Almost every battery in a power tool is its most expensive part. A screwdriver is no exception, because a replaceable battery can make up 30% of the total tool cost. After discharging the device, you need to purchase a new screwdriver, but to save money, there is another option. restoration, which will extend its service life.
The battery quickly sits on the screwdriver
The problem with fast self-discharge of the battery is quite common. It consists in fast charging, which takes about 20 minutes and the same short work.
This situation may result from improper operation of the temperature sensor located in the removable battery. This temperature sensor may not be installed as it was originally. You must return it to the place of purchase.
If the battery began to discharge quickly after prolonged uninterrupted use, which could happen after a fall, you need to take on its repair.
The battery does not charge
A screwdriver, after prolonged use, sometimes fails. Its working element may stop charging, which will lead to the inability to fulfill the functional abilities of the tool, the tool, roughly speaking, will "die".
In order to extend the life of the instrument, so that you do not have to remove it from sight, you can try three methods in turn. Each subsequent one is considered more complex and costly. They are:
- restoration and increase of capacity after its reversible loss (memory effect);
- adding distilled water to the electrolyte;
- replacing some or all of the battery packs.
Battery life for a screwdriver
The battery can last about three to four years with proper use and storage. In practice, this period is sometimes reduced to two years. Changing a tool constantly is very expensive, so it’s better to immediately choose the best option for one or another purpose.
There are 3 different types of batteries:
- Nickel cadmium. The most affordable, but short-lived, especially with frequent work in cold weather conditions.
- Nickel Metal Hydride A small device that does not have a long service life.
- Li-ion. The most sought after, long able to not discharge, but have a higher cost than the above options.
Regardless of the type of battery, their service life depends on the number of charges used and storage methods. That is, the more the tool works, the faster it discharges. At the same time, “simple” operation negatively affects the period of use, especially if the instrument is stored in a state when it is sitting down.
How to restore a screwdriver battery at home
Is it possible to reanimate all kinds of batteries? Nickel-cadmium blocks, which are found in almost all modern screwdrivers, are better repaired.
For the recovery process, you need to understand the basics of electricity. That is, to have school knowledge about battery life.
To work, you will need tools and materials:
- screwdriver;
- tester;
- soldering iron;
- tin (with low-corrosion flux).
A donor will be required to reanimate the battery. In the configuration of a screwdriver, it may be available, or you need to find it yourself, for example, removing it from another old device.
To begin the operation, it is necessary to fully charge (about 6 hours) both batteries, swing it. After that, remove the plastic cover from the restored part with a screwdriver. This procedure must be done carefully so as not to damage the clips. Otherwise, for subsequent assembly you will need glue, like "Moment".
Recovery nickel-cadmium batteries for screwdrivers
The ni cd battery device is manufactured using the same technology, so any battery can be made a donor of this type.
Such devices are separate components — blocks with a nominal voltage of 1.2 V and an energy consumption of 1200–1500 MA / h. They are found in Interskol screwdrivers. Each block affects the power, that is, with its value of 12 V, the number of blocks is 10 pieces, 14.4 V. 12, etc. After changing the battery, the power may drop for the first time, but then everything will be restored.
18 volt screwdriver battery recovery
18 V is a frequently encountered power, which corresponds to the presence of 15 blocks. As a donor, you need to choose an electric device with a voltage of 14.5 V, that is, a 12 V car battery will not work.
How to restore and run a lithium-ion battery
For these types of batteries, you will need to remember where the plus, minus and charge contacts are located. The voltage control board located on the batteries most often fails, or rather, their stabilizers and protective diodes.
The voltage at the output of the battery is checked, if the value is much less than normal, resuscitation is performed.
The second battery life in Bosch, Hitachi, Makita screwdrivers
The presented brands come with a lithium-ion battery. To revive them, you need a soldering iron and sleight of hand, because if you do everything slowly, the service life may decrease, or the battery will explode.
All broken or jammed wiring inside the battery must be insulated, for example, using electrical tape or replaced in advance with new ones.
To restore torn metal elements are soldered. tapes that can be taken in old blocks.
