Makita battery repairs

[blackisleboy]

I have a bundle of batteries that have been abused and now won't take a charge ( not by me, but by 'helpers' and folks who have borrowed them!!

Has anyone had any joy at getting them reconditioned, or tried to do it themselves?

The tools are great, but the Makita batteries are a weak point.

 

[ACEngineering]

I have a bundle of batteries that have been abused and now won't take a charge ( not by me, but by 'helpers' and folks who have borrowed them!!

Has anyone had any joy at getting them reconditioned, or tried to do it themselves?

The tools are great, but the Makita batteries are a weak point.

If there still current batteries probably just as we buying new ones imo

 

[milkloss]

If they're the newer ones then the chip kills them when one cell goes duff. On the bright side a dealer can test the battery to see how many charges they've had and might replace if they've had an easy life.

it's very difficult to replace the cells in the newer ones too as they all have to have the spot welded links removed before you can take the plastic cage apart.

 

[blackisleboy]

If there still current batteries probably just as we buying new ones imo

Some of them are only just out of warranty. Seems an excessive waste to just throw them away. Thats why I was asking if anyone had any joy in getting them refurbished.....

 

[Netherfield]

Have a look on youtube, sure to be an american on there who's done it.

 

[ACEngineering]

Some of them are only just out of warranty. Seems an excessive waste to just throw them away. Thats why I was asking if anyone had any joy in getting them refurbished.....

The simple answer is replace as and when with another brand. Based on my experiences of never having a battery issue it would be team Red!

There are people that refurb and theres always the cheap copies too. Or use an adaptor and totally different make of battery

 

[CPF]

I have done this after Watching this video and it has seemed to have worked it has regenerated them. Had nothing to lose for trying.

 

[335d]

A good battery charger , will not permit lithium batteries to charge, when the voltage has dropped below a predetermined level. This is due to safety concerns. There could be a faulty cell, pulling the voltage down. Charging this cell could lead to overheating, or thermal runaway. Or all cells could be low voltage, which can lead to issues as well. Copper dissolving in electrolyte, etc.
these videos showing how to manually raise the battery voltage to a level where the battery charger will then charge, are produced by people who have no knowledge of how lithium batteries work, or the dangers involved.
In 90% of cases there may be no issue, but I would not take a chance.
If you do decide to follow these videos, I would recommend that you charge the batteries away from fuel sources, and do not leave the battery charging overnight. I certainly wouldn’t want to be charging them in the house. The issue may not occur after the first recovery charge, but could happen at any stage in later life.

 

[milkloss]

A good battery charger , will not permit lithium batteries to charge, when the voltage has dropped below a predetermined level. This is due to safety concerns. There could be a faulty cell, pulling the voltage down. Charging this cell could lead to overheating, or thermal runaway. Or all cells could be low voltage, which can lead to issues as well. Copper dissolving in electrolyte, etc.
these videos showing how to manually raise the battery voltage to a level where the battery charger will then charge, are produced by people who have no knowledge of how lithium batteries work, or the dangers involved.
In 90% of cases there may be no issue, but I would not take a chance.
If you do decide to follow these videos, I would recommend that you charge the batteries away from fuel sources, and do not leave the battery charging overnight. I certainly wouldn’t want to be charging them in the house. The issue may not occur after the first recovery charge, but could happen at any stage in later life.

I don’t think the makita circuitry will allow this. Three failed charges and the battery is bricked.

 

[Tom8400]

Im sure the batteries in the video posted above are the older Nicd batteries though not the lithium batteries???

I must have about 15 of the old makita Nicd batteries only 2 are any good... Lithium seem better but there are a few fire issues I always hear raised. There was nothing wrong with the old nicd batteries when they were new and the tools did a lot more work and lasted longer than the lithium tools or batteries do, Makes you wonder a little

 

[HDAV]

Im sure the batteries in the video posted above are the older Nicd batteries though not the lithium batteries???

I must have about 15 of the old makita Nicd batteries only 2 are any good... Lithium seem better but there are a few fire issues I always hear raised. There was nothing wrong with the old nicd batteries when they were new and the tools did a lot more work and lasted longer than the lithium tools or batteries do, Makes you wonder a little

Her really the inside cells are all AA style so you can sometimes if patient open them up check the individual cells and make a good one from several old ones but if you don’t have loads of time it’s cheaper to buy a new generic one the individual cells are also sold on eBay etc

 

[Munkul]

I've repaired 5-6 makita 5ah batteries over the last couple of years, each time it's been the PCB let go, not the cells. All I've done is buy the cheap repair PCBs off ebay and solder them in. Works great, and for a fiver per repair, a lot better than chucking them out!

Makita 18v LXT Lithium-ion Battery Repair

Makita 18v LXT Lithium-ion Battery Repair: I have been a big fan of the Makita 18v LXT cordless tools for several years now. In most cases I rarely if ever use the corded tools they replaced, despite this there does seem to be a major week point, the batteries. Out of the eight batteries I…

www.instructables.com

The PCB monitors battery voltage, the cheap ones are as the original makita type that only monitor 1 pair of cells, instead of all 5 pairs. They still have an overtemp sensor.
Maybe i'm just biased, but I like the idea of genuine Li-ion cells and a cheap PCB, better than I like the idea of spurious cheap li-ion cells off ebay.