SECRET to Fix Drill Batteries that Wont Charge 

Here is a replacement battery if needed amzn.to/3voqOCJ

I just did this to 3 dead Dewalt batteries, and it freaking worked!!!!!! Thank you so much.

Lithium batteries are not designed to be used beyond a low threshold of power, usually nothing less than 40% or so, and in most cases the internal circuit board is the charging monitor and it is designed to shut off at a specific point to not allow a lower level of discharge. If a battery sits long enough it will self discharge below this level. Jumping the dead battery charges the capacitor on the monitoring circuit, allowing it to believe it has the lower limit and it adjusts to allow charging. I use an 18 GA wire with a bent loop at the end to plug into contacts lie this in order to not spread the contacts too far. This is a good video, Thank you for posting.

Thanks for this video. I have a Dewalt battery that was “dead”. I followed your step by step video and viola…my battery is charging again. Saved me a lot of $$$

No way..they say you learn something new every day..Thankyou so much for sharing that with us..Have an awesome day & Take care,xx

This revived my 14v DeWalt battery. Thank you.

Wow. Just tried this on my small lithium flashlight batteries and it also worked. Thank you.

So.... That worked like a charm!! I watched the clip earlier, gave you the like before I tried it I was that confident. Worked so well I had to return and comment. So for all those who've done this and it worked, Thank you!

Thank for that great tip. I was skeptical when I saw the title, glad I gave it a chance. I use these exact tools and batteries daily in my work and this is a common problem.

What a brilliant tip !! I had a battery that I thought was dead and had put it to one side for when we went to a battery collection place. I saw this tip and gave it a go.....WOW !! Just gave it a one second jump and tried it in the charger and hey presto, battery now charging. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

I’ve just done what he showed me and it’s worked. Not used the battery for nearly 2 years as I thought it was totally gone. It’s now charging. Thankyou very much.

We followed your instructions with the wires. Thank You it worked. Wouldn't have known this if we hadn't seen your video .

Note he's letting a lot of current flow to the flat battery. There's no resistor in the circuit. This could damage a battery or maybe make the wires hot depending on what you use. Just do it for a second or two, don't walk away.

Thank you from the UK, something i had never thought of, had two dead 1.5 mah B and D batteries, jump started from a 2.5 mah Power Exchange without issue, saved me buying yet another drill.

Literally the most useful RU-vid video ever!!! Thank you sir!

Worked perfectly with my Craftsman 20v! Thank you for this great hack/fix!

Awesome Mate!!! I just bought a bunch of new De Walt batteries just in case my old ones start to give up, but that is really vital info if ever i am out in the middle of nowhere and don't have a good spare with me for some reason. It's the kind of''know - how'' that can make the difference making or losing money on a job or getting oneself outta the crap. Thanks Man.

ABSOLUTELY happy to like your video. Thanks so much for sharing this. Wiring the batteries in parallel is a great tip to transfer just enough power to trick the charger. I had an old mobile phone battery that would not do anything and after putting it on and off the charger many times with zero life I put it in one last time and then it initiated the charger and charged and it's been fine ever since. But you're video jogged my memory so I can't wait to try your idea on my DeWalt 18 volt batteries that are lifeless through lack of use. I love my cordless tools but whenever you need a tool without fail it's always the Old Faithful corded tool that never fails. Cheers again.

Straight up worked. Used 20v DeWalt to awaken 20v Bosch for about 3 seconds. Charger blinking now! Ty.

I already tossed bad ones a month ago and watched your video today. Thanks for sharing.

Brilliant top tip mate bought a multi tool with only one battery a few year ago used once when I got it back out it wouldn't charge your tip is spot on works on any multi tool battery now its charging after 3 year 👍 cheers mate

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! Had two new Black & Decker batteries that had been left too long without use and the charger would just flash red errors and do nothing. This worked INSTANTLY! They're now charging green!

Worked for my 18 volt lithium. Went from 2.3v measured to full charge 18v. Held the wires for about 15 seconds. Thank you!

