Makita BL1820B Battery

Makita BL1820B

A couple of years ago younger son bought a Makita cordless electric drill. He just used it for repairs around the house, he's a keyboard warrior, not a construction craft worker. Never mind that it only got used on weekends, a couple of weeks ago the batteries died. Not only will they not take a charge, the battery charger refuses to even try. This is annoying for several reasons. The batteries are dead which means the drill is effectively dead, new batteries cost a bundle - $70 each and lastly - who does this battery charger think it is that it can unilaterally decide my batteries are no good? Upity stink pot.

Makita BL1820B Battery

Since I didn't know how old the batteries are, and since Makita products are usually pretty good, I figured the warranty was expired, so I thought I would see if they could be salvaged. Took the cover off (four secure Torx screws) and this is what I found.

Makita BL1820B Battery

I found several videos on YouTube from people who had managed to repair them. Evidently, these batteries have a circuit board that manages the charging of the individual cells. The circuit boards have a microcontroller that sets a flag whenever it decides the battery is unchargeable. This flag is like a trap, once set, it cannot be reset. The only way to fix them is to replace the dead cells and circuit board. You can buy a new circuit board for these batteries from a number of places for less than $20. But the hand work required to remove the board, test the batteries and install the new board is daunting, at least for me. Some people who are in the business might find it worthwhile, especially for a bigger battery pack. Not me, especially since you can buy a knock off for like $40.

Crane Point Industrial, Forest Grove

On the off-chance that the warranty wasn't expired, I thought I would see if Makita would replace them. Turns out Crane Point is an official Makita service center is Forest Grove, a dozen miles away. I took the batteries over there and dropped them off a couple of weeks ago and I got a call this week that they had some new batteries for me. Wowsers, didn't expect that.

Makita XGT GEC01Z Power Cutter

These battery powered tools are getting way out of hand. When I picked up the new batteries I noticed this beast of a cut off saw. The battery is 80 volts.