Why the battery of the screwdriver does not charge

The screwdriver battery does not hold a charge. what to do?

Loss of battery capacity in a screwdriver is almost always inevitable. You can, of course, slow down this process a little, but not avoid it. If the battery of the screwdriver does not hold a charge, then the owner either uses the tool very intensively, or the tool itself gradually reduces its capacity.

Electric screwdrivers are divided into two types:

• Those that are powered by the network;
• And from the battery.

If working with the first is inconvenient, then the second has another drawback: the relatively quick wear of the batteries (1-5 years, depending on the model and frequency of use). And it seems that not everything is so scary, because it can be replaced and the tool can be successfully used further, but the problem is that a pair of new batteries costs almost like a new screwdriver.

The battery of the instrument can also lose its capacity due to oxidation inside, that is, sulfalation. If you look at the disassembled screwdriver, you can see a yellowish powder coating on some parts, due to which the parts will not function normally.

To find out the state of the battery capacity without disassembling it, you need to put your hand on top while charging and hold it for a while. If everything is in order with the battery, then it will heat up to 30 ° C, the hand will not feel this temperature, but if it still loses its performance, it will heat up to 50-60 ° C, which is easily perceptible.

Household types are considered the most common and, accordingly, the cheapest units. They contain one or two nickel-cadmium batteries, as well as a so-called memory effect, which is not found in other species. It manifests itself then, when the battery is not fully discharged, it is connected to the network again and is not fully charged. This means that the battery simply does not understand its charge level.

What to do if the screwdriver battery does not hold a charge?

To begin with, to restore the lost power, you need to prepare the necessary tools. For this you will need:

• Soldering iron;
• Tester;
• Tin with low corrosive flux;
• Screwdriver;
• Spare donor battery or new individual cells (banks) that make up the battery.

Before starting work, the batteries need to be properly charged, at least 6 hours each. Then, using a screwdriver or knife, carefully remove the cover from the recoverable battery.

After that, you can start looking for damaged elements, for which you need a tester. Very high quality and durable testers, produced by the Interskol power tool company, they have the best performance in terms of price / quality ratio.

With its help, it is necessary to carefully check all the banks. For those that are working, the voltage should be 1.2V if the battery is nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride, and 3.6V if the battery is lithium-ion. For non-workers, the indicator will be close to almost zero. They must be marked in order to clearly know which parts are being replaced. The same must be done with the other battery.

Further, everything is extremely simple. From the “sick” unit we extract not the working elements, but from the other. the necessary undamaged ones. The latter, using tin with a low-calorie flux, are carefully soldered in place of the former. If you do not use a donor battery, but separately purchased cans, then put them instead of the damaged ones. We insert the soldered assembly back into the case.

If the battery is nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride, then after assembly it needs to be charged again, but not for 6 hours, but 12. You cannot turn on the tool immediately after charging, because the soldered parts may overheat and fall off. Then, the same battery will need to be discharged, keeping the tool working until it turns off by itself. With this procedure, it will last much longer. By the way, it is recommended to carry it out at least five times before using the screwdriver.

Ryobi Battery Not Charging. repair a Ryobi & Lithium batteries to charge again

You can also discharge the battery using a regular 12-volt bulb. Connect it to the battery and wait until it goes out.

The lithium-ion battery can be used immediately after assembly.

Also, other malfunctions may occur. For example, thermistor failure, or loss of contact at the soldering points. But this is more common in fake tools, so you need to be very careful when choosing, it is best to buy a product from the aforementioned Makita company, because it is considered the golden mean in the power tool market.

reference

If, after disassembling the battery, it is impossible to read their markings on the battery cells, and without determining the data, it is almost impossible to make high-quality repairs, you must pay attention to the designation of the material of their manufacture:

• Nickel-cadmium batteries, identified by Ni-Cd symbols. The nominal voltage of each element is 1.2 V;
• Nickel metal hydride elements are designated Ni-Mh. And the specified voltage is similar to nickel-cadmium and is 1.2 V;
• the abbreviation Li-Ion refers to a 3.6 V lithium-ion battery.

Important. When selecting new batteries to replace failed ones, you should pay attention to their sizes and data, which should match as much as possible with the originals.