For assembly, it is necessary to return the cardboard gasket between the blocks and the board in place. This will be required to prevent a short circuit. Then the contacts are isolated.
The battery life is relatively short, on average 5 years. After the set period, the battery abruptly stops its work. In such a situation, it is not always possible to quickly acquire a new power source, so the home master has to solve the problem of how to restore the battery of a screwdriver, at least for a short time. In some cases, after a successful recovery, the batteries operate normally for quite some time.
Screwdriver structural elements
A screwdriver is rightfully considered an indispensable universal tool. The modern market for screwdrivers is represented by a large number of models equipped with batteries. Despite the variety of brands and modifications, all batteries have the same structure and only slightly differ from each other.
Each of them includes separate elements connected in series with each other. All of them are made in standard sizes and have the same voltage level. Certain types of elements differ only in capacity, measured in A / h and indicated in the marking.
In the tool body there are 4 contacts that perform various functions. Including, two are power, designed for charging and discharging. In addition, in the upper part there is a control contact included in the circuit together with a special temperature sensor. It protects the battery, shuts off the charging current and limits it to the set value by changing the temperature regime.
Separately located the fourth contact, connected together with the resistance. It is necessary when using charging stations of increased complexity, able to equalize the charges of all battery cells. Such stations are rarely used in everyday life because of their high cost. The usual 12-volt screwdriver does not require such stations.
One of the reasons for the failure of a screwdriver is a malfunction of the battery, that is, its separate element. In such cases, when connected in series, the entire circuit fails. Therefore, it is very important to accurately determine the faulty location. As a rule, this happens after a specified period of operation. This problem can be solved in two ways: purchasing a new battery or repairing and restoring an old battery.
What batteries are used in screwdrivers
Correct diagnosis requires knowledge of the main types of batteries used in screwdrivers, and the design features of each of them. Each battery consists of mini-batteries connected in series in a single chain. Depending on the material of manufacture, they are nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium.
The first option. Ni-Cd is most widely used. In these batteries, each cell has a voltage of 1.2 volts, and a total of 12 volts with a capacity of 12,000 mAh is obtained. They differ from lithium in the possibility of recovery, since they have a known memory effect, which is a reversible loss of capacity.
Due to the design features of batteries, not all methods are suitable for their recovery. For example, lithium cells cannot be restored using Imax B6 charging, since lithium gradually decomposes, loses its quality and does not hold 18 volts. The same method is not always suitable for Ni-Cd batteries, as in some cases the electrolyte can completely boil in them. Nevertheless, there are a lot of options for recovery.
Different types of batteries differ in their own operating voltage of the cells. A similar difference is associated with the materials used to make a particular battery. This factor also affects the capacity that ensures long-term operation of the tool without additional charge. Therefore, at the initial opening of the case, the type of elements placed inside is determined first of all. The fact is that lithium mini-batteries cannot be replaced with nickel-cadmium ones, since their operating voltages differ significantly. Accordingly, repair and restoration methods will differ.
Video: How To Recover A Makita 12 Screwdriver Battery
General repair recommendations
To repair the battery, measuring instruments will be required. an ammeter for 2 A, a voltmeter for 2 and 15 V, a tester, an ohmmeter and a milliammeter. Manipulation with the body is carried out using a screwdriver, scissors and pliers. A magnifier may be needed to detect defects.
When solving the problem of whether the battery can be repaired, a faulty cell is searched for and then replaced. For verification, a standard circuit is used, and based on the data obtained, the state of individual parts is analyzed. It should be remembered that not only mini-batteries, but also the terminals of the screwdriver itself may be faulty.
The determination of the causes begins with voltage measurements using a tester on each individual battery. All non-working elements are marked and separated from serviceable. If the battery is rapidly discharging, do not disassemble it immediately. First, you can try to restore the battery capacity of a screwdriver. To this end, a full charge and deep discharge of the battery is carried out for several cycles. In most cases, the capacity is restored almost completely.
Often, the screwdriver stops working due to the failure of the terminals. During operation, they gradually unbend, as a result, the contact is broken and the battery is not fully charged. To repair the charger, you must first disassemble it, and then carefully bend each terminal. After that, it is necessary to check the quality of charging using measuring instruments.