U the man I'm sitting in home depot and about to go buy new batteries and it worked u just saved me a good bit of money thank God for RU-vid

tried it . . . it WORKED!!!!!!!! The DeWalt 20V would not turn on the charger, but after I followed the directions in this video, it charged and charged fully!! This video is worth its weight in gold.

Thank you! It’s crazy how much $$ these new batteries are! This happened to me years ago before I had seen this trick, and ended up buying a whole new tool bc it was just as much as buying new batteries!

You just saved me $20. Thanks Dude. Only took a few seconds on my 20V lithium. Liked....

Tried it on one battery I've had at work that has been dead for a couple of years now just sat in a corner of my box forgotten. Did the trick and it's charging. AWESOME THANKS 👍

IMPORTANT SAFETY REMINDER @RICHIE ...THANKS

Been and done it mate works brilliantly , good on you for sharing it 😊

Thank you Flannel, I will give it a try. You are a good man!

Best hack I've seen here for months. Kudos for you💙

I tried this snd have successfully revived 3 of my 20 volt DeWalt batteries. It really works. Thanks gir showing hiw easy it is to bring dead barteries back to life.

So easy when you are shown how!....brilliant!...👍🏻

Worked like a charm on a cheap Chinese 21v battery for a handheld saw. Arrived from amazon seemingly dead. Saw a few little sparks when connecting the last negative wire. Thought that might have caused a problem, but it didn't. Thing charged right up and works perfectly now. Thanks a lot.

I like it it looks simple enough. I will try it towards the end of the day when I gather up all my dead batteries thank you for the tip and will let you know how it works out. Have a blessed day.❤

That's excellent! Thanks! I'll keep that in mind for future if they ever go completely flat

This is really helpful. Thanks a lot.

Worked like a charm appreciate it

Excellent video! Today RU-vid suggested I watch your video and I am so glad I did. I will try your trick the next time a battery does not charge. This may save me from spending $120 or so on a 18V 4Ah rechargeable battery. TX SO MUCH!!

Thanks much for the tip! I have a "Ridgid" and a Ryobi drill. I'm gonna give it a try and see if I can re-use them.

Very cool! One thing: you said "toss them in the garbage" these batteries need to be recycled - not thrown in the trash.

My friend came round today with his Bergman 18v 'dead' battery,-he couldn't get a new one anywhere,-so we tried your trick today using my Bosch 18v battery. It worked a treat,-so thanks a lot for this video!

I just tried this and it WORKS! Saved me a lot of money!

I bought a Hart drill combo and the battery that came with it NEVER worked.......well...... until I watched your video and used your technique. Flawless!! Thank you, sir

Thank you very much from the UK, I was skeptical about the battery fix but I had a second battery that has never worked in over four years. Did your wire trip to spare battery charged and now fully functioning. Many thanks.

The same problem happens with normal 12 car battery chargers, they have to see a certain voltage coming back from the battery to check polarity before starting a charge cycle, it is also a part of the 'anti-spark' and short circuit proofing that if you connect the clips together the charger will not pass any power. Sometimes to charge a battery you need to connect a 'good' battery in parallel to start the charge and after 10 minutes take the good battery away and the charger will happily carry on.

Thank you, I bought a set and one battery never would charge, it’s been a few years. Your trick worked like a champ, thought I had nothing to lose. I’m back with 2 batteries working great.

That's an outstanding trick! Wish I had know this years ago before I tossed all my older batteries.

Fan-TASTIC video. Who would believe that it's so simple to fix? The explanation makes perfect sense - without even the tiny amount of charge needed to send signal to charger that all's O.K. to recharge - it wont! This must save so many people (including myself) so much time and money. Many thanks for posting.

You are a genius; was just about to toss the drill. Saved me money. worked like a charm !!!

Most useful tip on you tube thus far thank you sir salud!!

Great tip that worked perfectly! Saved me the cost of a very expensive drone battery! Thank you!

