I've had the alternating lights go off probably over 20 times with the 9 batteries I own. Every time I would just take it off and give it a few minutes then throw it back on and all is good. I have two 1.5A batteries that are over 4 years old and must have over a thousand charges on them. Makita must of left a real bad taste in your mouth because you bash them every chance you get.
Another makita battery bites the dust!
Well I ain't had to bad a luck with the Makita packs as I keep them rotated and charge often but what annoys me if this one battery has been hold a charge great and its never had issues with charging. Well I take it of the impact and put it straight on the Charger and I get the alternating flashing lights! I would love to know why the charger suddenly decides my battery has had enough? Its no wonder Makita took so long bringing out the new battery design. They are making a killing on packs that decide they ain't good anymore.
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Not me who bashes Makita. I have more of their tools than most people on here. I just ain't impressed with how long its taking to get a decent brushless drill and 4.0ah battery's. I have decided not to buy any more Makita until they pull their finger out.BBuild said:I've had the alternating lights go off probably over 20 times with the 9 batteries I own. Every time I would just take it off and give it a few minutes then throw it back on and all is good. I have two 1.5A batteries that are over 4 years old and must have over a thousand charges on them. Makita must of left a real bad taste in your mouth because you bash them every chance you get.
Started with 8 (6 3.0 and 2 1.5's) and I'm down to 3 and 2 in 3 years. 
I'm hoping the new batteries don't have this issue. I have not heard of one other brand that just kills the pack after its working just fine.
I heard there was a class action lawsuit about these batteries. I never ended up looking into it. It sure is a joke.
I heard there was a class action lawsuit about these batteries. I never ended up looking into it. It sure is a joke.
I've heard it can be something like a bad temp sensor. I had a milwaukee 1.3 ah and a friend had a 2.6 ah die similarly. The 1.5/3.0 and 2.0/4.0 seem to be fairing better.
Me mate has already had a bad 1840 4.0ah pack. Said he got 4 charges out of it before it gave the same error i had today on my 3.0ah so it looks like they are still upto their tricks with the new packs. He also knows a couple guys with the same outcome as him. He said he thinks the chargers are the issue and that they just randomly decide to shut down the battery. His are under warranty though but still a hassle. hes using the same charger he used with his 1830's. Too bad they didnt change the design. no more makita cordless in my future by the looks of it.
There are stories and complaints of Milwuakee 4.0ah batteries cracking in a half with a slight drop and dead after days. Looks like the batteries are just fragile.
I never buy the "newest, greatest" gadget. I wait until it's been out on the market for a few years, then buy it if it turns out to be valid.
If I spend $100 on a battery and after a year or two or three, throw it away, that's OK with me as I'll just buy another one. As long as the tool(s) are good and it more than paid for itself, it's OK, I'll toss it.*
I don't expect any battery operated anything to be comparable to a corded tool as far as production or durability.
*ALL manufactures and know this.
If I spend $100 on a battery and after a year or two or three, throw it away, that's OK with me as I'll just buy another one. As long as the tool(s) are good and it more than paid for itself, it's OK, I'll toss it.*
I don't expect any battery operated anything to be comparable to a corded tool as far as production or durability.
*ALL manufactures and know this.
Well I ended up down 2 battery's not 1. Some how I put a good battery in the trash and never noticed. Went to charge a pack and got an error and thought dam not another one. Looked at the picture I took and noticed it was the same pack. My stupid ass threw a good one away.
Talk about insult to injury lolBCConstruction said:Well I ended up down 2 battery's not 1. Some how I put a good battery in the trash and never noticed. Went to charge a pack and got an error and thought dam not another one. Looked at the picture I took and noticed it was the same pack. My stupid ass threw a good one away.
If you have another charger try those batteries in that. I have two chargers as well as two of the smaller batteries and two of the larger. For some reason in colder weather the one charger will not charge the larger batteries. Both chargers are the same right down to part number but in cold weather only one charger charges the big batteries so now i have the chargers marked which will charge what. In the summer the chargers work fine and the batteries charge fine. My only complaint is i can charge the batteries tonight and tomorrow morning they will be damn near dead and will need charging again.