Why the battery of the screwdriver does not charge

If the screwdriver is equipped with a rechargeable battery, then it must be accompanied by a charger. If at one point you find that the battery of the instrument is not charged after you put it on charge, then there may be several reasons for this:

• A defective battery, which happens quite often when the instrument is not handled properly.
• Charging malfunction. It often happens with Chinese instruments, which are much cheaper than branded products.

Despite the fact that there are two reasons for the lack of battery charging, the first step is to check the health of the battery. You can check its serviceability by connecting it to the terminals of a voltmeter or multimeter. If the device shows at least a similar value (12V, 16V, 24V), then the problem is most likely in the charger.

It is important to know! Most chargers are equipped with indicator lights (diodes) that indicate the charging process and its end. If, after connecting the battery, these elements do not show the charging mode, or do not light up at all, then the problem is in the charger itself.

Forced retreat: energy features of the battery

As you already understood, the device of the screwdriver’s battery is no different in anything daunting. Nevertheless, a series circuit of connected batteries can have an additional component in the form of an installed thermistor (heat sensor), the principle of which is to open the charging circuit at the moment when the temperature indicators reach a critical level. overheating. At the same time, when repairing a battery, you should take into account the output rating of the battery used in the power tool, and also adhere to the identity of the typical layout.

In other words, sufficiently powerful screwdriver batteries (18 volts is a very common standard) are usually assembled from fifteen nickel-cadmium cells. Each individual capacity has an energy potential of 1.2 V. In the case when the device is supplied with a lithium-ion type of battery, the 18-volt battery consists of five cells with a nominal value of 3.6 V. As a result, Li-ion batteries are more compact and lighter than batteries of previous technologies.

What can break in the charger from a screwdriver

The fact that it breaks down in charging a screwdriver is known to specialists who daily face the problem of the inoperability of the tool. Buying a new charger for a screwdriver is irrational, so if the battery of the power tool does not pick up a charge, then you need to start the repair by looking for the cause of the breakdown.

The reasons for the inoperability of the battery charging blocks are the following parts and mechanisms:

• Fuse. all electrical appliances that are not assembled “in the basement” have protective elements, and one of them is a fuse. It protects the charger board from overvoltages, stray currents, short circuits, etc. For this, a fuse is used in the design of the circuit, designed for the appropriate current rating, the value of which depends on the battery voltage. Usually its rating is 5A, and it is placed immediately after the transformer in front of the rectifier bridge. The fuse has a transparent glass cylindrical structure with steel contacts on the sides. Inside there is a “hair”, which is designed to transmit current with a limit of up to 5A (on different models, the current strength may differ)
• Rectifier or diode bridge. if the fuse is working properly, and how to check it is described below, then we turn to the consideration of the diode bridge. These are four diodes, which are designed to rectify the current from the AC supplied from the network to the DC required to charge the battery. To repair the rectifier, you will need to remove the faulty diode or all diodes and replace them.
• A condenser is a large cylindrical barrel, which very often causes the device to fail. The capacitor swells, as a result of which the fuse breaks down, and often this also entails burnout of the diode bridge
• High-voltage transistor of the inverter, which very often fails on the charging blocks of screwdrivers designed for 220V

How to Test an Alternator. Diagnose Charging Issues

Which element would not fail, but first you need to make sure that the breakdown lies precisely in the power supply itself. After all, they often sin on the power supply, although in fact it is high time to replace the battery. If you are going to repair the charging of the screwdriver, then you should start by checking the device for a malfunction. The instructions above describe how the unit itself is checked, so now we will find the faulty element, which is the reason for the inoperability of the charging.

Restoration of cans

You should not throw away cans that have not passed the test. Often the cause of their malfunction is the boiling off of the electrolyte or the leakage of distilled water. This takes place through the rubber band between the battery middle bus and its body. The electrolyte usually boils away with intensive charging.

To check if it can be restored, it is necessary to try to charge the battery, which shows a complete “zero”, with a 12 V pulse voltage passed through a resistance of 40-50 ohms. But at the same time, you need to carefully monitor so that it does not overheat. After charging, check the voltage, and if it is still not there, then the battery must be completely disposed of.

If a small voltage appears in the battery after charging, then it can still be restored. To replenish the boiled out electrolyte, a small hole is drilled in the side surface, into which only the needle from the syringe can fit. Through this hole, water or new electrolyte is pumped into the battery with a syringe. The drilled hole is sealed with silicone, and you can try to charge it after a day.

