DIY: How to revive a dead 18650 (or any) Li-ion battery cell

Check out my newest 18650 salvage video: • Revive dead 18650 batt...
Today I will show you how to revive a dead 18650 Li-ion cell that's being refused by the chargers. This method will work with any Li-ion battery, not just the 18650 cells. Here's my follow-up video: • Follow up video: Will ... if you wonder how much current (Amps) goes through the wire.
Note: this is not a permanent way to charge an 18650 cell. The point of this method is just to bring up the voltage of the dead cell to a point that is enough for a real 18650 charger to accept it and charge it properly. When a Li-ion battery does not have high enough voltage, the charger would not charge it. I think the reason is safety because if the voltage is too low, it might take a risk of charging a NiMH or NiCad cell which are only 1.2 volts each. And if you put a NiMH or NiCad cell (at 1.2 Volts) in a Li-ion charger that charges up to 4.2 volts, all hell will break loose.
Also: don't overdischarge a Li-ion cells down to below 3V especially below the threshold recognized by the charger. Otherwise, it will not live long. The "Goldilocks" zone for a long and healthy Li-ion cell life is between 30% and 90% charge. Too much charge or discharge would be bad for the cell.

[@vuaeco]

I have made a detailed video on this. There's a lot more information on this new video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6avlZxqpLlqrqs

[@familyguyandothergreatanim2371]

Electric scooter 🛵 🛵 and

[@srbijapodlupom9907]

Excellent video content! Forgive me for butting in, I would love your opinion. Have you ever tried - Lammywalness Trendy Trade Guide (erm, check it on google should be there)? It is an awesome one off product for learning how to recondition batteries at home without the hard work. Ive heard some decent things about it and my best friend Jordan after many years got excellent success with it.

[@jmsr8640]

There are several suggestions for getting a good result never attempt to do this until you are sure what you are doing - the acid can burn your skin check the voltage first - there may be a dead cell which would waste your time. Check the battery fluid. attempt to fully charge the battery. (I discovered about these and more from Jons Mender Guide site )

[@achristian7015]

Once the battery is fully charged, next find out what the capacity of that battery is.

[@fuji8654]

@@familyguyandothergreatanim2371 z xxx

[@ugaugauga488]

The lesson of the clip for me is: the use of the little magnets!

[@David-bc4rh]

I am converted

[@dondominic7404]

Me too.

[@gerhang3361]

Using magnets actually work or no? Lol

[@beograd07]

@@gerhang3361 not on my meter. tips are made of 316 ss material

[@sookmaideek]

magnetz it making cell fixed then litum batte light now voltage ok

[@Landrew0]

This is the simplest method that most videos describe, but I prefer a safer method. This way can make the battery heat up and explode. I use a bench power supply where I can dial in the voltage and the current. I limit the current to about 50 milliamps, and then I gradually raise the voltage to the point where it starts to take current. Sometimes this can be as high as 30 volts. Once it starts to charge, I reduce the voltage to about 4V, and I turn up the current to about 100 mA, and let it charge for a few minutes. At this point I transfer it to a proper charger, because it monitors temperature and controls the current, shutting off when the charging is complete. It's particularly useful for older cameras which have dead batteries which no longer take a charge, and the new battery is either very expensive or hard to find.

[@M0DB0Y]

I've been doing it this way for some dead skateboard batteries. But I also recommend trying to blow up them batteries ;)

[@nameismetatoo4591]

Those without a bench power supply can just use a partially-discharged battery to revive the deep-discharged one. The lower potential between the two will naturally limit the current and will produce less heat.

[@roberhatube2366]

@@M0DB0Y why ? What is gained. ? What is lost ? or poisoned?

[@threeworlds]

How can you tell if it's taking charge? I have a dead 12v lithium. Thanks

[@Landrew0]

@@threeworlds My bench power supply has adjustable voltage and current, and displays both with 3-digit accuracy. I set the limit to less than 50 mA to start, and there's never a problem.

[@matt889]

Great video, something else you can do to revive the cells is to set your RC charger to NiMh mode which does not have Low Voltage protection and set it at 0.1 amps, this will trickle charge the battery to get it above 3.0V and then you can switch it to LiPo mode :)

[@uploadJ]

I do this trick at 0.1 amps using a bench power supply ... using NiMh mode is a great idea too ...

[@douglaspotter4612]

Very helpful thank you. I didn't gave any good 18650's so I used 2 AA Alkaline batteries in series and connected them to the dead 18650 in the same way you showed. Worked surprisingly effectively and only took a few seconds to bring the 18650 up to a chargeable voltage.

[@Issac4tech]

Real bcuz i don't want to my battery explode 🙄

[@uhmgawa6533]

2x AA cells in parallel with a deal li ion cell. Make sure all connections are solid and then take a walk around the block. Goal: determine the response time of the local fire department.

[@douglaspotter4612]

@@uhmgawa6533 Or just connect it for a few seconds and don't leave it's sight and it's perfectly safe

[@bobengelhardt856]

Using magnets to hold the leads is very clever!

