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Milwaukee M18 Battery Dead But Charger Says Full?

M18 battery charging

Power tools are one of the most useful devices when it comes to working on projects by yourself. Usually, you have to go through a lot of time and effort to complete your work. Although, now, these tools allow people to work much more efficiently.

Additionally, there are tons more features provided in these tools that you can utilize. This can be amazing, but you should keep in mind that these tools are also quite dangerous.

This is why you have to ensure that proper precautions are taken. Additionally, learning how to handle these tools is also essential. With that being said, Milwaukee is a famous brand that is known for manufacturing some of the best power tools.

Although, there are also some issues that their devices can run into. One reported problem is that the Milwaukee M18 battery is dead, but the charger says full.

This is why we will be using this article to provide you with a list of common reasons why you can get this and ways that can be used to fix this.

Fixing Milwaukee Battery Dead But Charger Says Full:

1. Revive the Battery

Milwaukee is a famous brand that has been manufacturing power tools for a long time now. The cordless devices from them are no doubt one of the best lineups.

You can use these devices without having to connect them directly to an outlet. Though, keep in mind that these are powered up using lithium-ion batteries.

These have to be charged up, after which the device can be used whenever you want to. The battery usually takes 3 hours to completely charge, and it should then last you a few days.

Although, if you had stored your Milwaukee M18B4 tool batteries for a long time, then these might have died. Considering this, the user has to first revive the battery before it can be used.

Several methods can be used for this process. Although, these can be quite dangerous to do if you do not know electrical circuits.

Talking about this, the easiest and safest method that you can go with is using the boost feature on your charger. This is used to fast charge batteries, but you can also jump-start the lithium battery with it.

The reason why this works is that the boost feature provides the battery with excess voltage, which is enough to revive it. Although, if you do not have a charger with this feature, then you can use alternative methods.

These include connecting the battery to another power source to start it. You will only have to connect the positive and negative terminals tightly to another device and wait for 15 minutes.

Though, keep in mind that if the battery starts overheating, then you should take it off.

2. Check Connection

Another reason why you might be getting this problem is if your connection has some issues. This means that the outlet you are trying to charge your battery from might be faulty. You can confirm this by installing a lamp on it.

Observing the light on it should allow you to tell if the socket has any faults or not. Although, this is not an accurate method of checking the outlet, which is why it is much better if you use a voltmeter.

These devices can take exact readings of the current flowing through your socket. Checking the results allows you to confirm if there are any fluctuations in your outlet or if the voltage is low.

Whatever the case might be if you do notice something wrong with your outlet. Then you should get this replaced with a new one. You can continue charging the batteries using another socket meanwhile.

3. Replace Batteries

Finally, if you have gone through the steps mentioned above but you are still running into the same error with your batteries. Then there is a high chance that these might be faulty.

Luckily, Milwaukee has a warranty service that can be used if your batteries die before the recommended time. This can be used to get a free replacement from the brand.

Although, if this has run out, then you will have to purchase new lithium-ion Milwaukee M18B5 drill batteries instead. Make sure that the new ones have the same voltage ratings on them as the older ones.

Is it Viable To Jump A Dead Milwaukee Battery?

When dealing with dead batteries, jumping them is a great method of getting a few weeks of additional performance. This is especially true for packs that are drained out completely.

So, if you're sure that the battery just needs a bit of nudge and there are no hardware issues, just jump it with a different one.

There are not many things that you need to consider here. A pair of wires with metal fittings should be enough.

All you need to do is connect the positive and negative terminals of a fully charged battery with a dead one. From there, just leave both units for around 20 minutes.

These 20 minutes should be more than enough to jump the dead battery. At this stage, you will be able to connect this dead battery with the charger.

The issue with the charger saying your Milwaukee M18B6 batteries are full will be fixed. So, yes! It is viable to jump a dead battery pretty easily.

With that said, we would still recommend that you get help from an expert. The expert will do a much better job of resetting the battery. You will have to pay a bit to hire an expert, but it is much better than wasting hours of your time.

Is Your Charger In Good Shape?

These problems might not always stem from the battery. Your Milwaukee charger might also be to blame here. Water damage is not that rare when you're dealing with extensive projects.

So, if the charger is not stored properly, then you will need to dry out the system.

It can take a few hours in direct sunlight to dry out the unit completely. You can also use a clean cloth to wipe away the gunk from the terminals. Ideally, that would be it when you're dealing with water damage.

However, if the damage is too severe and you're not sure about the power connections, then call the dealer. The warranty is usually good for a year, depending upon the model you purchase.

So, follow through with the claim, and the dealer will ask you for verification.

From there, it is not that hard to get a fresh piece. This is especially true if your device gets damaged during delivery.

So, try reaching out to the officials and have them provide you with a replacement. Hopefully, you will never have to deal with the same battery or charger errors.


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