Restoring the battery of 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 can be the result of incorrect operation of the thermal sensor located in the removable battery. This thermal sensor may not be installed as originally. You must return it to the place of purchase.

If the battery begins to discharge quickly after prolonged uninterrupted use, which could happen after a fall, you need to take on its repair.

How else can you restore battery cells

If, for any reason, it is not possible to restore the battery by replacing the faulty cells, you can try to reanimate them. Just keep in mind that this cannot be done with lithium-ion cans. Only batteries with nickel-cadmium cells can be reanimated.

There are two ways to resuscitate:

• using a vise, pliers or hammer, seal the cans with a detected defect by squeezing;
• make the firmware of faulty cans under high voltage.

Typical malfunctions of the screwdriver charger

Typical malfunctions of chargers include:

• Blown fuse.
• Rectifier malfunction if the device drops the voltage from 220V to 12V.
• Damage to the high-voltage transistor of the inverter.

The rest of the components, as practice shows, work for a long time and trouble-free, therefore, if you suspect a charger malfunction, you should check these three main components. You can repair the charging of the screwdriver yourself. To do this, it will need to be disassembled, which is possible if there is an ordinary four-sided screwdriver in the arsenal.

What can be done when the car battery is not charging

The first step is to find out the cause, and only then take action to eliminate it. To do this, you need to measure the voltage at the battery terminals, check the level, density of the electrolyte and its color. Also, of course, a visual inspection of the surface of the battery, auto-wiring is necessary, and it is mandatory to determine the current leakage.

Let us consider in detail the possible consequences of each of the reasons for poor battery performance, and also determine the actions that need to be done in a given situation:

Oxidation of the contact terminals both prevents good contact and contributes to current leakage. As a result, we get a fast discharge or unstable / missing charging from the generator. There is only one way out. to check not only the condition of the battery terminals, but also on the generator and the vehicle weight. Strongly oxidized terminals can be removed by cleaning and lubricating oxides.

Malfunction in the generator (belt, regulator, diodes).

You would probably notice a broken belt, but the fact is that even a slight loosening of the tension can contribute to slippage on the pulley (as well as the ingress of oil). Therefore, when powerful consumers are turned on, a light on the panel may light up and the battery will be discharged, and on a cold engine, a squeak is often heard from under the hood. This problem can be eliminated either by stretch or by replacing.

Diodes in a normal state should pass current only in one direction, checking with a multimeter will make it possible to identify a faulty one, although they often simply change the entire diode bridge. Incorrectly working diodes can cause both undercharging and overcharging of the battery.

When the diodes are normal, but they get very hot during operation, it means that the battery is being overcharged. The regulator is responsible for the voltage. It is better to change it right away. In a situation where the battery is not fully charged, you need to pay attention to the generator brushes (after all, they wear out over time).

With a deep discharge, as well as with a slight shedding of the active mass, when the battery does not want to be charged not only on the car from the generator, but even the charger does not see it, you can make a polarity reversal or give a high voltage so that it grabs the charge.

This procedure is often carried out with AVG batteries when its terminals are less than 10 volts. The polarity reversal allows a completely discharged battery to start. But this will only help if the poles on the battery have really changed, otherwise you can only harm.

The change of the battery poles (both lead-acid and calcium) occurs in the event of a complete discharge, when the voltage of some battery cells with a lower capacity than others connected in series decreases much faster than others. And having reached zero, as the discharge continues, the current for the lagging elements becomes charging, but it charges them in the opposite direction, and then the positive pole becomes a minus, and the negative pole becomes positive. Therefore, by changing, for a short time, the terminals of the charger, such a battery can be brought back to life.

But remember that if the pole change on the battery did not occur, then in the absence of protection from such a situation on the charger, the battery can be permanently disabled.

This process will not work if:

• the plates crumbled and the electrolyte became cloudy;
• one of the cans is closed;
• there is no required density of electrolyte in the battery.

Desulfation is well done by the polarity reversal method, but only no more than 80-90% of the capacity can be restored. The success of this procedure lies in thick plates, thin ones are completely destroyed.

The density of the electrolyte is measured in g / cm³. Checked with a densimeter (hydrometer) at a temperature of 25 ° C, should be 1.27 g / cm³. It is proportional to the concentration of the solution and inversely dependent on the ambient temperature.

