

I had my battery in the same bag as my dirty shirts from work, I had brought it home. when my wife did the laundry she didn't notice the battery in the bag, my fault.

So it didn't go through the dryer, it only went through the washer.

I picked it up and turned it upside down, water came pouring out.

I see two torx screws on the battery, will I be able to seperate the battery casing to aid in drying? Will my battery be okay?

 

[techenthusiast]

Now the battery indicator lights are flashing


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[merbie]

Put the battery in a bowl of rice this will draw the moisture out of the battery come back to it in 24 hours submerge the battery in the rice


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[redwrench60]

Tread lightly, lithium batterirs and water don't mix. If the water penetrates the battery's plastic wrapping you could have a "thermal event"

The battery's microprocessor electronics are probably done anyway.

 

[techenthusiast]

Tread lightly, lithium batterirs and water don't mix. If the water penetrates the battery's plastic wrapping you could have a "thermal event"



The battery's microprocessor electronics are probably done anyway.

So if I feel that the battery is completely dry is there a possibility that it will damage my cordless tools or charger?


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[redwrench60]

So if I feel that the battery is completely dry is there a possibility that it will damage my cordless tools or charger?


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I wouldn't think so but I don't know for sure. My guess is the charger won't recognize the battery anymore. I just hear about all the meth heads around here opening batteries up for the lithium and blowing themselves up in the process.

 

[Skin]

Does snap-on offer flate rate repair on batteries? Probably the best option if they do.

 

[beamrider]

If it were plain clean water youmight have a chance. Residual laundry detergent,however, could cause a problem.

 

[techenthusiast]

If it were plain clean water youmight have a chance. Residual laundry detergent,however, could cause a problem.

The water had laundry detergent.


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[bcradio]

At least your battery is clean

I would also not hold out hope for it, but I would not give up either. Give it some time to dry and try it.

 

[uart]

The water had laundry detergent.

Was it a hot or a cold wash?

If it was a cold wash the batteries might survived unscathed. The first thing you should do is open them up and rinse them thoroughly in cold (to luke warm) fresh water. Everything has been completely immersed anyway, so the extra exposure to water won't make it any worse, but it will ensure that no residue is left on sensitive electronic components when it eventually does dry.

Then just leave it open to drain and dry. If you want you can put it in front of a fan or some air with low heat, but don't expose it to any serious heat.

It may take some time, but after it's fully dried it it will most likely work fine.

 

[techenthusiast]

Update, now the indicator doesn't come on at all.

I'm going to open it up when I get home from work, the two torx on the top and the two torx on the bottom,
And shoot it down with. electrical cleaner and leave it open for a while.



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[redwrench60]

I hate to be negative Ned, but I think you're gonna be disappointed.

The battery cells themselves are probably fine but the units microprocessor is probably done. Which makes the battery done.

And no, Snap On doesn't offer flat rate repairs on lithium batteries.

 

[rice rocket]

Oof. Time to fork over another $250.


Pretty much the number one reason why I won't buy Snap On cordless tools. Hand tools, yes, I can see the value as a durable good with a good replacement policy. Consumables? No thanks.

 

[uart]

Hi techenthusiast, see my previous question. Do you know if it was washed in hot or cold water?

 

[rmsg0040]

maybe it can be rebuilt? I seen some rebuilders on ebay

 

[honcho]

As others have mentioned, the battery may be toast but, based on my unfortunate experience of washing more than a few items of electronics (though never a cordless tool battery) once the item thoroughly dries, it might surprise you and come to life. I've washed a portable hard drive which came back to life (though I quickly moved the data since I no longer trusted it). I've washed several usb memory sticks which have all worked. I've washed memory cards (SD, Compact Flash, SmartMemory) and only a compact flash card failed. A bluetooth stick failed after washing and a power adapter for a phone failed after washing.

I spilled a large 44 oz diet soda on the laptop I'm using to write this and it didn't work for weeks. Fortunately, the hard drive was ok and I was able to transfer the data. Several months after spilling the soda, I tried the laptop and--low and behold--it started working again.

