Battery or drill knackered?

[DIY_Johnny]

I have an 8 year old makita 18V BHP452 Combi drill.
It's lost a lot of power (torque) and charge is about 30% of original.
Oddly I charged it last night and drilling just now it really has low torque.

Does this point to just the battery or could something be wrong with the drill (brushes?)

Battery is 3mA LI-ON (BL1830).

If I do replace it, doesn't it have to be exact model or can I get a 4mA one

[big-all]

batteries loose about 15-25% off there capacity every year
dont just assume the batteries and tools are matching you need to do your homework and check

[DIY_Johnny]

batteries loose about 15-25% off there capacity every year
dont just assume the batteries and tools are matching you need to do your homework and check

thanks, I thought a loss of capacity would only effect the charge it holds not the torque but maybe that's not the case.
I rang makita and they said any 3mA makita lx range would fit. The 4amp wouldn't as different connections.
Will order one I think

[big-all]

some off it will be less fuel[ah] and reduced horsepower[volts] sometimes its mostly fuel sometimes its 1or more off the 5 cells dropping low [5x3.6v]

[DIY_Johnny]

Charged it up, 17.5 V
But went even quicker now. Just ordered a new battery. Didn't realise how much I depended on it. Today's work is very laborious

[big-all]

a recently charged battery should be around 20% overvolt at say 21-22v

[arco_iris]

Charged it up, 17.5 V
But went even quicker now. Just ordered a new battery. Didn't realise how much I depended on it. Today's work is very laborious

I "think" you may find that older Makita 18v LXT series tools with model codes starting 'B' may not take newer higher capacity batteries, whereas later models starting 'D' but rest of model number the same, will. Perhaps it just refers to 5Ah (BL1850) batteries though.

[Job and Knock]

A mate of mine still has my old BHP452 which is all of about 9 years old - and whilst it looks a bit scrappy it is still fully serviceable. Over the time I (then he) has had it it has seen off two sets of batteries and two switches, but that's all.

After 8 years your battery is completely knackered. Simple as that. Li-Ion batteries in trade use have a working life of 3 to 5 years - partly because there is a limited number of charges you can get out of a Li-Ion battery and partly because regardless of how you store it, use it, charge it the chemistry deteriorates eventually. So get yourself a replacement BL1830 or BL1830B battery and your tool will be rejuvenated. If your tool has a yellow battery connector, or a black one with the "MakStar" logo it will accept the 4Ah and above batteries without modification (see below). If not then a bit of work with the Stanley knife may be required

MakStar logo on older B-series tool 001_01.JPG (25.52 KiB) Viewed 3728 times

MakStar logo on older B-series tool 001_02.JPG (35.96 KiB) Viewed 3728 times

Above: The MakStar logo or yellow block on older "B" series tools indivcates that they are compatible with batteries larger than 3Ah. They may not share the same battery protection circuitry as the "D"-series tools so you should take care never to overheat the battery

Makita battery/tool naming:

"B"-series tools were the original Makita 14.4 and 18 volt Li-Ion tools (in the UK market the 14.4 tools have all but disappeared as they were almost the same price as the 18 volt ones - for a noticeable reduction in power/run-time/performance).

"D"-series tools replaced the earlier "B"-series tools about 4 years ago (although some late "B" series tools such as the BTD146 impact driver had most of the same extra features). The three biggest differences are that the "D"-series tools have built-in battery protection circuitry (to prevent the user drawing excess current or overheating the motor), they can communicate with the MakStar batteries to ensure that the battery temperature doesn't reach critical (where the cells are damaged, because overdrawing current and killing them was a problem with some "B"-series tools such as circular saws, recip. saws, etc) and they are designed to work in conjunction with batteries larger than 3Ah (up to 6Ah at present). Many of them have battery charge LED displays as well.

Makita Makstar Logo on Battery 001_01.JPG (21.78 KiB) Viewed 3728 times

Above: The MakStar logo is clearly visible on the top of this battery pack

The current battery family (called the "MakStar" range) includes batteries with the following capacities:

1.3Ah and 1.5Ah - designed for light, low current applications such as lightweight drilling. They will not work with heavy tools such as circular saws, recip. saws - they are just too small - but for tasks such as lightweight drilling where minimal weight is required they are very good.

Makita BL1820 Battery 001_01.JPG (35.43 KiB) Viewed 3728 times

Above: Makita BL1820 battery showing the size of the half-size (sub-3 Ah) battery packs. These smaller battery packs do not have sufficient space for the LED display of the larger "B"-suffix batteries

2.0Ah - low profile general purpose battery (1/2 size and very light)

3.0Ah - full-size general purpose batteries

All "MakStar" batteries up to 3Ah can be used with older "B" series tools without modifications, although some tools (again circular saws and recip. saws) will not couple to them

4.0Ah, 5.0Ah and 6.0Ah - full-size larger capacity batteries. Not compatible with earlier "B" series tools unless the battery connector is modified.

Batteries with "B" suffix (e.g. BL1850B as opposed to BL1850) are the more modern batteries with started to appear about 2 years ago - they have a battery charge LED display activated by a push button at the rear of the pack

Makita BL1860B Battery 001_01.JPG (35.55 KiB) Viewed 3728 times

Above: Rear view of a Makita BL1860B battery pack showing the LED array and test button which was introduced wth the "B"-suffix battery packs

[big-all]

to be honest i would avoid "modifying to fit" as they have been specially made not to fit for a reason
i assume its to do with protection off the battery or tool

[kellys_eye]

I still repair my old batteries - not something everyone can do though - as I had three battery packs originally. The first one to go dud was the donor as finding out which cells were actually dud was straightforward and it's only a matter of cut'n'solder to fit the 'good' cells.

[DIY_Johnny]

Thanks job and knock, good overview. I ordered the BL1830. I think doing a hack job us not a good idea as big all says and in any case a 3mA is fine for heavy DIY especially given the charge time is so short

[fin]

my dewalt stuff i have the original batteries are goosed now. theyre pretty early models like on the current slide on range. they hold nowhere near the charge the new to me ones i got last time i was at the dewalt shop. £30 each for tested second hand under a year old.

ive normally found whne they are goosed that its easier to stop the drill turning by griping the chuck. even when fully charged.

[big-all]

ive normally found whne they are goosed that its easier to stop the drill turning by griping the chuck. even when fully charged.

nahh fin your just so macho and strong

[fin]

i did work with this absolute knacka once who managed to snap his drill in 2..... mind you it was one of those absolute crappy challenge things. and it broke his wrist when it did it haha. we called him mr dead coz he had zero get up and go about him. last seen working at dixons selling tv's and cd players

[DIY_Johnny]

Got the new battery from Makita, I only ordered the BL1830 but they sent the BL1830B.

Bit odd, as when I charged it there was not that whirring sound from the charger (fan I assume). Its the first time I have heard the charger running silent so I initially thought there was a compatibility issue. However it charged just fine but took a lot longer that my old battery. This time took I'd say 45mins
Anyway, drill good as new. Chuck looks like its on the way out but will do for now
Now to find a place that I can dispose of old battery?