Note that the density of the electrolyte in the battery must be the same in all sectors. And if in any of the cells it is strongly lowered, then this indicates the presence of defects in it (in particular, a short circuit between the plates) or a deep discharge. But when such a situation is observed in all cells, then it is a deep discharge, sulfation, or simply obsolescence. A very high density is also not good. it means that the battery was boiling from overcharging due to the failure of the generator. Which also adversely affects the battery. To eliminate problems caused by uneven density, you need to service the battery.

Features of car battery maintenance

With sulfation, there is a deterioration or lack of contact of the electrolyte with the plates. Since the plaque blocks access to the working fluid, the capacity of the battery drops dramatically, and its recharging does not give any result. The voltage either increases very slowly or does not change at all. This process is irreversible.

But sulfation at the initial stage can be overcome by a number of cycles of full charge with low current and full discharge with minimum current (for example, by connecting a 12V 5W bulb). Or, the easiest way to restore is to pour in a solution of soda, which is also capable of removing sulfates from the plates.

The closure of one of the cans is a consequence of the collapsed plates and the appearance of sludge at the bottom of the battery. When trying to charge such a battery, there will be a strong bubbling of the electrolyte, as when fully charged. The defective section will boil but not recharge. There is nothing to help here.

Because of what the battery may not be charged from the charger

The main reasons due to which the car battery does not want to be charged not only from the generator but also from the charger can also be 5:

• Deep discharge of the battery;
• Closing one of the cans;
• Overcooling of the battery;
• Very high or low electrolyte density;
• Impurities in the electrolyte.

The main reasons why the battery may not charge

To understand in detail all possible malfunctions due to which the car battery does not charge, first of all, clearly define the situation:

the battery quickly discharges and runs out

or he

does not charge at all (does not take charge)

In general, when the battery refuses to charge, the following options are allowed:

• sulfation of plates;
• destruction of plates;
• oxidation of terminals;
• decrease in the density of the electrolyte;
• closure.

But do not worry about it right away, everything is not always so bad, especially if such a problem arose while driving (the red battery light signals). It is necessary to consider special cases in which the car battery does not take charge only from the generator or from the charger including.

There are a number of external devices in the car battery charging system, on which the performance of the battery itself and the charging process can also greatly depend. To check all external devices, you will need a multimeter (tester), it will allow you to measure the voltage at the battery terminals at different engine operating modes. And you will also have to check the generator. But this is only true when the battery does not want to be charged from the generator. If the battery does not take charge from the charger, then it is advisable to also have a hydrometer to check the density of the electrolyte.

Causes of malfunction of starter car batteries

The service life of a 25% discharged battery is significantly reduced by:

• malfunctions of the generator and voltage regulator;
• starter malfunctions leading to an increase in amperage or an increase in the number of attempts to start the engine;
• oxidation of the terminals of the power wires;
• constant use of powerful consumers with long downtime in traffic jams;
• repeated crankshaft cranking with the starter on short trips.

Low electrolyte levels during battery operation are also a key cause of rapid battery failure. Therefore, the cause of the malfunction may be:

• Rare control of electrolyte levels. In the summer, the check should be done more often because the high temperature contributes to the rapid evaporation of water;
• Intensive use of the car (when the mileage is more than 60 thousand km per year). Requires checking the electrolyte level at least every 3-4 thousand km of run.

How to find out that the battery is not charging?

The battery is not being charged by the generator. The first signal that the battery is not being charged is a lit red battery light! And in order to make sure of this, you can check the battery voltage. The battery terminals should be 12.5. 12.7 V. When the engine is started, the voltage will rise to 13.5. 14.5 V. When the consumers are on and the engine is running, the voltmeter readings, as a rule, jump from 13.8 to 14.3V. The absence of changes on the voltmeter display or when the indicator goes beyond 14.6V indicates a generator malfunction.

When the generator is running, but not charging the battery, the reason may be hidden in the battery itself. Apparently it was completely discharged, which is called “zero”, then the voltage is less than 11V. Zero charge can occur due to sulphated plates. If sulfation is insignificant, you can try to eliminate it. And try charging with a starting-charger.

How to understand that the battery is not charging from the charger? When the battery is connected to the charger, evidence that it is fully charged is the constantly changing voltage at the terminals and the jumping voltage or current indicators on the dial of the device. If the charge does not go, then there will be no change. When there is no charging to the battery from the Orion-type charger (which has only indicators), then very often you can observe the buzzing and rare blinking of the “current” light.