This is a great idea provided you Have 2 batteries and one is in good condition! Usually my situation is the battery will indicate charged, but only last a few minutes.

Just looked at your video a few minutes ago and with all the concerns I had in mind about a possible fire I took my two batteries outside to do it. Like magic it really works. Thanks! You saved me a bundle. I live in the Caribbean ordering a lithium battery online means shipping to Miami first and then paying air freight to my island then pay customs. A forty dollar battery means $108 in my currency (East Caribbean Dollar). Shipping it is about $35 in our money then customs on a good day will charge 40% around $57 for the importation costing me around EC200. Thank goodness I found this video and thank heavens you shared the info. Thanks again.

I wasn't even searching for this issue but it appeared in my feed for some reason. And shortly after, I found a battery that wasn't charging. I had my doubts, but figured what the hell. Lo and behold, it worked! I won't lie, the spark and slight burning smell when I connected the last contact scared me, but it saved one of my precious DeWalt 20V batteries, so thank you!

Thank you for this. I had a 20v max DeWalt battery that has been non responsive for over 6 months now. I followed your steps and 'boom', back to life. I'm glad I didn't discard it!

An incredibly useful tip. My son returned a totally exhausted Bosch hedge trimmer. I was about to toss the dead battery but tried this hack. It worked beautifully and has saved me at least £60. Thankyou!

Such a useful and informative tip, these batteries are seriously expensive and it worked for me first time. This is what RU-vid really should be used for

Brilliant thankyou very much. I had a pile of dead camera batteries and after watching this video applied the same principle, jumping a good battery to a dead one with two paperclips and the so-called dead battery charged immediately. The holes to poke the wires in were tiny in a 1 x 2 inch camera battery, so I just flattened the ends of the paper clips with a hammer and it fitted perfectly. A very happy viewer, Phil UK.

Anything that mitigates waste in my book is a good thing and you're a star.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have 2 brand new never used 20v (newer style) porter cable batteries I let sit for 2 years. Dead. I Took my 18v (older style) RYOBI 18V and it worked! Both were lithium. I held it for about 5-10 seconds and that's it. It works!

OMG you are incredible. My battery was dead. And after what you said about wires. Now is charging it. Thanks again

Thank you very much. Used to fix a Bosch power for all 12v Lithium battery. Taking the rest of the day off!

Worked like a champ. Can use pennies in the slots and then use clipped wire leads. Thx!!

Thank you for this video! I have 40v Ryobi tools and one of the batteries suddenly would not take a charge. I decided to try your method, but checked voltage first. The 'dead' one was showing less than 2v. When I jumped a good battery to the dead one, I got a spark when connecting the negative terminal, but only once. I checked the voltage again and that battery was almost up to 40 volts. I put it in the charger and it immediately started charging. Saved me $100+ for a genuine Ryobi replacement ($60+ for a knockoff).

Top tip, it loads again, many thanks from the Netherlands

Thanks for this - helped me fix a batteyr which had been dormant for 9 months. Also I used this hack for a laptop battery for a laptop that had been in storage for the last five years. Cheers!!😀

Turns out I needed to charge my Milwaukee M12 a bit more to get over the safety limit for the charger to engage. 8 minutes seems to have done the trick. Thank you!

Holy cow ! This is a great tip. It would have been nice to have known this a couple of years ago before I retired. No telling how many good batteries I tossed and bought new to replace them. I worked my tools hard, so I just figured I pushed them too much.

Saves a TON of money on buying new batteries! Thanks!

thanks! it works for my milwaukee m18 battery pack

Yep, it worked for me 👍thanks :)

This was a great tip! I was about to through a $100 battery away that I had left a charger attached to. The battery has been dead for a year or so at least, until today. Thanks!

Your video does defenitely make sense! Output from the fresh lithium battery is about 21V. Will try it today!