[@johanponin1360]

I see this more and more. Started using it too, I hate screw or solder .. magnet are amazing

[@Johann52005]

I advise you to check the resistance of your magnets with a multimeter, some have a coating with high resistance so they heat up

[@Mechmaniac77]

Magnets are amazing except on copper terminals :(

[@johnw1385]

bro... get a stronger magnet... think super conducting... still wont hold it but what you are aiming for is a fall rate so low, resistance wont approach infinity in your life time :D never mind the impracticality of such a bat pack, or the substation connected to it

[@johnw1385]

just build a spot welder

[@yolociberpapeleria6134]

For Anyone out there, I used this method with a dead AA NiMH rechargeable battery, and it worked as described.

[@deish7814]

This battery is a Li-ion. It's a different beast. I wouldn't recommend this to be honest, it would be more successful on a NiMH battery and if it isn't it a worse case result would be less explosive.

[@robertstonestreet6079]

I tried. It worked. I had 3 expensive and near new 18650 batteries. All VERY flat from a big flashlight. All now charged. I tried 2 different chargers. Thank you.

[@PrIsMaTiSmX]

A lot of the RC chargers have a power supply or 'smart charge' mode that will allow you to put any current you want through the leads. Super useful.

[@GhettoRanger01]

I just did this and it worked great. I folded a strip of aluminum foil until it was about 1/4" and then tore it in half, I stood the 2 batteries beside each other on one of the foil strips, I laid the other across the top terminals and counted to 20, I put the battery in the charger and it worked! Thanks for the tip!!!

[@vuaeco]

Excellent idea! :D

[@ArtyMars]

I love your accent / voice it is so soothing to listen to in a tutorial like this

[@s.o.s.exploration2412]

I had purchased a new battery after realizing the aftermarket deck I put in my VW Wagon was draining it but was time anyways 2 replace. So it killed the new one. My 20+ year old charger had an issue with power cable eventually fraying so I picked up a new digital smart charger (EverStart Maxx 50A,15A,3A trickle). Hooked it up and pressed recalibrate and nothing. I was confused, passed, and gutted. But then I took a step back and thought to myself alright, so I got to work. I replaced the power cable in the old school direct current charger. Tested it and made sure there where no issues. Threw it on the dead battery for a small period of time and once I got it to a quarter to half way of it being charged I tried the digital and it started charging and doing its job. So yes this is a very, very helpful way to get more life out of batteries like these that are believed to be dead. I have a 10 year old 18650 battery from an old original vape pen which broke in my Tactical flashlight and still to this day I use it almost daily taking the dog out. Lasts as long as it did back then and same current too as every 6months I throw the 18650 that came with the flashlight in and double check so I know how it's doing and to re-topoff the stored one to keep it freshly charged while stored.

[@I.____.....__...__]

I've seen this method mentioned in other places, but I particularly appreciate the description explaining the _reason._ 👍 Far too many people just "give a man a fish" instead of teaching. 🤦

[@loki8845]

I'm so glad i stumbled on this! Didn't know you it was a voltage drainage issue, I left my batteries plugged in my gimbal once discharging so I messed up 2 batteries. I didn't know it was a voltage drainage issue with these types of batteries. I didn't have the right tools like a volt meter but fortunately 2 18650 batteries where charging so I charged one. The working 18650 connected to the dead battery through simple soldering wire i had laying around..When i saw the spark i thought it probably fried it..I got paranoid so i only did it for like 10 seconds or less. Just like jump starting a car it instead the battery came back to at least 1 volt and the charger no longer displayed an error and begun charging the dead battery! this works wonders! You saved me having to spend 20 something dollars on new batteries and having to wait for shipping and cancel a video shoot! Thank you!

[@Sombre____]

Same i let the battery sit for a couple of month on the desk. Last time i checked, the battery was good. And now, there is just 0.100V inside. Don't understand.

[@indigocharlie7218]

Love the magnet idea 😉, that alone is a thumbs up 👍

[@melgibson6331]

Your videos are gold...literally...watched your drone vid which gave me the guts to try what i had wondered would work...take my old ecig batteries and replace the weak lipo in it....works great using certain brands of batteries and waaay cheaper and safer than expensive over priced lipos.

[@isaacbugalho]

Worked on a 18650!! Only needed 3 seconds and they became really HOT. Be carefull!! Thanks!!!

[@tristanambross5968]

Same dude! Did it now in the same amount of time, works great!

[@mediatour8898]

That's exactly how I did it and with a very similar charger. It doesn't work long if the battery is too dead but depending on what you need the battery for that's not a big deal. For batteries between 1.5-2.5v they can usually come back to almost perfect health. The older and longer the battery was discharging, the less likely they are to come back to normal.

[@dougveit]

Oh my goodness! I followed your instructions and it WORKED like a charm!!! I have a 14650 Li-Ion inside of a plastic case and protector circuit (known as the LIP-8) for an old Sony Mini Disc. I had purchased that battery as an extra backup and failed to actually charge or use it back in the day. The battery was so dead it would not recognize. You got me going my friend - thank you!!!!