Battery does not charge

If the battery, which is more than 5-7 years old, is not being charged, then the answer to the question:. “why?” most likely lies on the surface. After all, any rechargeable battery has its own service life and over time loses some of its main performance characteristics. But what if the battery lasted no more than 2 or 3 years, or even less? Where then to look for the reasons why the battery does not want to charge? over, this situation arises not only when recharging from a generator in a car, but even when it is replenished by a charger. Answers need to be sought, depending on the situation, by performing a series of checks followed by procedures aimed at fixing the problem.

Most often, you can expect 5 main reasons that appear in eight different situations:

Situation What to do

Oxidized terminals	Clean grease with special grease
Broken / loose alternator belt	Stretch or change
The diode bridge is out of order	Change one or all diodes
Defective voltage regulator	Replace the graphite brushes and the regulator itself
Deep discharge	Increase the charging voltage or reverse the polarity
Incorrect electrolyte density	Check and bring to the desired value
Sulfation of plates	Reverse the polarity, and then several cycles of full charge / discharge with low current
One of the cans is closed	Actions to restore a battery with such a defect are ineffective

The car battery is not being charged by the generator. Why?

Common reasons when the battery does not charge from the generator are:

• Oxidation of the battery terminals;
• Stretched or broken alternator belt;
• Oxidation of wires on the generator or vehicle ground;
• Failure of diodes, voltage regulator or brushes;
• Sulfation of plates.

Graphical representation of the situation when the battery is not being charged. Infographics

To enlarge the image, just click on the picture.

Why does it hold a charge poorly or does not charge the screwdriver battery at all??

The use of a screwdriver is often necessary for various household needs. As you know, many electrical household tools can operate both from the mains and from batteries. This is very convenient, because the power cord has a “habit” of getting tangled under your feet, ending up in the wrong place at the most inopportune moment. Of course, using a battery is always preferable and much more convenient. But, unfortunately, there are times when, when you try to charge them, the batteries “do not take” the current, and the work can stop for a long time. If the battery of the screwdriver does not charge, or for some reason it quickly discharges, you do not need to panic right away. It is better to approach the reasons as calmly as possible and, having identified them, try to eliminate them yourself, if possible.

Ni-Mh batteries

The second group of elements most commonly used for screwdrivers are nickel-metal hydride batteries. They replaced nickel-cadmium as more advanced analogs.

The question of how much they are really more perfect than nickel-cadmium is still controversial. Their production technology is cleaner, so if you follow European standards, the ecosystem will not suffer. Nickel-metal hydride batteries have a memory effect, but it is much less pronounced.

However, they have a very high self-discharge percentage, and they need constant recharging so that their capacity is not irretrievably lost. Nickel-cadmium batteries, on the other hand, tolerate storage well without recharging.

Li-Ion batteries

And finally, the most modern and “powerful” ones are lithium-ion batteries. They can be found not only in more expensive screwdrivers, but also in all household appliances, in all gadgets: mobile phones, laptops and tablets.

The first lithium-ion batteries were very dangerous and often exploded. But at the present stage, the technology of their production has reached a certain perfection. All are equipped with safety and charge level controllers.

Lithium-ion batteries have a very high capacity. Neither nickel-cadmium nor nickel-metal hydride elements have such indicators. They practically do not have a memory effect, but they serve for a long time and are used, as a rule, in instruments of increased power.

The disadvantage of these batteries is their high cost and the fact that they may perform worse at low temperatures. Otherwise, lithium-ion cells are very good.

Recently, among electronics enthusiasts, it has become popular to replace the screwdriver battery from nickel-cadmium to lithium cells. If you need to constantly carry out intensive work, this becomes an excellent way out of the situation. You don’t have to buy an expensive tool with a ready-made lithium battery, but you can change one battery to another.

Which battery is better for a screwdriver, read here →

What batteries are used in screwdrivers

In order to understand why the battery is quickly discharged, or does not take charge at all, you need to know about what types of batteries exist in general and what features each of them has. This will help you understand the specifics of the operation of a particular screwdriver battery and learn how to properly use the resource of a particular type of battery.

• nickel-cadmium;
• nickel metal hydride;
• lithium ion.

Each of these battery packs has its own specific purpose. It depends, first of all, on the planned load on the power tool, because different work requires different indicators of its power and battery capacity.

