New life for old drill batteries.

DaveC

Ran into this trick while installing my Alde high altitude kit.  Had two dead Ryobi batteries and found this YouTube.  I plugged the charger into a power strip and switched it on and off.  One came back to life on the first try, but the other one took 10-15 on/off cycles, but now both work fine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GfPKg05ZIU

dinzzy

Interesting...and everyone lived!

That will save me in the future.

ScottG

I just did this today with the same battery/charger combo. It worked, at least insofar as the error cleared out and three battery took a charge. I'm skeptical that it is "as good as new" but gladly milk whatever additional life I can out of those expensive paperweights!

Verna

After 5 minutes of plugging and unplugging a DeWalt 20V lithium......it didn’t work on this one. The charger is good as it is charging a known good 20V DeWalt lithium battery now. Oh well, it was worth a try. Thanks

larrygon

Verna, the chemistry and make up of lithium and NiCad rechargeable batteries are different and do not respond the same to wear and tear. NiCads get "fuzzies" on the internal connections that need to be removed. Lithium uses up the internal structures that make up the design and therefore cannot be revived.  

Verna

Thank you, @larrygon. It was worth a try.

It does cost around $150 for two 5AH DeWalt batteries, but they’re great for the hedge trimmer, string trimmer, blower, drills and jigsaw. I may have to break down and purchase a couple more as the two 1AH that came with the drill and driver are dead.