Milwaukee Battery Won't Charge (How to Fix!)

[@superdeeduperdan1579]

Thank you for this information. It saved my battery and it's so easy and simple. I'm glad I keppet my battery charger after I quit vaping. I'm basically a certified battery doctor now. Thank you.

[@fixer2u]

Haha that's awesome, glad it helped!

[@Tanoforfucksake]

I’ve watched one to many battery explosions lol I’m paranoid watching mine charge. Have an older charger, so it just has a light indicator, so I rigged my volt meter so I can keep an eye on the voltage.

[@mostlikelywedoitservices6926]

And the dam lights are still burning about the same. They stay on around the clock.

[@MG7316]

Sounds like Milwaukee needs to fix that issue not the consumer.

[@fixer2u]

Agreed!

[@tigervxii]

they won't fix it, they rather you buy a new battery and make them money.

[@michaelpouchert4486]

You'll need to send it to China

[@fixer2u]

@@michaelpouchert4486 haha maybe!

[@cool2180]

the battery management board is not doing its job

[@bluescreen3116]

I had this same issue and it eventually fixed itself after I drained whole battery and fully recharged it. Thanks for the info on identifying what was causing it.

[@fixer2u]

Ahh interesting! I may try that as well!

[@FluffyBear555]

This video was awesome! Thanks for saving me over $200 on my M18 HD 12.0 battery. Mine was like the one you showed where it had one flashing light but showed full on the charger. Opened it up and all banks showed around 4.1 volts, except for one that was 3.0 volts. I followed your procedure and the battery works perfectly again. It took all day to charge the one low bank, but it was well worth the time. My battery was out of warranty, so it would have cost me $215 to have Milwaukee service it. Thanks for the clear instructions on how to fix this problem.

[@fixer2u]

Wow! You are welcome! Glad it helped!

[@TheMetaljrc]

What's causing that problem is that the internal resistance of the cells are getting mismatched and the bms in the Milwaukee battery is failing to bring them close in voltage. To make matters worse, having higher amp hour in the battery and high amperage draw from the tool, increases the probably of that happening. DeWalt doesn't have that problem cause what makes the cell balancing is the charger itself, not an internal bms in the battery.

[@fixer2u]

Interesting....

[@Millzlane]

The charger doesn't balance shit. Neither does the bms. The bms only manages overcharge and over-discharge. All cells are simply not the exact same in it's quality. That's all. You'll have a bad one here and there. If the bms sees even one cell reach it's max charge, it's going to signal full. THAT'S what's going on. But yea you can balance em back, but because of the bad cell resistance, it's going to happen again anyway in due time

[@Millzlane]

@@fixer2u👌🏾 but tell em get the warranty

[@fixer2u]

@@Millzlane correct. But so far I have had good luck. Both the 9ah I have used this method on are going on a year now and they are still balanced.

[@Millzlane]

@@fixer2u ok. That's good. It must've been that one high demand use that drove that cell to expose itself. He's hiding now. Lol

[@GarethCaves]

Great info. Just done a 9ah and a 12ah both with same issue. Both are going fine now. Cheers mate

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Glad it helped!

[@outlawmultigun7076]

I had to order the charger from aliexpress, but once I got it, hooked it up and saved 2 batteries. Thank you for the video.

[@fixer2u]

Awewome! Glad it worked!

[@thebigbravo3529]

Hey what brand of charger did you buy from Aliexpress? There so many to choose from.

[@MarkEichin]

Just fixed an XC8.0 with a $30 "MiBOXER 18650" charger I had lying around from flashlight games. Definitely important that it's a current-limiting charger, but at 200mA nothing even got warm. Thanks for the video!

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Glad it worked!

[@steveharris7417]

This just saved 2 batteries for me. a 12 and an 8 ... could have saved 2 x 9ah if i had known earlier .. Awesome job mate.. well done

[@fixer2u]

Thank you! Glad it helped!

[@sccolbert]

Exact same situation for me. Kicking myself for throwing out the two 9ah batteries.

[@ericmann1781]

I ordered the same charger after watching this video and fixed my 8ah Milwaukee battery charging 2 cells at a time. Thank you for this video, you saved me and others I will help in the future if they ever get the same issue, a good amount of money in the long run.

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Im glad it helped!

[@mrcastro8740]

Wanna make some extra cash. I’m not too smart I’ll send you my bad batteries it’s 4 of them and pay you to repair them.

[@Dookie_burner]

I bought 3 12.0 batteries and they all did this. None of the other milwaukee batteries have done this. Thanks for the tutorial i gotta try this

[@fixer2u]

Hope it helps!

[@Dookie_burner]

@fixer2u I am currently reviving a dead 9.0 and its working . Got 2 more 9.0 to fix thanks for the great video. Odd thing never had a 4.0,5.0 , 6.0 do this and I have been using them for atleast 11 years

[@fixer2u]

@@Dookie_burner no prob. Glad it's helping! Same... I have 2 4ah and 2 5ah that have been perfect for the last 10 years. I've read that Milwaukee changed brands on the cells and they are not as reliable...

[@rkwjunior2298]

Yup, just my 9amp batteries

[@SteveSherman-jp1dz]

The bigger the battery and higher amp draw tools you use, the more this problem will show up. It's all down to the 50mA resistor not being enough to do balancing during a normal charge cycle. The faster chargers are even worse.

[@debandmike3380]

note that there is a thin plastic coating on the metal tins that connect the cells so if you're trying to get a reading by touching the tins you have to scrape away the top layer first and where you clip the charger to.

