How to fix dead Cordless Tool Batteries - Gtech / Dewalt / Ferrex Battery Recovery

[@tribble10]

This worked for me, thank you very much! I have the exact same Aldi Active Energy battery & charger and the battery was showing 3x amber lights on the test button but still refused to charge. I only have 1 of the Aldi batteries however I have lots of the Parkside 20V Lidl batteries which I used to jump start the Aldi Battery. I jump charged both the B1 and B2 sides for around 4-5 mins each side and the Aldi Battery now charges fully!

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Awesome, I am really pleased to hear this helped you out and allowed you to get the batteries working again :) thanks for checking out the video and please do share with anyone else it may help.

[@davidwarnes6191]

Thanks very much. It worked fine for my Gtech hedge trimmer using exactly the same batteries as in your video. I had to buy a new battery from Gtech but at least I now have two working so my hedges will look a lot better. The downside is that I won't get as many breaks from work while the battery is being charged!

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Your more than welcome, the Gtech batteries don't last too long per charge though do they. Far easier than running a long power cord though.

[@nickdavies1977]

Same Aldi/Ferrex battery with same problem. Now fixed thanks to your guide. Cheers!

[@SmellyCatCreations]

You are more than welcome. Thanks very much for watching 😊

[@simonsmith7963]

Good video. You can improve your cable by adding an inline table lamp switch. Then you can avoid sparking by getting your wires connected before turning the switch on. Also you can crimp automotive spade connectors on the cable ends. These work well with batteries that have the clip style connector.

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Cheers Simon, great tips thank you. I don't generally have to do this very often so it was just a very quick made-up cable but I think if I did it more often I would certainly have a nicer cable and the switch is a great option to add.

[@CliveLowe]

Thanks this worked for me, I didn't have a spare Gtech battery so I used a Makita 18v Li battery and they are marked up + and - Cheers

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Really pleased it saved another battery from being replaced 😀 thanks for watching and commenting

[@trevorrichardson523]

Great advice and worked perfectly for me.

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Your more than welcome. Really pleased it helped

[@keithnichols7983]

Just fixed my ferrex battery thanks very much

[@SmellyCatCreations]

No problem at all thanks for watching and I'm glad the video helped. If you ever use amazon and use any of my referral links as a thank you it would be greatly appreciated.

[@ianbuchanan149]

spot on, thank you.

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Your welcome. I have another video I need to get round to making on fixing a water damaged battery

[@stuartbarrett9705]

Ferret battery’s year in the dud box just fixed thank you !!!

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Your more than welcome, glad to hear it was helpful. Badly need to get some more content out. Thanks for watching 😊

[@alansallotment]

Great tip mate I have lots of the Aldi batteries cheers

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Your welcome and thanks for watching the video. Have recently added ferrex tool holders to my shop and working on some more

[@alansallotment]

@SmellyCatCreations I love the ferex range of tools and have just about all of them lol 😆

[@SmellyCatCreations]

@Alans Allotment they are very good tools for the money. The impact driver is probably the main one that I notice isn't as good as the dewalt but I mean the price difference is huge

[@jerrymontalbano3222]

And how does one know that it's a battery and not the charger at fault? Can the Charger be tested for the device? How?

[@SmellyCatCreations]

@jerrymontalbano3222 You could stick a multimeter on the battery charger and make sure it's outputting voltage when turned on. The label will tell you what it's meant to be outputting in volts and amps, which you can test with a meter. I have never had a charger go, though I don't think.

[@joebeeston1995]

Just tried this on my flashing red Ferrex battery but no dice unfortunately...will try opening it up next!

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Ahh shame sometimes it's a little too far gone, that's not to say it still can't be saved of course

[@joebeeston1995]

@@SmellyCatCreations this is the thing, its not exhibiting symptoms of a flat battery, the status light illuminates and it still powers my tools, it just won't charge on the charger.

[@SmellyCatCreations]

@joebeeston1995 might be worth throwing a multimeter onto the charger see what it's putting out

[@nightscrapperuk13]

Hi great video but I've a problem I only have 1 battery and mine is just a faint yellow light ,when I put it on the battery charger it gos green then red light flashes, could I use my makita cordless battery and do as you done ?

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Yeah it doesn't really have to be an identical battery for it to work but matching the voltage would be most advised. Option 2 is to use a variable output power supply unit. Your only really trying to give it a little starter boost.

[@silanor]

How long did you leave the two batteries connected?

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Doesn't need long i think the video is in real time. Probably 2 mins is enough as your only bumping enough juice into the cells so the charger doesn't see any error in low cell voltages anymore

[@silanor]

@@SmellyCatCreations In this case, mine has a different problem. It was worth a try, thanks for that.

[@SmellyCatCreations]

No worries mate. Next option is open it up and just replace the cells. Still far cheaper than a whole new battery

[@silanor]

@@SmellyCatCreations That's the next one, I just have to get a torx with a hole in it because the bit head won't fit

[@SmellyCatCreations]

@@silanor ahh yeah little security screw

[@Billy-mf1tz]

Hiya pal, a great video and some very handy tips, I’ve got a 18v ferrex impact driver with two batteries and when plugged in to charge they both go green on the indicator to say that they are fully charged when they are actually flat. I have a good 18v Makita battery that I can use do you think your tip will work for this issue, and how long should I keep them connected for? TIA

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Thanks very much for watching and for your comment. Sometimes the issue can be that the modern batteries are multi cell and should be balanced charged and when one side is dead and one is OK the simple chargers don't like it. I would probably leave it connected for about 5 mins. You could run a multimeter over the terminals to see how much have transfered across

[@RobertNeaguOfficial]

I've just tried it, but still doesn't want to charge it. Even if it got almost full 3 light battery life indicator. What should I check next?

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Is your charger still rejecting it?

[@RobertNeaguOfficial]

@@SmellyCatCreations yeah

[@SmellyCatCreations]

@RobertNeaguOfficial I would assume its most likely due to the cells not being equally balanced, and therefore, most budget Included won't load balance them and just reject charging for safety reasons. Options are to try it on a more advanced charger with balancing connection or open it up and separate and measure the voltage on each cell

[@thesasa6191]

This video doesn't help at whole!!😢

[@SmellyCatCreations]

Sorry to hear this didn't help fix your batteries. As you can see it worked for many other people's so if this didn't work then maybe they truly are no good at this point I'm afraid.

[@Corfine]

just save me €40 euro to buy new battery people would give €5 euro money if you had funding page €5 euro helping people

[@SmellyCatCreations]

I have a buy me a coffee page or people can always use my amazon affiliate links as a thank you. I'm glad to hear it saved you some money and thanks for the comment