Those who are well versed in screwdrivers and constantly deal with them know that two batteries are included in the standard package of any of them. If one of them is discharged, the other can always be used. However, even this can not always save the situation. Self-discharge can occur at the most inopportune time. Especially if the battery has not been used for a long time.

How screwdriver batteries are charged: rules, time, subtleties

Every craftsman who constantly works with electric tools should know how to charge a screwdriver battery so that the battery lasts longer, and how to properly operate the battery within the allotted time.

If you own a nickel-cadmium battery, be sure to charge and discharge it three times before use. This is necessary to optimize the battery capacity indicators. After that, standard charging will be required. The same manipulation can be done with a nickel-metal hydride battery.

The most “hassle-free” in this case are lithium-ion batteries. Their memory effect is not pronounced, and you can charge them without bringing them to full discharge.

It is recommended that you follow a few general charging rules that apply to all screwdriver batteries:

• The battery should be charged at temperatures not lower than 10 ° С and not higher than 40 ° С.
• Nickel-metal hydride batteries tend to heat up quickly. Therefore, the charging process must always be monitored to avoid overheating.
• Remember that other batteries get hot too, especially if the room temperature is very high.
• Take care of the possibility of cooling the elements in order to avoid their failure.
• Do not leave batteries in the charger if you are not charging them.
• It is better to store the battery if you remove it from a screwdriver, with which you do not plan to work in the near future.
• If the batteries are not being used for a long time, remember to recharge them once a month. This will prevent a deep discharge, which can fatally affect the indicators of their capacity.

To the question of how long to charge the battery of a screwdriver, you can answer as follows:

• small recharge of the battery can last 30 minutes;
• the battery can be left on charge for up to 7 hours.

The time during which you need to charge a particular tool is always indicated in the instructions for its use. And this is always recommended to be carefully observed.

It is important to remember that chargers are different. There is a charger with a charge level indicator, which allows you to control the process and understand when it ends. At the end of charging, stop it immediately so as not to harm the battery.

For screwdrivers of different types, chargers are also different:

• standard, ordinary “charger”. suitable for amateur-type tools;
• impulse. more powerful, included in the package of professional tools, can charge a screwdriver for an hour.

Ni-Cd batteries

The most “senior” of the representatives of autonomous power supply elements are nickel-cadmium batteries. Despite the fact that at the European level, representatives of animal protection and the environment are constantly talking about the “toxicity and danger” of their production, they are still actively used in our country. And not a single screwdriver owner suffered from them.

Their main advantage is low self-discharge, and the battery can be stored without using it for a long time. Nickel-cadmium batteries are compact in size, their capacity, despite criticism from fans of more expensive analogs, is pretty decent. And the price is the most affordable.

Of course, such batteries also have self-discharge. But at the same time, they love “pumping” with a standard charger: they are efficiently charged, going through more than 1000 charge-discharge cycles.

In principle, any master may well be satisfied with the use of these “budgetary” elements, if he knows about one significant drawback. such as the “memory effect”. If such batteries are subjected to constant “recharging” without a full cycle, they tend to “accumulate” information about an incomplete charge inside themselves. Then they begin to work insufficiently efficiently, without using their real resources. It is in this case that the impression arises that the battery “sits down”.

How to properly charge nickel-cadmium batteries? The answer is simple: if you want to keep the optimal performance of their work as long as possible, it is important that from time to time they are discharged completely, and then 2-3 cycles of “pumping” with the help of the charger follow.

This is done easily and simply and will not give the master any trouble at all. Any rechargeable battery can be completely discharged after several hours of continuous operation. And after that, you can simply put the battery to charge as usual, using a spare battery pack. The “memory effect” can only be removed in this way. of course, temporarily, but effectively.

If the screwdriver does not charge. what to do?

In the previous sections, we examined the specifics of the operation of certain batteries for screwdrivers. This information is important to understand how the tool can be restored to optimum performance if the battery runs out.

As it is already clear, most often the reason lies in the wrong approach to the process of charging a particular battery and the peculiarities of its storage. But what can be done if the screwdriver battery does not charge, and the operating conditions of the elements themselves were met correctly?

Replacing an IKEA FIXA cordless Screwdriver Battery

First of all, check the contacts between the battery terminals of your tool and the charger: often the charge current goes badly, or it does not go at all precisely because of the weak contact. If so, the way out is quite simple: carefully disassemble the charger and bend its terminals.