[@RiverBrat68]

I am terrible when it comes to anything electrical but I bought the cables & alligator clips shown above, followed the directions to the letter and boom! My left-for-dead 18650's are charging in a wall charger ... something they refused to do for 2 weeks! THANK YOU!!!

[@djancak]

are they still working

[@cristianjrojas]

the charger will not charge the battery because if the voltage is below 2.8v the battery became unsafe, good that you are teaching people how to overpass the safety feature

[@beaveronabike]

love the magnet trick - never seen that one before! Thanks!

[@XwpisONOMA]

You are on the correct path to solving the problem. A LiPo battery that reads a very low voltage to the point a charger will not accept it for charging is due to developing a high internal resistance because of a chemical reaction that occurred when it was either discharged too low and/or at a rate higher than safe. This can be fixed by applying a voltage higher than the nominal 4.2 Vmax ( and up to about double that) of what a LiPo should be charged to, and by keeping the current as low as possible (~ at 1/10C of what it is rated) so the chemical imbalance is reversed, internal resistance goes back to a normal low level, thus the battery becomes more ..."accepting" to an incoming charge. As an example connect any ...misbehaving LiPo to a wall wart with about 9 - 12 Volts and a current of as low as possible (ie 100 - 300 mA) and monitor the battery voltage level: It will start to rise slowly. The key is to let it rise very SLOWLY , like ~ 0.1 volts per minute. The slower the better, it depends on your patience just keep an eye on the battery temperature, but if you use a low current it will not warm up, guaranteed. Let the battery reach a little over 4.2 volts (not higher than 4.3 V is recommended) and disconnect it from the wall wart while observing your multimeter display. If the battery settles anywhere above 4 V it is still usable (the higher the better) although it is probably no longer as efficient like when being new. If the voltage is slowing dropping most likely it will go all the way back to an unusable level so at least you know the battery has lived its useful life and recycle it properly. Nice video, I hope I was also of some help too!

[@Adrian-qc7ky]

I used this technique today to revive a 2.5AH Ryobi 18V ONE+ Battery with great success.

[@TS-qd2uj]

Thanks for a very clear description of the process as well as the 30 second max charge warning.

[@bryce281]

Worked for me, thank you so much, some of the comments about corroding insides of the batteries have me worried, I will keep a close eye on them, besides that, my charger wouldn't charge them, now it does! A++

[@N8SANZ]

Cool trick, man. Just a tip: if you put electricity thought a magnet, with time, this one will be demagnetized. And the magnets also add resistance to the circuit, so it's better if you don't use magnets while charging your batteries. Peace, bro. 👍

[@JoseHerrera-mk7cv]

That's the point only 30secs?

[@qarngazzelqarntube2834]

My friend with the best accent ever ! So happy to stumble upon you again. As always great stuff thanks

[@KingGrim87]

I have watched this video two times now. I have saved around $120 with your technique! Thank you

[@fisktomte]

you are the boss! i had one 18650 that had only 0.18v charge and its now back at 3.7v and working again thanks alot

[@bingosunnoon9341]

BS

[@Static1701]

Thank you, saved 4 batteries that had been in a flashlight that was left on. My Opus charger would not charge them before I tried this.

[@zcsays8382]

you damaged ur cells in the process. leading to a shorter life span

[@tristanambross5968]

I cannot believe it works😂 I had an awt 18650 that's been dead for a while, did this whole process in literally 30 seconds and the battery charges! You sir, are a legend.😎😎

[@gooney2846]

can i ask what you used for the connections? or will I have to just go get those clamps/new batteries.

[@tristanambross5968]

@@gooney2846 I literally used vape tweezers and a paper clip, held the batteries in place, and connected them up, was way too easy. Ratchet setup but it worked

[@TheClay11b]

This worked well! Thank you! I will say I held the multimeter on the old battery after disconnecting from the new one and the voltage was not holding- but is expected from a battery that was left dead for so long.

[@AThreeDogNight]

I never thought of just using another battery to recharge up a battery enough for a recharging, some great advise, thank you, I needed that. Also the magnets are such a great idea as well, I've already purchased some new small magnets just for doing this technique now. Again thanks a lot, Tom.

[@marcusrobinson1778]

Thomas Fanning this is actually horrible advice dont do this

[@Laggin6]

Thank you so much! I have an 18650 battery that won't charge so was trying to figure out how to zap it without ruining it. Your video is awesome and the tip about using magnets is brilliant! Now I can fix several different things I have that won't charge.

[@jayyanez2259]

After watching this, I used an old 5v 1amp charger lying around, cut the end, and attached them (one to +/-) on the 18650 battery and plugged it in. After about 15minutes, pulled it off, and...the battery WORKED! Charged as usual! Thanks!

[@jamescabaniss5857]

Excellent, just the magnet idea alone was enough for a thumbs up.