[@michaelkeefer6799]

The reason you are having a hard time getting readings is because the HD 12's have a protective coating. I noticed that my 9.0 I could just touch the banks and it worked fine. If you just tough the banks on a 12 it won't work because of that coating. You have to scratch through the coating first. Its very annoying for charging with the Opus as well. That is the same charger I use as well. I have to get the leads to dig in so that I can start the charge. It irritates me to no end that Milwaukee continues to have this issue with such incredibly expensive batteries. The solution to this issue is for Milwaukee to include a BMS that can actually balance the batteries. They claim that it can balance the batteries but it doesn't. And I feel that this is designed this way so people can buy more batteries of course. I have batteries that are from 7 years ago that still work fine. The charge isn't even that bad tbh. But they have gone out of balance several times and I fix them every time it happens and mark each battery when it happens so I can keep track of how often it happens on the battery. A true BMS system that balances batteries would look at each battery and make sure it is at the correct voltage at the end of charging. Vs milwaukees which likes to stop whenever one bank shows roughly 4.1v leaving the rest uncharged. And when milwaukees BMS system shows around 3.2v or so, it shuts down the tool. This is exaggerated when one bank only gets charged to 3.6v when the rest are 4.1. Even though most of the batteries are full, you will only get the life of the battery bank that is lower.

[@fixer2u]

I know what you mean. I have a Traxxas RC truck and the charger for the LiPo batteries has 3 options to charge. Fast, Balance and Storage. I always use the balance option. Milwaukee needs to have at least balance and fast as options for its chargers and that would help a lot.

[@georgedavall9449]

Hey Michael, great comment and info! I know what You mean and am in full agreement. Not knocking Milwaukee as I am a fan, but the M18 batteries are the only ones I have ever had problems with. I have been a ‘victim’ of the M18 8.0 HO batteries and the full charge only showing 3 bars issue. And as I’m sure You know, don't ever let a M18 battery sit too long on a low charge. This never happens with any of my DeWalt, Makita, Metabo HPT, etc. And Milwaukee, whilst usually real good with their E -Service, aren’t so good with battery warranty claims. Appreciate the comment Michael. Stay safe and well!

[@SteveSherman-jp1dz]

​@@fixer2u A trickle charger that balances and reconditions old batteries would be the easiest solution. I wonder if the problem was addressed with the new Forge batteries and chargers. I've been holding off on buying any more of these 12ah batteries and still waiting for the release of the new ones which should have been out by now.

[@fixer2u]

@@SteveSherman-jp1dz You are correct, balancing is the answer. I have some LiPo rc batteries and a charger. The charger has the option for balancing or fast charging.

[@Brian_L_5168]

Genius diagnosis & solution. I have a wild thought. Could we simply connect every 4.2v bank in parallel and let them equalize themselves? My XC 8.0 has the same issue too !

[@fixer2u]

I actually do not know the answer to that but I have seen guys connect to a bank on another battery to equalize. It just takes longer.

[@1nkman]

Big thank you, I was able to save my battery with you help. I think the problem is when you run a battery down on a tool until it has no charge left this is what happens.

[@fixer2u]

Your welcome! It seems to happen to mine even when I do not run them down. For me this happens when sitting. Some of the cells slow drain.

[@Sheedy1979]

I used a hobby grade charger Spektrum Smart charger S2200. With the individual cells being 800 mAh a total of 2400 per bank you can safely charge at 1C which would be 2.4 amps. I worked my way up slowly to 2.4 amps which cuts the charging time down. I had 3 out of 5 banks at 3.6v on a M18 HD12.0

[@fixer2u]

@@Sheedy1979 Aawsome! That sounds like a great setup!

[@Kyosama08]

Thanks for the video. Some of the batteries I've been looking at had some bad reviews on them due to this issue. Me being me, I figured the problem was probably pretty easy to fix. Good to know that I can now discredit these reviews because I now know how I can fix them.

[@Kyosama08]

Just ordered a "broken" HD 12.0 battery. Listing said battery won't charge and stuck on one bar. I might start buying my batteries like this to boost up my supply. This will probably go into my new Milwaukee packout radio I purchased yesterday.

[@fixer2u]

Thank you!

[@fixer2u]

@@Kyosama08 Great idea! I had not thought of that!

[@nickb7040]

For anyone doing this the top ones are a T8 and the side safety ones are a T10 which is opposite to what this video says. Be sure to get screw drivers as well as the hex ones don't fit as well and the screws on these are tight. Thanks to the creator for the video btw.

[@fixer2u]

Thanks for the correction!

[@nickb7040]

Btw dont try 2 banks at a time lol! Smoked my charger! ​@fixer2u

[@fixer2u]

@@nickb7040 I know! Not good!

[@Andrius1115]

Thank you mate - good ide to use home battery charger. Just one question - for how long this has solved the problem for the batteries? DId the problem showed up again ? If yes - when?

[@fixer2u]

You are welcome! For me it has been a year and they are still going strong. I do not use my batteries every day like some so I would guess results may be different for others.

[@Fearsome4some74]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I learned a lot from this ! I really hope fixing becomes more popular it helps people in more ways than just fixing something!!! Thanks again 👍

[@fixer2u]

You are welcome, glad it helped!

[@kickford]

I have an old RC variable lithium charger that I tried with on one of my 8.0 amp batteries that dies very quick but then charges almost immediately. Flashing light recently that won't run a tool and shows green full charge on the charger. I was able to bring up one bank that was below 2 volts. This was a life saver! Thanks for the video!

