My new Milwaukee 18v batteries are not fully charging. The charge light goes out after about 5 minutes. The drill is only good for around 10-16 uses (drill a hole, drive a screw, etc) and then the battery is too low for further use. When trying to charge them, if I remove the battery and then place it back on the charger, the light will come on again for around 5 minutes and then it goes back off. Any ideas on this?
Thanks.
Replies
The charger senses heat and this is what tells the charger to stop charging. Heat of course is the enemy of battery packs. I guess this won't really help you but I would definately be taking it back.
It should help because if that is what's causing the problem and letting them cool down stops it, the problem will go away. He's right, though. If the batteries are too hot, the charger will shut off, and the battery capacity will diminish. Heat is not only bad for batteries, it's really bad for motors, too. If you have ever had a weak battery on a car and kept trying to start it, then the starter went out, it was because of the heat in the starter windings and the solenoid contacts from trying to do the same amount of work with less voltage. If the motor draws a certain amount of power, as the voltage drops, the current increases. This extra current burns any contacts involved, whether they're brushes, solenoids, switches, etc. It also melts the insulation on the wire windings, causing a short circuit, which drastically decreases the magnetic field required to turn the armature.Since the batteries will be under warranty for quite a while longer, keep the receipt and let them cool down before charging them when they get weak. If they just won't take a full charge, exchange them. By the way, using a battery till it's totally dead is not the right way to go. Use it till the decrease in power is noticeable, but not extreme. Switch the battery at that time, let it cool down, then recharge. This isn't an opinion, it came from a friend who is an engineer at Milwaukee Electric Tool.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Letting them cool down would work except for one thing: they never got a chance to get warm. This problem occured from the first time I used the drill. I followed all of the instructions to the tee: charged them overnight, installed 'em.
First time use: one screw driven in to my fence outside. did not have to recharge yet.
Second use: drilled sixteen holes thru sheetrock (pilot holes for #6 screws) less than 1 inch in to stud. While attempting to drive screws, first battery slowed considerably at screw #10. Installed second battery. Attempted to charge first battery (my home is at 70 degrees), light flashes for a minute, then goes steady, then goes out after 3-5 minutes. Charge overnight again.
Third use: Still using the second battery, I drilled twelve, 1/16 pilot holes in dry redwood, second battery goes dead . I am now very frustrated. Attempt to use first battery for remainder of job, goes dead after about 14 holes. Not happy at all.
Try to charge both batteries, same thing: light goes out after a few minutes and that's all she wrote. I'm awaiting word from Milwaukee on what my next step is.
Can't you go back to the place where you bought it? They should be able to exchange whatever is needed. Did you call the Milwaukee service center nearest to you or the main one? Shouldn't matter, just curious. That should fall under 'initial defect' and taken care of with no questions.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I bought it from the Tool Crib from Amazon.com, so returning it is gonna be a pain. I should be hearing from Milwaukee before tomorrow afternoon (sent 'em an email), so we shall see what they want me to do. On the bright side, when it IS working, I just love it. It's just too bad that when I finally splurged and got my Milwaukee, it feels like I got a tool from Wal-Mart!
You got it from Tool Crib, but it may have been a return to them. Milwaukee has good customer service. I've never had a hard time dealing with them at all.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I'm sure this is gonna turn out fine. I destroyed my circular saw and I'm going to buy a Milwaukee to replace it ( I cut through some stucco and the dust just tore it up). I'll be checking with Amazon next on whether I need to return all or part of the kit for a replacement.
Turns out my drill has more problems than previously suspected. I dropped it off at the local Milwaukee repair center and was also advised that I have some sort of internal problem with the drill as well: when set in the "drill" position, you can actually keep the chuck from turning with your hand-the repair tech said this should not be happening. i'll know the results in 2-3 weeks. This bites.
I just saw an article about batteries and am wracking my brain to find it, I think it was in one of the forums here. DO NOT completely discharge the batteries the way you were told. Once they are completely dead, one or more cells can reverse polarity and this cancels out, then damages others. Heat and extreme cold are bad for batteries, but trying to charge a hot battery is worse. Most chargers will keep from charging if the battery is too hot(current sensing circuitry) and some get to about 80%, then switch to trickle charge for the last 20%. Batteries need to be recharged when the power drops by about 30%. Not when they're totally dead. Ni-Cad batteries do not have a memory effect. Look for other threads on batteries here and the other forums.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
If they're a NiCad battery, they may have taken a "set" in the batteries. This causes them to do what you've reported.
Our biomed types at the hospital I work at suggested discharging them completely over a two day period -- create a dead short with a wire across the terminals to do this, or wire it to a light bulb.
If they don't take a charge after that, you may have a dud set of batteries.
Good luck.
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