Years ago I set a cell phone down on some ice and forgot about it. When I came back it was floating in the water. It sorta worked after it dried out though people said I sounded like I was calling from under water!

Good luck with your battery

 

[techenthusiast]

Hi techenthusiast, see my previous question. Do you know if it was washed in hot or cold water?

It was washed on the warm setting. Now the indicator isn't working at all.


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[Askme42]

I had my battery in the same bag as my dirty shirts from work, I had brought it home. when my wife did the laundry she didn't notice the battery in the bag, my fault.

So it didn't go through the dryer, it only went through the washer.

I picked it up and turned it upside down, water came pouring out.

I see two torx screws on the battery, will I be able to seperate the battery casing to aid in drying? Will my battery be okay?

Your fault? Did she just pitch the whole bag in the wash? How did she not feel the weight of the batteries.

 

[techenthusiast]

Your fault? Did she just pitch the whole bag in the wash? How did she not feel the weight of the batteries.

Well it's beyond that point now, doesn't matter to me mistake learned


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[MN4x4]

Yeah that's a dead-end argument. I don't know him or his wife, but I can't imagine this line of questioning/argument leading to anything good.

You are OBVIOUSLY married!

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Just FYI to all. When drying stuff like this out, do not use heat. Put it in front of an air conditioner. Heat has mositure, and a/c does not (to a certain extent, science.. blah blah..)....anyway, an a/c acts more like a dehu than a heater does....

 

[uart]

It was washed on the warm setting.

Ok, whether it works again or not will probably depend on just how hot it got. Fresh water itself normally wont permanently damage electronics. Like I said previous, if it's not clean fresh water you're actually best off to rinse it thoroughly in fresh water before drying.

The heat is more likely to damage it. Though if "warm" is under about 115F then it should survive ok.

Now the indicator isn't working at all.

That's activated by a push button (switch) on the battery right? Don't dismiss it as gone yet, that switch will be the last thing to dry out. You may need to rinse the switch with something that displaces water, I often use methylated spirit (alcohol) followed by contact cleaner.

Re read my initial post if you missed it.

- Rinse it thoroughly with fresh water (you should have done this straight away).

- Clean any switches and contact with something that displaces water.

- Dry it with mild (not hot) air.

Be patient it may take a while to fully dry, especially in parts where water can get trapped. My experience with similar incidents says it has a very good chance of eventually coming back to life as long as it didn't get too hot. The water itself wont hurt it.

 

[Skin]

Ok, whether it works again or not will probably depend on just how hot it got. Fresh water itself normally wont permanently damage electronics. Like I said previous, if it's not clean fresh water you're actually best off to rinse it thoroughly in fresh water before drying.

The heat is more likely to damage it. Though if "warm" is under about 115F then it should survive ok.


That's activated by a push button (switch) on the battery right? Don't dismiss it as gone yet, that switch will be the last thing to dry out. You may need to rinse the switch with something that displaces water, I often use methylated spirit (alcohol) followed by contact cleaner.

Re read my initial post if you missed it.

- Rinse it thoroughly with fresh water (you should have done this straight away).

- Clean any switches and contact with something that displaces water.

- Dry it with mild (not hot) air.

Be patient it may take a while to fully dry, especially in parts where water can get trapped. My experience with similar incidents says it has a very good chance of eventually coming back to life as long as it didn't get too hot. The water itself wont hurt it.

Plain old tap water corodes solder and copper as well as allowing shorts. Ideally you don't want any water around electronics but if you have a choice its distilled you want.

 

[uart]

Plain old tap water corodes solder and copper as well as allowing shorts. Ideally you don't want any water around electronics but if you have a choice its distilled you want.

Yeah distilled water is not a bad idea either. But if it's dried out straight away then to be honest plain old tap water shouldn't cause any significant corrosion. It's not like leaving it sitting wet for months or anything. I've had circuit boards that have been rinsed in water and they've survived ok. Rinsing with methylated spirits (alcohol) after rinsing with plain old tap water works well, as it displaces the water and dries more quickly than water.