[@robertacton1271]

Using magnets instead of soldering for a short term connection. -Great idea!!

[@SuperBrainAK]

The reason why charging at unlimited current is a bad idea is that when a lithium cell is discharged too low there is nothing formed on the plates, charging at a low current (sub 100mA) will reform the chemistry on the plates if you charge too fast it will cause uneven forming of the plates and WILL cause dendrites which are shorts inside the cell, that do not happen right away and if it is put in a pack it will short out and cause a major chain reaction

[@vuaeco]

This is not charging at "unlimited current". It entirely depends on the cell you use to charge the dead cell. In this case the LG cell puts out 2C or 3 Amps max. And it's also and old cell so it would be even less than that. I have never seen any Li-ion charger that puts out less than 100mA. Let's say if you do have one, how long would it takes to charge a 3350mAh cell? Let me do the math: 3350/100=33.5 hours! Yeah, that's over 33 hours to charge a Li-ion cell which I have never seen. Most charger would only take less than 4 hours. Lots of charger would take less than an hour. Some even take half an hour. That means they charge the cell at over 3 Amps on a regular basis. I'm not saying that's good for the cell but unfortunately there are lots of chargers out there that can charge a Li-ion cell in less than an hour especially cordless power tool battery chargers. Take a good look at all cordless power tool chargers: Dewalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Kobalt, Bosch... all of them have fast chargers. In this method I'm using, I'm only charging it at 3 Amps for 30 seconds. That's even less than a typical charger that does it all day everyday. Sure dendrites are formed in Li-ion cells but that's a typical life cycle of a Li-ion battery. It's like human growing old, having white hairs and wrinkles, developing cancer. That's part of growing old. Not all dendrites are bad, however. Only ones that are big and hard enough to pierce through the cell layers and short out the circuits. Most dendrites are harmless and part of the life cycle of a typical Li-ion battery.

[@SuperBrainAK]

Yea but tell me the current that it charged at. Oh you don’t know for sure because you didn’t limit it. When reviving a dead cell you only charge at a low current until it is at a normal voltage again. Then you can charge it in your ultra fire linear parallel charger

[@vuaeco]

SuperBrainAK Yes, I know for sure what the charging current is. It's much less than 3 Amps. Here's the follow up video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHfQk3pufNWGaqM

[@OregonDARRYL]

The tool manufacturers want you to buy more batteries, so fast charging makes the customer happy and destroys batteries making the corporate jerks happy.... it's a win - "win".

[@jaxativejax662]

One weird tip...I guess you're in the right place since youtube.com has no shortage of scams but the link you supplied is a classic marketing scam.

[@charlesshampine9012]

I figured this out myself, too. The electrically conducting magnet trick is the cat's meow. Thank you! Good stuff.

[@paulmbylbie6065]

Using the magnet for contact for charging ...... BRILLIANT....somehow I missed that one all these years......ty sir

[@garychandler4296]

Thanking you for this trick! But, I did my a face palm when you used the magnets on the clips! I love magnets but never thought of that. An age-old problem solved!

[@furonwarrior]

Not a good idea. These magnets are coated with nickel and is not a good conductor compared to copper leads when charging at high amp rates.

[@jsteinfeld14]

@@furonwarrior unless you use it to keep them in place but still have full contact between the lead and the battery. How he had it wasn't the best, but it is a smart idea

[@miraclo3]

what you can also do is use a Turnigy or imax b6 charger to raise the voltage to get them to charge. all you have to do it swap it to NiMH mode and charge it for a couple seconds until the voltage on the 18560 is 2.25-3v and then you can swap it back to lithium mode and continue charging like normal. it will work for any lithium cells.

[@Sombre____]

Don't work with a 406 DUO charger.

[@hereseasytrickbringsanybat7674]

Thank you for making a video on how to revive / rejuvenate a battery that is dead or no longer active.

[@m8trxproductions417]

Thanks had a brand new item with inbuilt battery, accidentally left on and ran flat over a couple of weeks. Would not light up the LED panel or charge. Pulled the battery out, kick started as explained in this video, put the battery back in and it is now charging as normal. Don't know yet if I have done permanent damage, but looking good so far. Was a life saver because we could not get another 3.7V the same size as the one built into the item.

[@ashcooper7962]

This just saved me some serious time. thank you!

[@Yellowfootprints2011]

This is amazing, thanks for posting!

[@jeffbeck6501]

HAHAHA I thought the chance of this not being a bullshit video was about 1 in a million, and like an idiot I sitll clicked on it, and then I was very pleasantly surprised. I have a bunch of old 18650's that I thought we junk. I bet I have already thrown a bunch of them away. Thanks man. Subscribed.

[@ChillCat665]

Totally worked! Thanks man, awesome vid! Only took a few seconds for the charger to recognize the battery

[@grantwes]

Hey great tip on the magnets

[@61066clocks]

The magnet to hold the leads made the vid..thx..the battery revival was old knowledge

[@twokool4skool129]

Great tips. The magnet trick to conveniently attach leads is also clever. I didn't have a charged lipo battery, but this also works if you have a variable power supply. I just set mine to 3.2V and connected it in parallel to my battery for 30 seconds, and the battery was ready to charge!