If the measures taken do not help, you just need to replace the defective part. If a specific cause of the failure is found, it is recommended that you use the recovery methods below.
How to eliminate the memory effect
When the rechargeable battery very often experiences insufficient charge and subsequent discharge, it has the so-called memory effect. That is, the battery gradually remembers the minimum border of charging and discharging, as a result, its capacity is not fully utilized and gradually decreases more and more.
This problem is typical mainly for nickel-cadmium batteries and to a lesser extent affects nickel-metal hydride batteries. In any case, you need to restore the battery capacity. The memory effect does not apply to lithium-ion batteries at all.
In order to solve the problem of whether the cell can be repaired, it is recommended that the battery be completely discharged and charged using a 12-volt light bulb. The plus and minus wires are soldered to it, which are connected to the battery contacts. This procedure is repeated five times or more.
How to top up with distilled water
Distilled water evaporates only from nickel-cadmium batteries when they overheat during operation. Therefore, to eliminate the problem and restore their functions, water must be added.
This procedure is performed in the following sequence:
- After disassembling the battery, mini-batteries will be found inside. Their number may be different, depending on the brand of tool. A defective element is detected by a multimeter. In a working battery, the voltage is 1-1.3 V. If this indicator is lower, then the cell is defective and needs repair.
- Next, the defective parts are carefully removed without destroying the connecting plates. They will be required later for reassembly.
- A hole of no more than 1 mm is drilled in the side. It is not located in the middle, but closer to the bottom or top of the battery. Only the wall needs to be drilled, without going deeper into the element.
- Distilled water must be drawn into the syringe. The needle is inserted into the hole and through it the battery is completely filled with water. After that, it should stand in this position for at least a day.
- After a day, the battery is charged with a special device, and then left in a charged state for another 7 days.
- After a week, the capacitance and voltage are checked again, and if it does not fall, then the hole in the case is sealed or sealed with silicone.
After all the manipulations, the batteries are assembled into one and inserted into the battery case. The connecting plates are soldered or joined by spot welding. Then, the performance of the entire battery is checked again, after which it is completely discharged with the help of small loads. The process of charging and discharging is performed at least 3 times.
Replacing old batteries
In this way, you can repair the battery of any screwdriver. The repair procedure itself is not particularly difficult and begins with the disassembly of the battery. Using a multimeter, faulty elements are determined in which the voltage will be below normal. Then they are carefully removed and the exact same mini-batteries are purchased instead.
New parts are installed in place and connected by existing plates. For connection, soldering or spot welding is used. In this case, you must ensure that the battery does not overheat. Therefore, the work must be done carefully and quickly using flux or rosin.
Battery discharge
This repair method concerns the elements of lithium-ion batteries. During the period of operation, they overheat, as a result of some batteries the electrolyte evaporates. Because of this, gases accumulate inside the battery, causing bloating, followed by bending of the plate. After this, you have to restore the battery of the screwdriver.
The solution to this problem is carried out in the following order:
- Disassembling the battery and finding a faulty battery with a multimeter. Usually in such elements voltage is completely absent.
- After that, the battery is removed and gas is released from it. In the first case, you need some kind of flat tool, curved at the end. It is brought under positive contact and the swollen plate is gently pressed down. Gas independently finds its way, making a hole and going outside. In this case, you only restore operability for a short time, because the electrolyte will completely evaporate through the hole and the battery will stop working again.
- In the second case, the positive contact is disconnected with the help of nippers, after which it is slightly bent, but not completely cut off. After that, an awl is inserted under the curved plate and gradually pushed inward. That is, the plate disengages from the edge of the battery and gas escapes. After that, it is inserted in its place, and the hole is sealed in the most convenient way. It remains only to solder the contact, disconnected at the very beginning.
We will talk about the possibility of restoring the battery of your screwdriver, and how to do it correctly so as not to harm the device as a whole.
No matter how complicated, filled with various functions, your screwdriver is not, most often the batteries for all such devices are the same. Therefore, on the Internet you can find a lot of tips on how to repair a battery.