Are you taking the batteries off the charger when you unplug it? My guys will sometimes leave the battery on the charger when it's unplugged and that seems to drain the battery. Keeping batteries warm certainly helps them last longer and hold a charge better. Our trailers have heaters in them to keep the chill off the tools, it seems to help.If you have another charger try those batteries in that. I have two chargers as well as two of the smaller batteries and two of the larger. For some reason in colder weather the one charger will not charge the larger batteries. Both chargers are the same right down to part number but in cold weather only one charger charges the big batteries so now i have the chargers marked which will charge what. In the summer the chargers work fine and the batteries charge fine. My only complaint is i can charge the batteries tonight and tomorrow morning they will be damn near dead and will need charging again.
Went to work today all of the batteries I had with me were dead. It's to the point that I need a corded tool as a back up. 5 of them showed that they had a bad cell. That only left me one good one to work today. Monday I'm taking all these junk batteries back and getting them replaced. When maktia decides not to replace them any more then I'm going to sell all this maktia cordless tools and get roybi brand drills.BCConstruction said:Well I ain't had to bad a luck with the Makita packs as I keep them rotated and charge often but what annoys me if this one battery has been hold a charge great and its never had issues with charging. Well I take it of the impact and put it straight on the Charger and I get the alternating flashing lights! I would love to know why the charger suddenly decides my battery has had enough? Its no wonder Makita took so long bringing out the new battery design. They are making a killing on packs that decide they ain't good anymore.
Even the new ones I got replaced showed bad cells on two different chargers. I bet if I added up the wasted time going though batteries and trying to find one that will work it would be a staggering amount of money.
Noticed on ebay they have a generic 4 amp makita battery. $180.00 gets you 4 of them.
4 amp instead of the 3
search ebay for
4x Makita Battery 18V 4.0Ah BL1830 BL1840 Lithium Ion Li-ion for Power Tool 4Ah
anybody ever tried any off brands?
4 amp instead of the 3
search ebay for
4x Makita Battery 18V 4.0Ah BL1830 BL1840 Lithium Ion Li-ion for Power Tool 4Ah
anybody ever tried any off brands?
I use Ryobi for my yard tools. I have a small lot so gas powered tools are over kill, and had have had 4 packs go bad 3 went bad over this winter alone just sitting on Ryobi's 6 port charger. My friend who uses Ryobi on jobs just had 2 new battery packs die on him. I think the quality of cell used is very poor on the Ryobi packs. Which company has the best warranty on their battery packs?Went to work today all of the batteries I had with me were dead. It's to the point that I need a corded tool as a back up. 5 of them showed that they had a bad cell. That only left me one good one to work today. Monday I'm taking all these junk batteries back and getting them replaced. When maktia decides not to replace them any more then I'm going to sell all this maktia cordless tools and get roybi brand drills.
Even the new ones I got replaced showed bad cells on two different chargers. I bet if I added up the wasted time going though batteries and trying to find one that will work it would be a staggering amount of money.
I would say Ridgid with their lifetime warranty on their batteries.dr99 said:I use Ryobi for my yard tools. I have a small lot so gas powered tools are over kill, and had have had 4 packs go bad 3 went bad over this winter alone just sitting on Ryobi's 6 port charger. My friend who uses Ryobi on jobs just had 2 new battery packs die on him. I think the quality of cell used is very poor on the Ryobi packs. Which company has the best warranty on their battery packs?
You need to be nicer to your batteries... I probably have a dozen dead Makita packs but that's because my employees are idiots.
Charge all your batteries before storing them, don't leave them on tools when not in use (overnight or longer), don't leave them on chargers non-stop (take them off shortly after they're charged), keep them warm if possible, don't leave them on the charger if the charger is not plugged in, don't charge them until they need it, in other words don't just toss them on the charger first thing in the morning unless they're dead.
Charge all your batteries before storing them, don't leave them on tools when not in use (overnight or longer), don't leave them on chargers non-stop (take them off shortly after they're charged), keep them warm if possible, don't leave them on the charger if the charger is not plugged in, don't charge them until they need it, in other words don't just toss them on the charger first thing in the morning unless they're dead.
You don't get what you pay for. In this case, less.Noticed on ebay they have a generic 4 amp makita battery. $180.00 gets you 4 of them.
4 amp instead of the 3
search ebay for
4x Makita Battery 18V 4.0Ah BL1830 BL1840 Lithium Ion Li-ion for Power Tool 4Ah
anybody ever tried any off brands?
Maybe I read it wrong but I didn't find anything on the HD/Ridgid site that indicates that they offer a lifetime warranty on batteries. If they did, I would go tomorrow and buy and impact driver/drill kit.I would say Ridgid with their lifetime warranty on their batteries.
Do you know something I don't know or couldn't find?
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