[@rosskrause3926]

I like all your battery videos..very informative and straight to the point..subscribed.

[@jf_moreira]

Nice idea with the magnet, will use from now on! Cheers, brow.

[@maislume981]

Not usual for me to leave coments. But you rock dude! You have fixed my battery! Thank you so so so much for the good help! You are the best! Thanks heaps!!!!!

[@harveysmidlap]

I took 2 pieces of twisted tin foil and held it across the ends and counted slowly to 15 and it worked. Thanks!!!

[@karelbaresh6727]

Very nicely done, VuaEco! I like your easy-going tone and the clear explanation. Thanks for sharing :o)

[@kie-skatemods4141]

Thanks bro! Learn something new today!!! Badass

[@Eric2300jeep]

For those curious as to why this cell discharged so low and why doing this is risky, here's some quick info: That 18650 cell is a "protected" cell. See the little extra ridge towards the positive side of the battery just before the button top? That's a small circuit board that contains the "protection" circuitry. Something has failed in that circuit, allowing the battery to continue draining past the safe point. By applying voltage directly to the battery like he did here, you're forcing it in through the protection circuit. Sometimes the protection circuit will continue working per normal after this and sometimes it won't. Depends on what happened that cause it to fail, being either a hiccup or something physically damaged. Typically, if the battery pack or device that you're installing this battery into has overheating protection on its own, you'll be ok. But if that device or battery pack doesn't already have that safety measure, you risk the battery blowing up. Be careful when doing this! I've also revived "bad" cells in this manor & those batteries are still working well after years of use. Fortunately, I haven't had one explode yet. Be mindful that if your device gets really warm after doing a revival such as this, that the battery might blow & I would highly advise against using it any further!

[@ohjajohh]

I'm a complete noob when it comes to 18650 batteries, but I have 1 for a flashlight. Is it dangerous if I will not use/charge it for a year? It's a protected Keeppower one

[@Zequintiny]

Both protected and unprotected cells have that grooved ring near the positive terminal. The easiest way to tell the difference is by looking for a strip that runs up one side of protected cells, or by measuring it. Unprotected cells are 65mm long, while protected ones are at least 68mm long. None of the ones in the video appear to have the strip. They appear to be Sony US18650G series cells, and are most likely from an old laptop battery, which would mean they are unprotected.

[@pygmytube]

I tried your method on NI-MH batteries and it worked. Thank you very much for sharing this!

[@marioantonio2096]

An excellent job. You saved me 4 batteries of 6000 mAh. Thanks a lot.

[@yaimem]

they are not 6000 mah anymore. (they probably never were, companies lie a lot about 18650 capacity)

[@ActivityPhoto]

However the batteries “recovered” in this way will never hold a charge long under load. Over discharging an Li-Ion battery permanently damaging the cell.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

Good point, glad someone pointed it out. Some further remarks: 1) It's not a good idea to use another cell to do this, as you'll be depleting it quite fast, and you can't control the (dis)charge rate. Best use a bench power supply, or an AC/DC adapter of the correct voltage, with a low current rate. 2) "It's already at 3V". No, the other battery has drained to 3V. Just because you touch the tips of the battery under charge doesn't change the fact that what you're measuring is the voltage of a parallel circuit. Hence, you measure the voltage of the other cell, not the one you're touching. Due to the high current at which it discharges into the other one, it experiences a voltage sag, which is why you're measuring 3V instead of 4V. If you want to know the voltage of the battery that's being salvaged, disconnect the other cell and measure in isolation. That said, there's nothing wrong with the general principle. With the caveat, as you pointed out, that those revived cells will never be quite the same again.

[@bingosunnoon9341]

@@EvenTheDogAgrees Not to mention the cells that have reversed polarity.

[@EvenTheDogAgrees]

@@bingosunnoon9341 you don't get reverse polarity by connecting cells in parallel. Reverse polarity is what happens when unevenly charged cells are being discharged in series. The stronger cells will push current through the circuit, including the weakly charged cells, and force them to discharge so far that eventually the charge on those cells flips polarity.

[@bingosunnoon9341]

@@EvenTheDogAgrees That's not true at all. The cell nearest the B- terminal always reverses first, regardless of connection scheme.

[@jacobleeson4763]

Using another cell to charge it will destroy them both. The battery providing the power will discharge at like 40 amps and will charge the other battery at like 40 amps. You are essentially short circuiting one and charging the other way too fast. Batteries have almost no internal resistance. So they can suck back a near unlimited amount of amperage. The amperage they are charged at and discharged at should always be controlled.

[@CH-py8zv]

This is what's called bump charging, i have done this before to my cell's and it does work as long as the cell has not reached it's end life cycle.