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Glad it worked!

[@commonsenseisdeadin2024]

I have (2) 9Ah batteries doing that same deal, battery needs to be rebuilt or the circuit board is shot. I haven't rebuilt one yet to find out but i did charge each row with a bench PS and it worked fine for a short time before dancing it's jig again! For the price Milwaukee charges I'm rebuilding! Fool me once, shame on you, i will not be made a fool a second time! 😂 You can buy a spot welder, nickle strip and beast cells for less than 1 new battery, only have to buy the spot welder once!

[@kickford]

Time will tell on my 8.0 ah battery issue returning. Like you I wouldn't mind rebuilding them if it comes to that. It seemed to take all day at 500 milliamps to get the one bank up from 1.3 volts to around 4 volts. They say their battery system is supposed to prevent draining batteries below 2.5v, but that doesn't work very well. I have a couple 4.0 ah milwaukee batteries from 2010 that still work fine to this day! But apparently the larger the amp hour the bigger the potential for this stupid balance problem. I did rc for several years. As costly as these batteries are I just don't understand why the manufacturer doesn't make these battery cells/banks balance capable. That's basically what we're doing to even them back out.

[@commonsenseisdeadin2024]

@@kickford I think a lot of it is to do with more bad batches of cells. They are rushing development so testing and QC lacks! The people have become the testers/guinea pigs and at the price they sell them they are taking the "risk" of potentially having to replace large quantities into consideration already..... Passing the buck right back onto us! That's never been made more evident than with "self checkout"! Shit isn't any cheaper and these companies have the audacity to complain about product loss when they don't pay the employees selling the products 😂!

[@fixer2u]

@@kickford I know what you mean. Very frustrating!

[@Priority57]

So do I have to do this everytime when I charge my battery? Seem like it's not worth having a battery power tool.

[@fixer2u]

No you do not need to do this every time. I have had to do this twice in a 12 month period.

[@michaelpouchert4486]

You can do this with a car battery or battery charger. Make a jumper and charge both banks at the same time

[@fixer2u]

@@michaelpouchert4486 if that charger is rated for lithium batteries. it is very dangerous if it is not.

[@Shayne6058]

You saved me $500 my man! Both of my 12.0 batteries were dead, all banks were around 3-3.8v on both of them, charged each bank back up to full, slapped it on the charger to "reset" it and now i have full 4 bars of charge again!

[@fixer2u]

Awesome!

[@azazelone905]

Just a heads up: when you take the casing off, there’s +/- all along the bottom of the banks on the plastic. Clearly indicated. My question to you is: with the banks that are connected together with the metal. How do you know where to put your wires. Wouldn’t it short out the bank that shares the same weld plate thing? That’s a detail that I really would have liked you included. Cheers.

[@fixer2u]

The banks run up amd down so where you see the plus minus marks on the plastic, just go straight up.

[@azazelone905]

@@fixer2uI realize that. What I meant was, are the vertical banks insulated from each other somehow? Because from what I gather, when you charged the second bank, you slipped your positive/negative leads in the same way. Adjacent the second vertical battery bank. My question was: that whole metal façade… how is it not pushing voltage to the previous bank as it seems it’s all on the same plate. (Except for the 5th one of course) Maybe a dumb question. Sorry. I’m about to do one of mine based on your tutorial.

[@fixer2u]

@@azazelone905 not a stupid question! Yes the banks are isolated because they are wired in parallel but are in series with the other banks.

[@extrememiami]

I think you need a DC power supply. Much easier than Jerry ringing a charger. It turns off just the same when the voltage is achieved. I have the NANKADF 30V 10A its very useful around the shop.

[@fixer2u]

I am not sure you can use a dc power supply on LIon batteries...

[@cs-xd9gy]

If you have an adjustable one, it will work fine. Set the voltage and it will stop charging when you hit. 4.2 volts.

[@fixer2u]

Good to know! Thank you! @@cs-xd9gy

[@Mrhilljack]

Ive done this twice to my 9.0 over a year..untill my lab power supply burned up charging a bad ridgid battery ..it keeps going back to the same unbalanced charge after a month or so.. I suspect most if not all will become unbalanced again in short order . They need a way better bms and balancer.

[@fixer2u]

@@Mrhilljack Agreed!

[@jonathantasis1256]

Also, what you referred to as a Bank are just batteries in parallel. The more batteries in parallel the more capacity Connecting multiple batteries or what you refer to in this video as banks increases voltage. Easiest way to explain this especially for those that may not understand with the lithium batteries is showing here is think of car batteries if you get 12 V batteries that are 100 amp hours and you connect them all the positives together and the negative to negative you’d have a 12 V 400 amp battery but if you went from the first battery to the next batteries negative and so on on both sides you increase the voltage to 48 V, but your amperage would stay at 100. You would referred to this battery as a 5S3P. 5 cells in series 3 cells in parallel.

[@fixer2u]

Thanks for the comments. I was referring to them as "banks" in order to help show the viewers how to keep it straight which batteries were with what. Does that make sense? Hard to explain in text.

[@adonijahtaylor547]

After you set the charger to “charge” will it just auto charge to the correct voltage or do you have to keep checking and pull off at 4.2 volts?

[@fixer2u]

It will charge to the correct voltage and say "full" on it.

[@timwade8629]

Thanks for this vid! I bought the same charger to revive two 8.0s. It brought one of them back, but on the other one, all banks read 4.19v but only 3 of the leds light up.

