Drill batteries can be dead due to many reasons. When the inner chemical reaction is stopped, it can be easily dead. Most environmental, mechanical factors affect this process. But fortunately, there is a possibility to revive/jumpstart the drill battery using simple steps. So let’s see how I revive the dead drill battery easily.
I could revive my dead drill battery using a fully charged same voltage drill battery. Then I connected similar terminals (+.-) using a conduction wire after make sure there is no other physical problem. After 05-10 mins, I used a regular charger for further charging and this method fixed my problem
Before you revive, you should identify the battery status. So I will explain to you all in detail the proper way of reviving/jumpstarting the dead drill battery. So let’s keep reading on!
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What Happen When a Drill Battery not Use?
The drill battery is a power source of the drill. It has specific voltage and capacity. Drill batteries are made with small size Li-Ion battery cells connected by serial/parallel according to having the suitable voltage and capacity. These batteries can be recharged using a specific charger. When the drill battery is connected to the tool using the special socket. Because of this, different brands’ batteries are not able to connect.
Most drill batteries have 12V, 18V, 20V voltages, and when the battery is discharged, it can be recharged. When we use the drill, we need a fully charged drill battery, and when we use the tool battery can be discharged due to power usage.
We are not able to use the drill battery every day. So we do not need to use them regularly. Sometimes if we sell batteries, we will not use the batteries. So we must know what happens when a drill battery is not used.
Normally, Self-discharging is the main thing for the Li-Ion batteries. It is a process of reducing the voltage when it is charged due to inner reactions. When the regular charge and use do not happen properly, these reactions will not occur properly. As a result of this, it will die.
Below things can happen when a drill battery is not used regularly.
- Drill battery dead
- Rapid self discharge
- Less duarabilty
- Terminals rusting
- Battery pack rusting
- Battery overheating
How to Identify the Dead Drill Battery
This is an essential thing you should know. Above I have mentioned what happens when a drill battery is not used regularly?.
So let’s dive in-depth into this. Proper identification is the best way of solving the problem. Normally, we can identify the drill battery whether it is dead or is there any problem. If there is a dead drill battery, we can revive it. If there is an inside problem, it is impossible. So let’s see how to identify the dead drill battery for reviving it.
01 – Using Multimeter
If there is a possibility to have a multimeter, you can observe the voltage difference between terminals. If the battery has died, it can be 0 (zero). This is the proper way of identification, and below methods are the signs of the dead drill batteries.
02- Empty Battery
When you try to use the battery with the tool, you can observe it is completely not working. Which is fully empty. You may charge it last night, but it has empty now. So empty battery is the first sign of a dead battery.
03 – Not Charging
When you keep the battery on the charger, you can observe it is not indicated as charing. If you keep the battery for even a day, the result will be zero. Some other factors about the drill battery not charging. But the main thing is this. Sometimes it will indicate as charing, but there is an empty battery. (indicate due to any inside circuit short)
04 – Battery Switch Not Working
When you press the battery switch, you can see it is not on status. It is always off. So check two-three times if the battery is on/off using the switch. Regularly when you are on the battery, you can observe the battery level by indicating the lights. So this time you can see that.
05 – Terminals Rusting
If your battery is heavily open to the water, terminals can be rusting. These rusting layers will disconnect the charger and tool. So it can use for the tool or charger.
06 – Battery Rusting
When a battery is open to water long period, its inside can be rusting. Because of this, the battery can be dead. When there is rusting, the inside can be short, and the battery will discharge rapidly.
If these things can be seen in your battery, you should make sure it has died.
Reason for the Drill Battery Death
When a drill battery is dead, we can categorize those into two main categories.
- The first one is inside chemical reactions.
Drill batteries are made with Li-Ion batteries. There is an inside chemical reaction to store the electrons. When it charges, it can store the electrons inside, and when it discharges, it will emit the electrons. When this action/reaction is stopped, it can be dead.
How is this action-reaction stopped? When the drill battery is used in a high-temperature area, its inside reactions have increased. As a result of this, its inside decays are increased. Finally, inside resistance is increased, and the battery compels to self-discharge at a high rate. So its inside capacity is reduced. This is the main reason for the death drill battery.
- The second one is physical actions.
When the battery is not used for a long time, its terminals can be rusting due to atmosphere water. So this rusting can disconnect the terminals and tool properly. Some time inside the battery also can be rusting, and it will be short inside the drill battery. Finally, it will discharge the battery up to 0%.
- Lack of charge-discharge cycles
When the battery is getting old without any problem, its inside charge-discharge cycles are also reduced. When the number of cycles are reduced it can self-discharge quickly. So it is another main reason for the dead drill battery.
Read More About – 09 Tips For Drill Battery – Extra Durability | Performance
How to Live the Drill Battery
After identifying all the reasons and ways, you may need to know how to live the drill battery. Before that, let’s see why a drill battery is dead.
Normally, we use the drill battery after fully charged. But it is not highly recommended. Normally there is a charge-discharge cycle. When a battery discharges 0% and then charges the 100% will spend 1 charge cycle. When you do this continuously, you will spend all your cycles. So try to save them and use them.
When the inner chemical reaction cannot start using the charger current and voltage, it will not start to charge. So additional voltage and current will need to start the inner reaction. if there is any physical problem, you should fix them early. (rusting, wire losing, etc.)
Follow the Below Steps to Revive the Drill Batteries.
Step 01 – Clean any rusting inside or terminals.
Step 02 – Have the same type of fully charged drill battery
Step 03 – Find the terminals (+,-). If there is no sign, do not try and test. Use a multimeter to find the terminals.
Step 04 – Connect both (+,+, and -,-) using a conduction wire. You can use scissors, wire, pin, or any condition medium.
Step 05 – Keep both for about 5-10 mins.
Step 06 – Then try to charge using the recommended charger
Step 07 – If this is unsuccessful, check the inside of the drill battery and clean it.
Step 08 – Check the voltage of inside cells and then replace the dead cells.
Step 09 – Redo the reviving steps.
Pros and Cons of Drill Battery Reviving
There are both pros and cons to any task. If we use the reviving jumpstart method, there are also pros and cons.
Pros of Drill Battery revving
- Save time and money
- Self stisfaction
- Reuse equipments
- Enviromental friendly
Cons of Drill battery reviving
- Caution of exploding
- Lack of providing the proper voltage and current for reviving
- Better revivng need extra electrician knoledge
How to Avoid Drill Battery Problems
If you need to avoid these kinds of problems, you should use the drill battery properly. Normally, drill batteries should be used properly. So let’s see how to use a drill battery properly.
- Do not use drill battery more than 50 °C enviroment
- Do not use in extra loaded tool or with equipments
- Use proper tool mechanisms for the material everytime.
- Store in a proper place
- Do not keep with tool more than 12 hours if you dont use it.
- Avoid high humidity and open to sunlight area.
- Charge 10% – 90% and avoid 0% – 100%
Read More About – 09 Most Drill Battery Problems and Solutions
Can I jumpstart Car Using a Drill Battery?
Normally a dead car battery can be jumpstarted using a drill battery. You will need an 18V or more voltage drill battery to jumpstart the car battery. You have to connect similar terminals using the condition wire and keep them for about 10-15 mins and then try to switch on the car. It will work.