[@ormocchestandlungclinic3043]

u just need a high current charger to shock what is inside the battery. And after that u can charge it back to a normal charger. just like ur making a jumper from ur car to a dead battery. thank u sir u refresh my memory. keep going & God bless!

[@markknight2768]

🤟 Worked great for restoring my HS510 drone battery! Was about to tear the battery apart but I just did the jumper wire trick for a few seconds from one of the other HS510 drone batteries and it came back to life and is now charging on the Holy Stone charger. Thx for the great vid!

[@rustyh1686]

Just woke up my 25r's, we will see if they hold charge. Thanks man👍 There was no way I was sticking something under positive to reset cid button 😢

[@anthonyhadsell2673]

did they hold charge?

[@rustyh1686]

@@anthonyhadsell2673 sure did bro, still going

[@ABritInNY]

Really? I find that very hard to believe. Not if the cell's CID has been tripped it won't. It physically cannot! The CID is a current interrupt device making a physical separation of the circuit like a fuse. This is just a "wake up" method for very low voltage cells. However even with all that said, this is a VERY BAD idea and stupid on oh so many levels. That 1.7m people watched this recommendation is the only positive about it, certainly there should be a bunch of warnings attached to the video. It's impossible to list all the reasons in a YT comment BUT just "off the bat," paralleling 2 cells of very diff voltage levels is dumb and dangerous due to possible excessive equalization current. Just from your example of a 25R cell, if that one was the charged cell, it could easily dump over 50a instantly (25r can pulse discharge more than that too,) to the low cell, with unpredictable results on both low cells and any thin AWG wires connecting them. Fire can erupt wyite quickly in that circumstance. Yes, crap low discharge rate laptop cells are less of a danger for this, but there are so many other factors. Aside from all that, the "woken" cell may suffer from dendritic growths and may self discharge to LV quite quickly, making the entire operation essentially irrelevant. Considering how cheap these cells are I can't believe people are wasting their time, and inviting a potentially dangerous situation in their homes, but they "your life, your house/mortgage," if people are renting though, I wouldn't let the landlord see the video or comment ;p

[@rustyh1686]

@@ABritInNY I didnt say CID was tripped at all. Just low voltage that my charger wouldnt charge. I used a full charged bat and jumped it in 20 second increments while holding in my hand to keep an eye on heat. Anyway your question was really? My answer is yes, I dont talk shit. As far as the rest of your comment, I only got to about the 3rd line before becoming to bored to continue🤷‍♂️, but I appreciate your effort, thanks. I have no doubt you are very smart😁

[@ABritInNY]

@@rustyh1686 Understood, but then I'm not sure why you'd say in your comment"...to reset the CID button." I mean why mention reset if not tripped? That was kinda the part I was commenting on.

[@j.finesseflights1403]

The magnet thing is freakin awesome... that helped me more than anything!!!

[@nadieselgirl]

Wow, your magnet trick is super useful! Thank you!

[@MrRomanstefan]

Legend, just resuscitated an expensive battery pack. Suspected this battery may have been heavily discharged and left flat. All the cells tested (in small bunches) were ~1.2v (not consistent with cell failure). Carefully adding a little charge by jumping a full 18650 in a holder onto the multimeter probes worked great (maybe building a more permanent rig with a push to close switch may be handy if you do lots of this). De how this battery goes now the charger and controller were happy to charge it.

[@kiwijonowilson]

You should really have some amount of resistance (like a 3V light bulb) in series between the two batteries to limit charge currently (even though it will take longer), as you likely over currenting the battery for a time with possible damage. Even more so if you try to charge a smaller capacity battery from a bigger charged cell, when it could potentially even cause a fire or battery rupture (in the smaller cell). I have an electronics engineering background and having seen lithium battery fires, I recommend treating lithium batteries with great care!

[@prabhats860]

yes, these safeties must be told in such videos, ppl just look as this type of videos and jump into experiments without knowing harmful side of it. some times these batteries burst out like a bomb and cause serious injuries.

[@carstrucks9641]

Why didn't it burn huh?

[@carstrucks9641]

What amps and voltage is dangerous?

[@duanewilliams7353]

That was really cool!! I thought you would jump the dead battery with a live one with perhaps twice the voltage!! but you did it a lot safer!! and those magnets!!!

[@rickw8456]

Great Idea on using magnets to hold the leads. I hadn't thought of that.

[@n30a]

Thanks man it works! I had a dead AA very new battery only used it 3 times. Wouldn't charge, when I measure no voltage. I actually used a 9v to give it a jump for only 5 seconds. Then measured 0.8v and now its charging.

[@Command37]

I've enjoyed your accent while watching your various battery videos.

[@itsmatka8384]

Thanks a lot. Funny cuz the charger and voltage scenario down to the charger indicator lights and color of cell...Got my dead cell up in under 30 seconds!

[@PH03N1X0M3G4]

Much love! This totally worked for me. Was at 0.15V, placed in parallel for ~10 sec to 1.8V, which was enough for my charger. Good looking out!