[@SteveSherman-jp1dz]

It could also be a burned out LED. Another common problem.

[@fixer2u]

Hrmmm that is odd.... Maybe the 4th LED is burnt out? Does the battery seem to have the proper life?

[@TheMeD8]

Did same, after month laying on shelf same problem. So it is definitely problem with self discharge of cells, not only balancing

[@fixer2u]

Agreed!

[@geolovitz5433]

I have 2 M18 12 batteries that only show 2 bars and then show fully charged. I would love to try this but to be honest, electricity and thought of blowing these up scares the heck out of me. The link provided doesn't appear to be for sale but they have the C3400 which appears to be same but next model up. Would love to fix these.

[@fixer2u]

Any charger that will do lithium ion batteries will work.

[@bobclarke5913]

FYI - don't get greedy and try to charge two low banks at the same time. My Opus charger briefly flashed 4400ma as the charge rate as the banks tried to equalize through the charger when I hooked up the second set of leads. Yeah, those banks are still in series so can't hook up to two at once. Charger survived, tougher than it looks. Thanks Fixer, don't remember if you mentioned that, watched this long ago and just skimmed again now.

[@fixer2u]

Thanks for the comments. I did not mention that but found the same thing out!

[@stevek8170]

Great Video! Don't try two slots!! Worked great with just 1 slot/bank. When I tried using two slots to speed up the process it fried my battery charger! 😥

[@fixer2u]

OOOOOF! No good! Thanks for the comments!

[@georgedavall9449]

This Man deserves a new Fluke, or at the very least, a new Klein MM. 😊 I am going to try this on a couple of my M18 XC batteries that give the ‘Christmas lights’ when placed on the charger, as well as a couple of my M18 8.0 HO ( expensive ) batteries with the full charge showing only 3 bars. I have a NiteCore charger that will charge LiIon batteries up to 21700 in size, so will try this. I have scrap dowels lying about, so will give it a go. I’m thinking the NiteCore charger will suffice?? What say You? Much appreciated! 👍

[@fixer2u]

Thank you! I would think your charger will work!

[@rob10424]

Awesome video...I just ordered the next available version of the charger (Opus C3400). What guage / type wire did you use for the leads?

[@fixer2u]

14 gauge braded. I wouldnt go much thinner!

[@flavoredmold6432]

I have a question, if I do not have a battery charger could I accomplish the same thing if I drain each bank down to balance out the good and bad banks, then put it back on the m18 charger?

[@fixer2u]

Yes that should work as well!

[@JohnnyTokens1]

Okay here's the truth about what will happen with these batteries if this is done most the time. There's a reason those batteries are dropping down a lot of the time it's because they are weak because they are made poorly by Samsung. The LG battery that they use as a much better battery but they straight away from them probably for cost reasons. Much of the time that you equalize and balance out these cells you're going to end up with the same problem you need to replace the battery. The biggest part of this that is missing is the balancing. It is a must that you balance these batteries even to have them off by 1 is not okay or even point zero two you need to have them absolutely as equal as possible. Otherwise you're just going to fluctuate them and they are going to be back in the same situation again. Or you were going to have one of the batteries that is higher than the other set within the M18 and that's going to drive it above 4.2 volts which is a big no no and you do not want that. So it is vital to have those cells at 4.1 or as close to as possible throughout all 10 or 15 depending on the amp hour and model of the battery of course. If it's a single road battery then all five of them need to be as close to 4.1 as possible and the reason it's not 4.2 is because one it's lithium ion and not with the impolymer. Secondly if you ever check the charger and the status that it charges it to it will be 20.5 not 21 volts. I think they need to go to 21 volts personally but that's not what DeWalt and Milwaukee do probably so that your battery doesn't last as long as you have to buy more it would be my assumption they say it's because of with your mind should only be 4.1 volts not 4.2 but anything past 4.2 you're going to be running into problems there as well even though the battery will push higher than 4.2 it's not recommended at all. It is a must to balance them I noticed most these videos they do not do it they just get them close as possible reset them and most the time down the road they're going to have the same issue and that battery that was drained before is going to do it again because it's weak and it's not holding a charge well. The other times there's something wrong with the circuit board and it's draining it. I've owned battery businesses for 16 years and work on them every single day of my life I know them like the back of my hand. There's a lot of things that they tell us about these batteries that aren't true also but that's pretty much anything in life isn't it ☺️

[@fixer2u]

Thank you for the info! Since making this video I have had to redo several of the batteries. I have 2 9ah that have had to do this several times and 2 that have never needed this. I should crack the other ones open and compare the batteries in them to see if they are indeed LG vs Samsung!

[@jonathantasis1256]

I’m sure someone must have mentioned it but they’re called security bits just in case.

[@fixer2u]

Thanks!

[@WoodchuckNorris.8o]

Thank you! I got two batteries with this issue, very frustrating considering how much you pay for them

[@fixer2u]

Agreed! Hopefully it helps you!

[@PFab]

I have 2 12s and a 9 that needs some CPR. Gonna try your method and see if they come back to life first.

[@fixer2u]

Check those cells and see what they read!

[@kevinbriggs2611]

Great video! Thanks so much! I am regretting throwing away two of my 5 aH Milwaukee batteries that I couldn't get to hold a charge. Now I know!!!!

[@fixer2u]

Thank you! Sorry for your loss!

[@Scottchmorsco]

worked like a charm on my unbalanced 8 amp hour m18. working on a 9 now... wonderful

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Glad it worked!

