My Makita Li-Ion Batteries Died after only about 7 months of use, I was getting about a year and a half out of my old tools Ni-cads. The makita charger became quite noisy after about three months but I thought it was just the fan. Has Anybody else had this problem. I bought a new charger and new batteries (not cheap). Are my problems behind me or has this new technology been giving others guff?
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I have had my makita Li-ion kit for almost a year and absolutely no problems, except for the sawzall kind of being a pig. It seems to me that makita should have replaced that stuff for free after all the hype they put out about it.
Any chance the batteries might have been frozen a few times (left in a work rig overnight on cold winter nights)?
That could really shorten their life. Mine are about a year old & still fine. I do have to bring the batts in during winter though.
Hmmm...Just out of curiosity, would the freezing thing do the same with NiCd batteries you think? I'll have to go dig out the instruction book & see if I can find it.
Jer,Freezing can be good for NiCad, so no worries. They also perform better out in the cold than Li-ion or NiMH."NiMH and Nicad batteries, start to lose power when stored for only a few days at room temperature. But they will retain a 90% charge for several months if you keep them in the freezer after they are fully charged. If you do decide to store your charged NiMH cells in the freezer or refrigerator, make sure you keep them in tightly sealed bags so they stay dry. And you should also let them return to room temperature before using them."I did some more reading on Li-ion bats. And though freezing can kill them, the freezing point for Li-ion electrolyte solutions in batteries is about -40* (F and C--this is where the two scales agree). Also storage for Li-ion is best at 40% charge and actually at the freezing point for water (but well above freezing for the bat.).The problem is that the batts can be damaged if stored cold, but not allowed to warm to room temp. before use. Also bad to leave in a hot car.Li-ion can be amazing, but have a new set of strange rules compared to the other batteries we are used to.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery
Should be under warranty! Did you ask?
Same here. I have 1 dead battery out of about 6 and one charger is making a lot of noise. I agree, the recip. saws I only get about 10-15 min out of. I was a fool and got 2. What a waste. My favorite is the impact driver, pretty much the only thing I use out that kit.I am going to check warranty.AS
Mine are about the same age, 2 out of 4 batterys have crapped out, and the drill quit also.
If I wanted this kind of reliability, I could have stuck with dewalt.
The fan in my charger also makes loud noise. The reciprical saw is a worthless piece of vibrating crap. Do not recommend this set of tools for the price because of how worthless the recip saw is.