[@thachnnguyen]

There are many ways to "wake up" those cells, the principal being to apply a large enough voltage to them for a brief period of time. That Turnigy charger of yours will do just fine. It looks like it uses the same firmware as the original SkyRC, so just change the battery type to NiMh, max charge current to, say 1 or 2A, and charge it up to about 3V (takes couple of minutes). Then switch over to Li-ion. One advantage is that for weak cells, you can observe that the voltage keeps dropping (i.e., almost impossible to bring them up to 3V). Also it will refuse to charge real dead cells (internally shorted). Three things you should have mentioned playing with these: 1. dead/weak cells can get real hot, so if a cell gets hot during charge, throw it away; 2. perhaps they're really not good -- after charging them up, wait for a few days to see if they can hold the charge. If not, it's time for them to go; 3. don't ever put them in parallel with good cells.

[@thesickening0169]

I'm kinda new to all this stuff, so please excuse my ignorance. Why do you say don't ever do this with two good cells? What would happen?

[@MarkJones-gt2qd]

@@thesickening0169 a good cell can provide many amps, and it would only be limited by the bad cell, or worse, the good one. So in that circumstance, the cell might explode, or at least go on fire. You don't want to deal with a li ion fire, believe me. Of course, a basic resistor between them would make a big difference. Also a problem if you put them in a device together, the bad cells will probably go flat long before the good one. At which point, it goes as above. possibly. Look up videos to put yourself off messing it up. Match cells.... always good advice, even for non faulty ones, unless you've got protected cells. Usually they have buttons on the top. no guarantee though, check the spec.

[@clixium]

No matter how you revive them they are good as dead, they won't hold charge for long

[@DBPR01]

Strangely I have an electric bike that I have built a battery out of 18650 cells that originally tested "dead". I got them to take a charge using the parallel battery method. This e-bike will run for about 4 hours continuously on a charge; using these reconditioned cells. It's been going like this for about 4 months now.

[@clixium]

@@DBPR01 some cells have protection inside , an ic chip that will cut the power if the cell voltage is too low. It may show zero volts when actually is not. Whatever the case, just check temperature when charging and discharging, some cells can be hotter than others.

[@cho7official55]

@@clixium Both of your lasts comments are useful, I believe some applications can perfectly be made with "dead" batteries with no risk at all, such as a stupid ring device or so.

[@robbyv.526]

No shit the magnet is both a lightbulb moment and palm to forehead in that order. Thank You for enlightening and keeping me humble friend. Hope you are having a good day.

[@MaleAdaptor]

Great video. I had a battery pack for a VAX vaccume cleaner that would not charge. With the batteries in place I applied 4 volts to each cell ( one at a time ) After removing the 4 volts each cell was nearly 2.9 volts. I plugged it in to the pack in to the charger and the it charge up. fully after a few hours.

[@senffabrik4903]

Thank you for showing this. I just had a pair of good cells, but unloaded to dead due not use. I made an assumption, that it would work if I put Elektrons in it until the voltage is reached. You proofed me right. Ok ok, few years ago. Doesnt matter. Thank you

[@mastertek383]

I came back here to hear you say cells again. If I could thumb it up again I would.

[@mac1mike]

that's brilliant. I usually just shock them with 12v from car battery. But this is a lot safer. lol

[@unnamed9465]

😂😂

[@karimalarifi7778]

😅🤣😂

[@amorphuc]

I like the magnet idea there. Thanks for the tip.

[@anthonykloehr6845]

This worked great for me. Thanks, you saved me a lot of money on batteries i was going to recycle

[@JahanZeb1976]

This technique you did with a good discharged only battery. If you try it with a bad quality dead battery, it never ever will bring that back to life. Best regards,

[@vuaeco]

True, absolutely. You cannot revive an extinct dinosaur but you can awaken a sleeping dragon.

[@kale5567]

This will only works for alive discharged battery

[@tyronenelson9124]

Yep once its dead, its dead!

[@vuaeco]

Gary Harper: A cold bucket of water will work.

[@johanponin1360]

I have a bunch of samsung cells from a sony laptop, 0.8V and 0.5V, are they dead or reviveable ? also, if they're dead, if I try charging at very low current, what are the risks of them blowing up?

[@THEMADPROFdj]

@1:53 YOU DIDN'T DISconnect the parallel wires BEFORE testing the lame battery. So you were getting the sum of the whole circuit. Not the actual reading of the lame battery alone. Though this method does work, i would've liked to have seen the actual voltage of the lame battery solo at each test point.

[@danz9268]

At first I was skeptical but deeeeym, this works like a charm! Keep in mind though you need to follow what the guy said to charge it for no more than 30secs cuz in my case the battery got warm 20secs mark and I immediately removed it.