[@beanboi7233]

would you have to do this every time you charge it or is it a once Ina while thing, like after you do this would it work perfectly fine for a while before you have to maybe do it again

[@fixer2u]

Great question! You will not have to do this every time. I have since had to do this a couple of times since making this video. It takes a while for one or 2 of the cells to drift far enough away from the others in order to need this.

[@beanboi7233]

@@fixer2u thank you

[@fixer2u]

@@beanboi7233 You're welcome!

[@Editz_806]

I had a cell that was measuring less than one volt. All the other cells were at or above 4 V. I ordered that charger and hooked it up just like you showed. It worked for about two hours and then the display showed to be full. The cell only charged to 2.2 V. Any idea why it did it not charge it to the full 4 V?

[@fixer2u]

I would try and run a charge cycle again on it... It is possible that one of the individual batteries in that cell is junk...

[@carlossantini]

My next diy project. Great video!

[@fixer2u]

Thank you!

[@jasontaylor9871]

I have 2 12.0 batteries that charge fully according to the charger and power indicator but they both drain very fast, 20 cuts with a skillsaw and their both dead, what does that mean?

[@fixer2u]

I would check the level of the cells when it says it is dead and see what is going on.

[@sarneli_yyc]

I've got an 8ah that shows 3/4 charge and dies very fast. I'll be opening it up and diagnosing.

[@fixer2u]

@@sarneli_yyc Sounds like the same issue!

[@trantem]

This is excellent. I've got 3 high cap batteries that only work for half their capacity. I'm going to give this a try. I've also got a coworker facing the same issue with his that I'll see if I can fix.

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! I hope this helps! Let me know if it worked!

[@trantem]

@@fixer2u It did! $850 worth of batteries back in action now.

[@fixer2u]

Great! @@trantem

[@steher]

You're a life saver! gonna try this today!

[@fixer2u]

Hope it helps!

[@EdMacKerrow]

I am trying to do this on a M18 9mAhr battery. I am confused though to what a "bank" is, since the metal plate seems to connect many smaller battery cells and I seem to have only three "banks" - they read {4.02V, 4.03V, 4.02V}, seems pretty close to being the same voltage. Not sure why mine wont fully charge, and not sure I am measuring the voltage from the correct banks?

[@fixer2u]

@@EdMacKerrow in an M18 there will be 5 banks. When you have the battery disassembled, on the sides you will see the plastic housing. Look at the bottom on the housing on the sides an you will see + and - symbols alternating as you look down the side. You should see 3 + and 2 - or 3 - and 2 + depending on which side you look on. Thos show you each of the banks.

[@michaelv6873]

The charger appears to no longer be available, can you recommend another on amzn tyvm

[@fixer2u]

Here you go! www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T941JCF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@NovusChaoMundi]

Thanks bud I tried this and it saved my 12 amp battery. It took about 24 hours to get my battery charged back up. It was totally dead

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Glad it helped!

[@neisius]

Thanks! Fixed my 12.0 and about to start working on a Bosch battery

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! Glad it helped!

[@dillongross526]

I love Bosch for their demo hammers and jack hammers but man I’ve seen so many of their drills impact a not burn up just mixing concrete thing was smoking a naught brand new that day! After cooling down it worked, but my Milwaukee doesn’t have those issues ever.. Milwaukee might be pricey an have name tags like it’s god damn designer clothes of the tool world, but man I’ll still choose Milwaukee and their shitty warranty’s for the trade off of a great product that seems to out preform most in most ways… Ridgid is the best for warranties however an they make amazing sewer cameras and locators also but still I gotta go Milwaukee

[@dillongross526]

I love Bosch for their demo hammers and jack hammers but man I’ve seen so many of their drills impact a not burn up mixing concrete full on smoking with a brand new, that day drill! After cooling down it worked fine, but it slowed me down significantly and that’s not worth it to me.. Milwaukee doesn’t have those issues ever for me.. However pricy Milwaukee might be a the fact the name tag makes it seem like it’s god damn designer clothes of the tool world! But man I’d still choose Milwaukee and their very shitty ass warranty’s, just for the trade off of a great product that seems to out preform most in most ways/applications… Ridgid is the best for warranties however, even a life time warranty on their batteries no one does that! an their sewer cameras are next level same with the locators! But I gotta go Milwaukee on all my other tools..

[@Maxim22vition]

Thank you for sharing this video! It helped me save 2 HighOutput 6.0 battery's

[@fixer2u]

That is awesome! Glad it helped!

[@ivallejo1456]

The fix works great ! It has 4 bars !! But at the next charge got 3 again.😢 is there a permanent fix?

[@fixer2u]

It is best to charge all the banks to get them equal at as close to 4.2 as you can get.

[@ivallejo1456]

@@fixer2u I charged all 3 to 4.20 with a 18650 charger.

[@fixer2u]

@@ivallejo1456 That is odd that it would happen again so quickly. I have had to redo mine once every couple of months not right away. There must be a couple really bad individual batteries in there.

[@ivallejo1456]

@@fixer2u the batery is nearly new. I will do the all over again to see what happens. Thanks

[@fixer2u]

@@ivallejo1456 If the battery is that new, I would suggest trying to warranty it. If you still have the receipt from when you bought it, you should be able to get it taken care of!

[@michaelpouchert4486]

I had 4 of 5 cells low. Charged all of them individually and the battery is like new. Thank you

[@fixer2u]

Excellent! Glad it helped! Thanks for the comment!