Have a Harbor-Freight 20v 5 ah battery that went dead from lack of use / charging (only used it once in the past two years)...charger lights would only flash...Didn't want to hunt down some solid wire...so I used 4 "t-pins" from my local fabric store inserted into the battery slots...(picked that idea up from the South Main Auto channel) and a pair of alligator jumper wires...got a spark upon touching the negative t-pin...so i sparked it again...immediately put the battery on the charger...IT IS NOW CHARGING!!!! In the words of Elvis: "Thankyouverymuccchh!"

Very useful! Thank you for sharing this. I have a bunch of DeWalt tools and will most likely need this at some point.

Just repaired all my dewalt 12v max. Thank you so much!

one of the best videos on youtube! Thanks Mister!

looks like a simple fix and I will try it

I have used this technique for 8v golf cart batteries. I boosted each battery with a 12v charger for a few minutes, then wired the batteries (6) in series for a total of 48V. The charger for the golf cart is "smart" and needs to see a minimum voltage to start charging. Thank you for providing this method for tool batteries, I would have never thought to do this.

Just saw your video,so I ran downstairs into my garage and I tried your trick? HAPPY TO SAY IT WORKS!!! I left the spare battery charging right now. Thank you for this great video you saved me money and you know this batteries are not cheep, so thank you very much!! I’m subscribing and like your video

it worked. you are the men!!

OMG! This totally worked for my Craftsman 19.2V C3 battery. It was measuring 15V internally but was dead between plus (pin at top/curve side) and minus (pin at bottom/flat side). I jumped it with a good C3 battery (just like jumping a car) and it was recognized by the charger and is charging. You saved me from having to buy another battery. Thank you!

The same applies to many portable appliances where you need the external switching signal to start up the charging circuit.Great job.

That's great. Thank you for this fantastic help.❤

Thank you for the tip… I’ll try it. I have a dead 12v one. God bless you

It worked great - I found it worked easier if you flatten the ends of the wire before inserting into the battery terminal

Great tip. I haven't used this on power tool batteries, but similarly I've found that on car batteries, the newer chargers with all the sensors can have the same problem with very low batteries. So have yourself an older style car battery charger that will push charge Into it. Then you can use any charger after that.

Hey, I had the exact same battery that you recharged, and it worked like a charm. Battery would not come alive with no light in the charger, just like yours. After your B+, B - wire trick, charger light started blinking and Batt was fully charged in one and half hrs. Thanks a bunch!!!!!!

Holy smokes, where did you learn to do that? This will definitely be helpful for me, thank you so much.

WOW, THANK YOU!!! I was about to throw my drill and buy a new one, thanks for sharing your video....

I've got a collection of "dead" batteries. Wow, what a great tip. Thank you!!

Thanks mate it worked a treat. You have now got a new subscriber. Take it easy.

*WELL DONE!!* As a some-time Home Depot hardware guy, it would so bum me out when DeWalt guys would come in with DOA batteries. This little hack will get a number of 'em back in business, and (as a retired economist) leave me with much happier customers. *THANKS.*

I do have this going with one of mine for 6 months. Glad I didn't throw it away. I'll give it a try today! Thanks

Yeah, it helped! I was about to throw away what I thought was a dead battery. I tried this first, and it worked. Battery is charging now as I type. Now, to see how long this formerly 'dead' batter lasts on this charge. Thanks Flannel Guy!

I never realized this about Lithium batteries and/or charging stations. I have a collection of older tools that I replaced because I did did not want to spend a fortune on a new battery just to have it fail. I 'm going to go back and make sure I try this. Thanks so much for bring this to light. The tool industry knows this too but they want to sell warrantees. Your the Man.

Wow..this was pretty awesome and was great to learn this technique as I have a Ryobi drill and you know how expensive these canbe I also told my hubby about this and you thing I hung up the moon using said drill ...So thanks for the new status in the world of tools and women ...lol am going to subscribe to you so hope to see some more vids that wow me, thanks for the tip though am going to share this with my friends if they need it and share your site with them too 👍👍

Thank you! This worked on my Bostitch BTC480L that aren't made anymore. P.O.B., Sir! 👍