The possible negative effect of residual contamination on a circuit board depends greatly on the type of circuits you have. Low impedance or power type circuits are little effected, but sensitive high impedance circuits can be effect. The OP shouldn't give it up as dead until it's been thoroughly rinsed and dried.

 

[redwrench60]

Well, is it screwed?

 

[techenthusiast]

I took it apart and sprayed everything thoroughly with electronics cleaner, cleaned contact points with cue tips. Let it sit and now I put it back together. Indicator light isn't coming on and I haven't attempted to throw it on the charger or gun yet because I don't want to make things worse and screw up my charger or gun by attempting to use a bad battery on it. Do you guys think I should risk it and try to charge the battery?


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[Skin]

Worst case scenario it has a dead short and the charger pops.

Trash it. Scoop another up on ebay, looks like CTB7185 batteries sell fairly regularly for around $100.

 

[BFHtime]

I only the opening post.

If lithium comes in contact with water it can explode!!!!!

If the battery does not work another electrical component of the battery probably failed.

If you open the battery be very careful not get moisture inside, the battery should have a seal.

 

[BFHtime]

I dropped my brushless Makita 18v lithium impact in a pan of transmission fluid, oil, some diff fluid, gas, and some coolant. It was a nice mix. Any way I blew it out with air and wiped I down a few times and blew air some more. I let it hang upside down, with one oft he air vents at the lowest part and let it drip. It was in there for a minute or so. I blew it out again a few hours later, wiped it down some more, and it worked. I was surprised because the battery has a big vent that allows air to pass through it when charging. The switch squeezes easier now, that it is well lubed, it sweats fluid a little bit, but less and less. Still works, so don't give up on it. I blew regular shop air through, this compressor does not have a moisture trap either, it is a big old thing about fifty years old maybe. The point being that the air I blew into it contained water vapor. I did not open the battery pack at all.

I left a huge mess in he shop as I was running around wih the impact driver in my hand leaving a trail of fluid everywhere. I have to laugh, what a mess it took a while to clean up. I ran all over too. LOL. Good luck.

 

[uart]

I only the opening post.

If lithium comes in contact with water it can explode!!!!!

If the battery does not work another electrical component of the battery probably failed.

If you open the battery be very careful not get moisture inside, the battery should have a seal.

The individual cells (3.7 volts) are obviously sealed against water and air, otherwise they wouldn't last a day due to oxygen and water vapour in the air screwing them. None of the lithium packs that I've ever seen are hermetically sealed, or anything close. Simply opening the pack does not cause any problems.

 

[uart]

I took it apart and sprayed everything thoroughly with electronics cleaner, cleaned contact points with cue tips. Let it sit and now I put it back together. Indicator light isn't coming on and I haven't attempted to throw it on the charger or gun yet because I don't want to make things worse and screw up my charger or gun by attempting to use a bad battery on it. Do you guys think I should risk it and try to charge the battery?

There's no way it will be a dead short or anything crazy like that. I'd say there is a reasonable chance that it's only the push button that isn't working. So yeah, if it were me I try it in the charger and see if it still accepts a charge.

 

[JonnyMac]

Pull the batteries out and toss them. Then screw the battery carcass under a shelf or wherever you keep your power tools and it is a brilliant way to hang a tool up.. saw someone on here do it and im just waiting for my battery to die so I can do it!!

 

[Strouty]

I only the opening post.

If lithium comes in contact with water it can explode!!!!!

If the battery does not work another electrical component of the battery probably failed.

If you open the battery be very careful not get moisture inside, the battery should have a seal.

If you had read the rest of the posts, you would know that the OP tried to rinse the battery with water and it exploded, now he is dead and we have all been talking to his widow.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

If you had read the rest of the posts, you would know that the OP tried to rinse the battery with water and it exploded, now he is dead and we have all been talking to his widow.

Quoted for truth.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Bowl of rice. Submerge the battery in it. Rotate it between the freezer and gentle sunshine to dry and defrost it. That will dry itcompletely out, but it takes a while. Saves cell phones too.