[@michaelpouchert4486]

@@fixer2u I have other batteries blinking 1 bar and I was experimenting and fried my charger. Have you tried to charge cells with another fully charged battery?

[@fixer2u]

@@michaelpouchert4486 I know you can do it. To me it seemed more efficient to use the charger, but it can be done.

[@jdawes4403]

Once you balance the cells, what keeps the problem from occurring again- can the bms circuit be fixed so the battery charges properly on its own?

[@fixer2u]

From what I have read, not draining the battery until dead dead amd not storing the tool with the battery installed can help with the issue. I cannot answer about fixing the circuit.

[@jonathanglass116]

Would the battery goes bad if I keep using it like that without fixing it?

[@fixer2u]

It would probably get to the point it would not charge again if one cell gets too low. But you could still fix it with this method.@@jonathanglass116

[@CONSPIRANOICOYO]

*Mine was blinking red and green alternating, what I did was just push the battery a bit more to the charger and it turn only red and start charging*

[@fixer2u]

Oh very nice!

[@rick3090]

what i did was , i took another battery and ran jumper wires to the pos and neg terminals and let it sit for some time and the battery actually started to charge , but i do have others with problems and 1 i tried this with but it still failed with a flashing light and green on the charger, which im suspecting a bad board. thanks.

[@fixer2u]

Interesting... And you double checked that all the cells were balanced?

[@rick3090]

this was before i took it apart to investigate, the other 2 that gave me trouble were so far successful with the jumper wires.

[@fixer2u]

@@rick3090 Oh I see!

[@mannmiester]

Will this then make it able to charge the batteries in a normal charger after you do this?

[@fixer2u]

Yes sir it does!

[@michaelmester8826]

What causes the certain banks to go lower? Will it happen again?

[@fixer2u]

The Milwaukee charger are fast chargers only and do not balance the cells. Yes it can happen again unfortunately.

[@ryanmccarthy7281]

What did you use to make the jumper cables? Trying this out and although I’m familiar with the battery type, 18650s, chargers, and multimeter, not sure where to find the material to make some jumpers

[@fixer2u]

I just used 12 wire and standard electrical end crimps.

[@donroja]

I had a bank (M18 12AH) @ 3.67 and it took almost 12 hours to get just below 4.2... Is that normal, in the video you mentioned an hour? Great video by the way, thank you.

[@fixer2u]

Thanks for the comments, what did you have the amps set at on the charger? Mine has taken that long. Since I have published this video, I have had to do this on other batteries.

[@triggeredleftyvegan6004]

Great video mate it was very clear and easy to follow. Can't wait to fix a couple of faulty batteries I have here.

[@fixer2u]

Thank you for the comment! How it helps!

[@annbarnsley1987]

I have a 12Amh battery that is just out of warranty and it just plain died after just a few minutes on my blower. Charger won’t recognize that the battery has been put on to charge and not lights on the battery will light up. Any hope for this battery?

[@fixer2u]

Id say pull it apart and see what the cells say.

[@siamaklighvani3951]

The spring slots needs to be cleaned with contact cleaner. A little bit of fine sandpaper.

[@fixer2u]

You are saying you believe that is causing the imbalance?

[@stormorc2057]

Thank you saved my 8.0 battery back. it's working! Than I try charge each battery pack to 4.13V. Let me use it on my workday. then see what happen! :)

[@fixer2u]

@@stormorc2057 Awesome! Glad it helped!

[@duttawidjeskog9070]

Interesting. Would it be the same result if you would discharge the cells with higher voltage to the level of the lower and then charge the whole battery full with the milwaukee charger?

[@fixer2u]

I would imagine it would.

[@thepizzaguys20]

Gday mate, I have a 12amp in the same situation. Will give it a crack and see how I go. Cheers

[@fixer2u]

Awesome! I hope it works! Merry Christmas!

[@joussecamille7589]

Nice trick Fixer2u 👍 Help me undestand how it worked. I havent got charger but I just save my 5Ah with 2 wire 1,5mm2 connected from one batterie fully charge to an oder one over discharged for 1min without opening anything. After that the Milwaukee charger works. The batterie has just 3 months .. ( I lost the garanty) Don you think using this methode with different battery capacity could be risky ...? Thanks for your works from France !

[@fixer2u]

Sorry I am not sure I quite understand your question?

[@tommyho6020]

I have one that only flash red, and when i search it said that the temperature of the battery was too cold or hot. I left it in room temperature and still flash red why?

[@fixer2u]

Have you checked the voltage of the cells as in the video?

[@jshlnd14]

does this work for batteries that discharge quickly?

[@fixer2u]

Good question.. I would think not. That seems like an issue with failing of the individual batteries in the cells.

[@doctorlefthandthread]

Great video I have been looking for an easy way to balance a battery pack you found it thank you

[@fixer2u]

Glad I could help!

[@SPACEMIKEB]

Great video! Thank you so much. I'm now charging the second low bank.

[@fixer2u]

Awesome!

[@jpadilla0515]

Dumb question, bit can't you jump these by doing what you have there but instead using another battery? Like when you jump one that has flashing red & green light?

[@fixer2u]

Yes you can, it just takes longer!

[@nickb7040]

This has just happened to one of my 12ah batteries, not even 2 years old but i didn't register it for warranty. 220 quid battery should not do this. thanks for the video.

[@fixer2u]

I agree! Sorry it happened!