[@onurcelikel3812]

I tried this and it works! My mother’s electric wheelchair’s battery was dead because of unused by time. Battery voltage is 24v 20a in normal. But after waiting without charging it descened to 0.0 voltage. There was no energy inside of it. And then i saw this video and i thought to use this trick in a bigger scale. I used to car battery jumper to increase the voltage and i used this methot until the battery increases to 12v. It takes a 10-20 seconds from 0 to 12v. That was the half capasity of it. And then i saw the voltage is discharging so fast as much as jumping to 12v. But it was enough for a moment to charge the battery by normal way with 29.4 v adaptor. Until 15v it was going fast too because the chemistry was deformed but i made it stayed in charge position for 24 hours in max capasity and then finished the battery totally and then i charged for 24 hours again. I did this routine for a few times. Now my battery is healthy as much as it can be. In normal way, wheelchair was taking 30-40 km in full charge with a mix with normal and agressive using and now it s taking 20-25 km in the same using. I dont know how long time it will keep this performans stats but it s better than nothing. For sure it cannot be perfect like the first time but it s a good way if you wanna use the dead batteries. Thank you very much for this trick man. I saved extra good money in my pocket because of you. God bless you.

[@Wipsplash]

I discharged my battery to far and the charger wouldn't charge it. I tried your suggestion and it worked. Thanks

[@Hellsong89]

Charger didnt charge it for good reason. Its safety function that is built in. When litium battery goes under its safe to charge voltage, it looses its capacity and creates internal resistance witch eventually cause short circuit witch causes it to heat up and catch fire, if not explode depending construction. Sure you are able to revive battery like this, but its not safe to operate afterwards and its capacity is cut greatly. I have done this to my rc Lipo batterys for few times, but i know the risk involved and kept these batterys separated and monitored from the rest until it bloated too much for my comfort level, witch point i run it down to 0 volts, using light bulb as load, check there was no voltage in any of the cells, cut the connectors off to be used in other batterys (only cutting one lead at the time), electric taped the lead ends and recycled it according the laws around here.

[@richardnanis]

In most cases its not worth reanimating cells that are discharged far too low (lets say below 1,5 V). You can bring their voltage up, but they won't hold it for very long. Mostly the capacity is gone (90% of it) and they wont work well afterwards. And you take the risk of creating an internal shorts (by dentrits) which can cause severe fires! In some cases you can repair cells that are still above 1,5 V and below 2,5.

[@SmiTTyy-sh8nc]

John Wuethrich, that was some funny shit !!!!!

[@SmiTTyy-sh8nc]

Yeah, were not trying to shock Frankenstein back to life here....dang, grow a pair or just ask the neighbor to connect this wire 4 me and count to 20...

[@williamservice8145]

Loo

[@MrPolleke1949]

Nice video. I also liked the way you "connect" the battery with magnets ;-)

[@nw7696]

It works with my old metal hydride makita batteries too, I use 2 x 9 volt batteries in series to raise the voltage to pacify the charger. 😊👍🏻

[@ahmadebrahimi4862]

it may show you a good voltage, but i dont think it could work as a regular battery, it wont give you enough current, and will drop voltage so fast.

[@kuldeepsinhzala6471]

Ahmad Ebrahimi will it work as new battery cell if this process is done with dead cell ?

[@TheCustomFHD]

@@kuldeepsinhzala6471 no, it last only like 5 - 10% than the original power

[@stringsattached67]

Not true I revived a point & shoot camera battery that I had let get too low and it has worked fine for over a year now ' all depends .

[@MrJockito]

When they show less than 2.5v or get warm when charging , i give them to the recycling center.

[@ralphbellstedt456]

Cool trick with the magnets, I will definitely remember that! Would be cool if you can check the capacity of a cell brought back to life like that and maybe try it with an old dead cell as well. BTW, what accent is that? Sounds cool.

[@axelcramer3964]

I have a couple friends who are Vietnamese and their accents remind me of his. I also like that accent!

[@mr89firebird]

@@axelcramer3964 I was definitely thinking Southeast Asia

[@tomcruise7095]

He is from the Philippines bro

[@Gustoph420]

Three replies about the accent. Zero about battery capacity. I’m also interested to know what the stats are on one of these “resurrected” cell, especially when compared to a new or even “like new” cell! I also like the accent. Very cool 😎

[@growleym504]

When this works, it works, and it usually will. When it burns, it burns, and it is a very hot and nasty fire. If you add some current limiting and monitoring, you can make the process pretty safe.

[@paddywall]

Cannot believe this worked. No fancy equipment here either. Just a standard battery and tinfoil instead of wire. Thanks!

[@eliasfernandez3722]

I Like your video and I think it's safe..I like the fact that you answer to all comments with a positive response..I already made one explode and it's crazy dangerous not fun at all. I'll never never going to do that again..but I will dispose them the proper way.. ido you have a recommendation for that ?

[@vuaeco]

I've done all sorts of crazy stuffs with Li-ion batteries and I've never seen any explode, not even once. What kind of battery did you explode and what did you do to make it explode?

[@69Judge]

Just curious; Do you know which battery more closely matches it "C".. !;!

[@typingcat]

The US power strip looks like 6 shocked faces in a row.