So, the father in law has come across an oldish bosch drill (GSB 14.4 VE-2) with a nicad battery and a charger.
The charger (AL60DV 1419)seems to be complicated (+, - and I assume a Vsense to control charging) so I can't just poke the multimeter in there,
but it looks like it's trying
The battery will charge up to 8.05v, but stops there, the drill will spin but with all the ferocity and effort of a wet sock, so I figure it's
worth continuing.
So, I figure its relatively safe to assume it's the battery that's boned, what's my best bet? Is it worth trying to rebuild the battery
pack myself, or am I as well off picking up a replacement off ebay? Will an NIMH work, and charge safely from the same charger?
Obviously, I don't want to break the bank fixing something, but it seems a handy enough bit of kit that dropping £20-30 on it won't hurt.
Yeah, I was looking at that, and more temptingly
this, but obviously if my house goes on fire, that'd be bad value.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.XGSB14.4VE-2+14.4V+1.3Ah+Battery+.TRS0&_nkw=GSB14.4VE-2+14.
4V+1.3Ah+Battery+&_sacat=0
Bit of a selection, sadly no pukka ones.....
I bought one of these http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-tti526com-18v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/92980
sooooooooo much better than my previous one in every way 
If you can change the battery away from Nicad do it, so much better in every way.
Cheers,
Bob
quote:
Originally posted by Staple balls
Yeah, I was looking at that, and more temptingly this, but obviously if my house goes on fire, that'd be bad value.
They all tend to be c cells inside so I just but new ones from eBay then rebuild- cheap as chips
I did rebuild a battery pack for a 12v bosch but with limited success as a component (think it was a thermister) was damaged. Although it did work well up until I forgot to switch it off after a couple of hours. This resulted in melting to the batteries and case due to over charging. I buy a new battery pack now.
quote:
Originally posted by theconrodkid
I bought one of these http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-tti526com-18v-1-3ah-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill/92980
sooooooooo much better than my previous one in every way
Also, if you're brave, google 'reviving dead nicads using a welder'. This has also worked for me!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Revive-Nicad-Batteries-by-Zappin
g-with-a-Welder/
I actually tried that earlier, nowt much happened though.