[@patchesw3815]

Keep your sales receipts-HD warrants these batteries for up to 3 years from purchase. Just took a M18 6.0 back that was 3 months old that wouldn’t charge anymore, gave be a brand new one.

[@fixer2u]

What if I didn't buy them from Home Depot?

[@stevebabiak6997]

@@fixer2u - TTI makes Milwaukee, Ryobi, and Hart (Hart is in Walmart). I believe that is who gives the warranty, but at least with Ryobi they will use the date code of manufacture if no receipt.

[@fixer2u]

Ahhh ok, good info, thank you! @@stevebabiak6997

[@damon323]

Hope I don’t have to deal with this. Switched from Makita to Milwaukee recently. The 10 years I had my Makita, I never had one single problem with my batteries.

[@fixer2u]

Hard to say. I have 2 9ah batters that do it and 2 that dont. Plus the 12ah.

[@Victor-cd4hn]

Im scared to do it how bad will this will explode when wrong connection?

[@fixer2u]

Not sure, have not tried that!

[@VeryCoolAlan]

Could I do this to any old M18 battery to "refresh/recharge" it?

[@fixer2u]

Yes!

[@ddemon4406]

how did it get out of whack originally?

[@fixer2u]

Don't know. Just noticed it not going to 4 bars one day.

[@vinnyivanov2906]

What i do is put it on a tool that has high power draw like a leaf blower and run it for a few minutes, after they discharge a bit, it will take a charge easy

[@fixer2u]

I did try that, but the fact remains that one or more cells are behind others and the gap is enough that the ones that are behind will not catch up enough to make it say full charge.

[@juancaballero8107]

Hi ,where i can buy that charger you used to recover that battery , please thank you

[@fixer2u]

Amazon!

[@juancaballero8107]

Whsts the name of the character please?

[@fixer2u]

There is a link in the description. @@juancaballero8107

[@davidpotter3717]

is this something that affects Milwaukee batteries only, or do other brands suffer from this problem?

[@fixer2u]

I have heard Ryobi has it but not sure about other brands. All I currently have is Milwaukee.

[@abelgarcia480]

What type of charger do I buy for the lithium battery

[@fixer2u]

There is a link in the description!

[@everythingisvibration]

Hey what settings should i use with a RC car charger ? 7.4V or 11.1 ?.. & charge at what ?

[@fixer2u]

I do not think an RC charger will work as the M18 batteries are 18V.

[@everythingisvibration]

@@fixer2u Yeah, I tried it. Said it was to low to charge at 3.84 V . That’s 18V ALL together, Im Only charging 1 Bank at a time. Don’t think it was because of the 18V though. I’ve tried everything with thing. To experience to junk, I’ll just take the good batteries out & charge them & make something new.

[@fixer2u]

@@everythingisvibration oh I misunderstood what you meant. I've never messed with an rc car charger so I won't be much help here unfortunately.

[@johnarnold6502]

Please note that that a single 18650 is a cell, a group of these cells joined together is a battery. Great video though. Let's keep saving batteries

[@fixer2u]

Thank you!

[@blaqkhavok4863]

Good video. Great explanation.. only thing I could suggest is link in description on the charger you used.

[@fixer2u]

Great Idea, I will add it!

[@garyknable1155]

How about the 12 volt batt's? Great vid thanks.

[@fixer2u]

I have not had any issues with my 12v batteries so have not tried messing with them.

[@MyBigThing2010]

The only ones that give issues are the 6.0 m12... they'll do the Christmas lights on the charger and won't charge. I have an off brand m12/m18 charger from Amazon and that charges those batteries and they don't error on it. Then they work fine again

[@119524862]

How about a battery that shows no charge and flashes red/green? Tried multiple chargers.

[@fixer2u]

Pop it open and see what the cells read on a volt meter. That is the only way to see what is going on.

[@TheDemiDestroyer]

Realistically, how long can this prolong a battery's life? I've probably owned my battery for less than 3 years but I didn't think to keep the receipt since I generally take meticulous care of my stuff. I'm imagining having a hard time trying to get warranty help, so I'd like to go this route, I'm just unsure how much longer I can expect to get out of my battery even after doing this. I would hate to do this then just a few charges later, have to do this again, and again etc. Thanks in advance!

[@fixer2u]

My 9ah batteries I did over a year ago now and they are still holding up. So even if it is once a year or once every 6 months, For me it would be a win.

[@TheDemiDestroyer]

Yeah that's not bad!

[@fixer2u]

No guarantees but that is where I am at!@@TheDemiDestroyer

[@disht2]

Milwaukee has an awesome warranty. They look it up by the battery or tool itself. You have to take it directly to a Milwaukee warranty store. They have more than most people realize.

[@fixer2u]

This is true!@@disht2

[@stephenmcconnell4302]

Awesome I can’t wait to try this I have so many batteries that have this issue

[@fixer2u]

@@stephenmcconnell4302 I hope it helps!

[@Scottchmorsco]

Best video on this...

[@fixer2u]

Thank you!

[@mrfreewayboy]

Can you put leads from the milwaukee charger if you don't have the fancy charger?

[@fixer2u]

I would say probably not, because the charger will put out 18V for the whole system, not just for each battery.

[@mrfreewayboy]

@@fixer2u Good point, thanks

[@debandmike3380]

I can't tell where you're touching the points. The cell directly or the thin metal which are connecting multiple cells.

[@fixer2u]

Either will work!

[@debandmike3380]

@@fixer2u awesome thanks!

[@fixer2u]

@@debandmike3380 You.re welcome!