Oxidation and dirt and dust getting into the charger can also cause the battery to not charge. The main signs of this, as a rule, are a reduction in the time of the charging process and the operation of the screwdriver itself. All you need to do to prevent this from happening is to monitor the cleanliness of the contacts and wipe them.

it should be mentioned once again about such a possibility as the bulkhead of the battery pack, the result of which can be either its complete replacement, or partial replacement of failed batteries with working ones. With a complete replacement of the unit, you can fully charge the battery, and then use it until it is discharged. And if a partial replacement of the elements is carried out, it is imperative to “equalize” the charge level by “pumping” the assembled battery pack 2-3 times in a full cycle.

Read about restoring a screwdriver battery here →

If a master, who regularly uses a screwdriver, carefully handles the tool itself and knows the features of different batteries, he can easily find the reason why the batteries “run out” or the charge current does not flow. Therefore, it is so important to have basic knowledge of both the power tool itself and the batteries that are installed in it.

What to do if the screwdriver battery does not charge

Cordless screwdrivers are more convenient to use than cordless ones. They are distinguished by their mobility, independence from the presence of an outlet “at hand”, the length of the cord. The only drawback is that you need to monitor the charge level for timely recharging. But not all types of batteries allow you to do this, and at the most inopportune moment the screwdriver stops working. And unfortunately, there comes a time when the battery stops charging.

Why the screwdriver battery does not charge. causes and elimination

The reasons for the absence or low level of charge, as well as ways to eliminate the malfunction, are different:

• There is no contact between the terminals of the charger and the battery. This is a consequence of the fact that the memory plates are bent. Gently fold back the plates, returning to working condition.
• Oxidized terminals or dirt adhering to them. Contacts are cleaned and wiped with alcohol.
• Failure of one of the “cans”. Disassemble the battery pack housing by removing the cover (unscrew the screws or remove the latches). Call each jar with a tester for voltage or discharge current. With tension it is easier. it is either there or not, but this method does not always work. The discharge current is measured at a load resistor. in a faulty can, it is an order of magnitude lower than in a working one. After diagnostics, the faulty jar is separated from the serviceable ones, and a new one is installed in its place, exactly of the same type, and with the same polarity orientation relative to the rest of the elements.

Important! The most difficult part of changing a can is soldering the cans into a battery. At the plant, spot welding is used, and for DIY repairs, a soldering iron is often used. During operation, it is important not to overheat the battery, you need to work quickly.

There is another reason for the lack of charge, but it is typical only for nickel-cadmium batteries. the memory effect has worked, and the battery does not charge, although its resource has not yet been exhausted. In order not to bring it to this, it is important to carry out the charging correctly.

Battery types

There are three types of tool batteries:

• Nickel Cadmium (NI-Cd). The older generation, which is still equipped with household screwdrivers. Affordable price, good ratio of size and capacity (rather compact), keep a charge in an inoperative state for a long time. The disadvantage is the memory effect. If recharged without a full discharge, then “information” about an incomplete volume is accumulated, it interferes with giving a charge until the real resource is exhausted.
• Nickel metal hydride (Ni-Mh). Improved analogue of nickel-cadmium batteries with cleaner production technology. Although the memory effect is present, it is weaker. The main disadvantage is that they are quickly discharged during storage.
• Lithium-ion. The most advanced type, which is gradually replacing other types in the segment of professional / semi-professional electric hand tools. High capacity, almost complete absence of “memory”, durability, low self-discharge in storage mode. The only drawback is the high cost compared to other analogues.

Important! The price of a 2 Ah nickel-cadmium can is approximately twice the price of a lithium-ion can.

How to charge the battery correctly

When buying a new tool with a nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride battery, the battery is fully discharged and charged (pumped over) three times before use. When using a screwdriver, the battery is not charged until it is completely discharged. Then the pumping is repeated periodically as a preventive measure.

Important! To avoid downtime, you need to have a spare battery.

Upon reaching the full charge, the Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd batteries are disconnected from the network (for lithium-ion batteries, this is done by the controller). During a long break in work, the battery is removed and stored separately from the screwdriver.

With careful handling, following the manufacturer’s instructions, the battery will work for a long time and will not require early replacement. And minor repairs can be done by hand.

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