It can often be found in screwdriver operating instructions that the battery cannot be disassembled and there is no need to do this. But often, the price of this most important device is most of the entire tool, then it is not at all profitable for an ordinary consumer to buy a new battery at all.
Briefly about how to restore a screwdriver battery
- to make out;
- find the cause of the malfunction (the most common is the failure of one of the circuit elements);
- measure voltage (there are several ways);
- remove and replace a worn part.
Looking for a weak spot in your battery
To determine which part is out of order and can no longer function in the previous mode, you will need a multimeter. It is needed to measure voltage. Since this parameter is slightly different on different types of batteries, first find out which one you have. So,
Nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries have a voltage of 1.2 V, and lithium-ion batteries are already 3.6 V.
Next, follow these steps in the sequence below.
- First, fully charge your battery for a screwdriver;
- Second. measure the voltage of all cans in turn;
- Third. note on which one the voltage is below normal (in accordance with the fact that the error is allowed only 0.2 V);
- Fourth. return the battery to its place, turn it on and work with the device to discharge it until the power decreases;
- At the last stage, you again disassemble the instrument and measure the voltage with a multimeter. If the deviation is 0.7-0.5, then you can safely consider this a malfunction.
Another way to measure
It practically repeats the previous one, only in order to discharge the instrument, you will use a 40 W lamp. The advantage of this method is that you do not have to collect and disassemble the battery several times.
If everything is in order inside, then the problem may lie in the charger, which should already be dealt with.
Also, several methods are proposed for restoring entire blocks:
- Add boiled electrolyte;
- Eliminate the so-called memory effect.
How to disassemble a screwdriver battery
An ordinary battery consists of a case, inside of which there is a chain of connected elements, and sometimes also a temperature sensor installed by manufacturers to help you to work in critical conditions.
Each person who has used this device in his life will have no difficulty working with a screwdriver and opening the case, and then it remains only to examine the circuit as a whole.
How to cope with the memory effect
First determine if your battery has this effect. It manifests itself in the fact that when the battery is fully charged, it discharges extremely quickly, and the device can work again only over time.
To extend the use of a screwdriver without repair for more than a year, the following procedure should be done about five times before the immediate start of operation. fully charge the battery and then slowly discharge (you can take a typical 220 V lamp) to 5 V (which is 30% of the nominal capacity )
Thus, you will be able to fix this problem. It is worth noting that only owners of nickel batteries can encounter it.
Addition of boiled electrolyte
The following procedure algorithm, which requires accuracy, will help to cope with this problem.
- Unsuitable cans that you have identified using a lamp or a multimeter must be removed by cutting the connecting plates;
- Having taken a punch (d = 1 mm), make a hole in the case from the side of the “-” sign;
- Pump out air in a volume coinciding with the volume of distilled water (0.5-1 cubic cm), which must be poured through the hole;
- With epoxy resin you cover the hole and return the element back to the circuit.
After the procedure, before use it is worth recharging (it will be enough five times) your electric tool.
Consider cases of the possibility of restoration of elements
If you have a nickel-cadmium battery, then a variant with a flashing higher than the base current is likely.
If you have a lithium-ion battery in your hands, then in this case only the replacement of faulty parts will help to establish work, since such batteries do not suffer from the memory effect and you just won’t solve this problem.
About features in the repair of nickel-cadmium batteries
Strong overheating is unlikely to have a positive effect on the state of the elements; it is worth monitoring this. After reflashing the old elements, study the rules for overclocking a new battery. This action should be carried out once every six months. This can provide maximum battery capacity. Recharging must be carried out with preliminary discharge.
Removal and replacement
Here you have to work with a soldering iron. Also, alcohol flux for rosin and tin will be required.
Cut off an unnecessary element, then solder a new one in its place. Try to solder quickly so as not to spoil the battery, as it may overheat. Be sure to check whether you have correctly combined the pros and cons. When soldering, it is better to use the plates that were already in the device.
To equalize all the potentials on the banks, charge for the whole night, let cool for one day, and then measure the voltage. It should be the same on all banks (up to 1.3 V). Work with a screwdriver until fully discharged and recharge. Repeat this 2 more times.
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