[@debandmike3380]

@@fixer2u I got my charger today and was having difficulty getting readings. Apparently there is a thin plastic layer over the connecting tins that you have to scrape away before attaching the charge wire. I put an note in the comments.

[@mostlikelywedoitservices6926]

I had a 12-volt marine battery charging. I got some alligator clips to connect the battery to the Milwaukee battery. I had a DC amp meter watching the loading. There was no heat. The amperage went down consistently to a point. Then after the battery had charged for a while, I put it into the Milwaukee charger, and the fucking thing still blinking red-green lights. Used it in the power tool, and it worked great till it was dead again.

[@fixer2u]

What the heck?

[@mostlikelywedoitservices6926]

@@fixer2u exspearament. The battery would not charge. had nothing to loose.

[@fixer2u]

@@mostlikelywedoitservices6926 I suppose! Now you know!

[@mostlikelywedoitservices6926]

@@fixer2u So nothing has worked so now I am running my light with it. When it goes off due to electronics. I have a small led light fixture with leads. I will hook it up and see if I can drain it even further. Drain it dead then try battery to battery like people have said. then see if the battery will take.a charge normally. because it does charge up because my light is working like a fresh charge battery does in it. We will see. Even though how I charged it nobody else has posted about. lol

[@fixer2u]

@@mostlikelywedoitservices6926 I see!

[@deepwaterescue4u]

Very good video will save DIYers a lot of money including me thanks for the information

[@fixer2u]

Thanks for the comment! Hope it helps!

[@jordanlee5183]

Great video pal any links to a suitable charger for us across the pond 😂 thumbs up 👍

[@fixer2u]

Thanks for the comments... Oof, I have no clue to help you on that. IS there a version of Amazon over there that you might be able to do a search?

[@Marv2049]

This charger is no longer available on Amazon. Do you recommend any other charger for this fix ?

[@fixer2u]

Any other charger that can charge lithium ion batteries like these will work.

[@Marv2049]

The replacements are 240V on Amazon. I read someone used an old cellphone charger cord that was low amps. I’m trying that now.

[@Marv2049]

The cellphone charger works but took five hours to get the voltage from 2.068 to 3.075

[@fixer2u]

@@Marv2049 oh wow that does take while!

[@keithjohnson3883]

Do you realize Milwaukee supercharger has a built-in refresh mode? You don't have to go through all the problems that you're going through. When you plug in M18 that has not been charged in a long time, the charger will show full for lights on the battery the chargeable show red, when the chargers first test the battery it looks at its own condition and will charge to a minimum usable voltage, when the charger shows flashing green going into a maintenance mode which equalizes the cells automatically. It may take a couple hours depending upon a charge of the battery, but when the flashing green light turns to solid green light, refresh mode is finished, all cells will be equalized. Hate to tell you this but you're going through a lot of unnecessary work with your procedure just read the instructions on the enclosed supercharger pamphlet. If you unplug the battery before the maintenance is finished, it will only show 3 bars. Then if you try to plug it back in again it will not go into maintenance mode

[@fixer2u]

I do not own a supercharger so cannot speak on it and the standard rapid chargers do not have that feature. Looks like the super chargers are quite expensive at $200! For around $54 people can fix it themselves. The point is, we should not have to need to fix it at all. This is a design flaw plain and simple.

[@keithjohnson3883]

I just purchased my supercharger on Amazon July 2nd $46, Milwaukee 48-59-1808 I watched the charger, while doing other things on my tablet, (This is my take on what I observe not necessarily accurate) Milwaukee M18 batteries with BMS circuits are lot more complex than most people think! To save a few dollars with knocked offs, you're asking for problems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The charger light indicator will flash Red while charging then flashing green during maintenance charging The battery fuel gauge won't turn 4 lights, till, (battery is fully equalized, the four lights on the battery turn off, automatically and the charger will be solid green.) The battery while it is still flashing green the battery level will only indicate 3 bars, if you remove and reinsert it into the charger, the charger will not finish equalization. Maintenance mode apparently will not restart until the batteries are discharged. “Note the last paragraph” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below is the full description in the 58-14-1808D8, April 24 manual. A fully discharged battery pack with an internal temperature in the normal range will charge in about 30 to 185 minutes, depending on the battery pack. •Heavily cycled batteries may take longer to charge completely. •The Fuel Gauge lights on 18V battery packs are displayed as the pack is being charged, indicating how fully charged the pack is. The fuel gauge will turn off when charging is complete. •After charging is complete, the continuous green light will come on. •The charger will keep the battery pack fully charged if it is left on the charger. The light indicator will flash green during this maintenance charging.

[@fixer2u]

@@keithjohnson3883 Well that is good to know they have that ability. Sad to know you need a special charger to do that... Side Note, be very careful buying ANYTHING Milwaukee on Amazon. They are not a certified retailer of Milwaukee products so anything you buy on there is likely fake. I have watched many reviews on "Milwaukee" products bought on amazon that really look the part, but are indeed fake.

[@keithjohnson3883]

Like anything else you do on Amazon you have to do your research thoroughly​@@fixer2u

[@robytm]

​@@keithjohnson3883 I have that charger but same problem of the video. Low battery but fixed green light if you put it in charge. Dismounted and one of the 3 pack is 0,9V, other two 3,5V

[@UJAXMAN]

What about batteries that will not charge and have blinking red/green lights?

[@fixer2u]

Check and see what the cells read. One may be so dead that the charger will not try to charge.