I tested Milwaukee M18 power tool batteries to see what low voltage cutoff and protection they have. Some of the batteries discharge below the recommended 2.5V per cell discharge limit. I think this is being done to allow the batteries to be pushed harder, but it is poorly implemented and could be damaging the batteries.
00:00 Intro 00:15 Lithium-Ion battery cutoff voltage 00:42 Literature Review 01:12 My batteries are NOT fake! 01:42 Is Milwaukee M18 cutoff in the tool or battery? 02:43 Test setup 03:11 12ah test 03:45 6ah XC test 04:08 2ah test 04:40 Low current test 04:51 Summary of cutoff voltages 05:56 Is it to increase runtime? 06:09 Are they designed to fail? 06:17 Increase power draw without triggering low voltage cutoff 07:07 Conclusions
[003] Milwaukee M18 low voltage cutoff is below 2.5V/cell on older batteriesTool Scientist2023-07-12 | Support my work on Patreon to see videos early and see extra information: patreon.com/ToolScientist
I tested Milwaukee M18 power tool batteries to see what low voltage cutoff and protection they have. Some of the batteries discharge below the recommended 2.5V per cell discharge limit. I think this is being done to allow the batteries to be pushed harder, but it is poorly implemented and could be damaging the batteries.
00:00 Intro 00:15 Lithium-Ion battery cutoff voltage 00:42 Literature Review 01:12 My batteries are NOT fake! 01:42 Is Milwaukee M18 cutoff in the tool or battery? 02:43 Test setup 03:11 12ah test 03:45 6ah XC test 04:08 2ah test 04:40 Low current test 04:51 Summary of cutoff voltages 05:56 Is it to increase runtime? 06:09 Are they designed to fail? 06:17 Increase power draw without triggering low voltage cutoff 07:07 Conclusions
A deep dive into the communication between the 2 chips on M18 batteries. Specifically looking for why M18 batteries become unbalanced and only charge to 3 bars.
Code for balancing is at link below. This is an online compiler that will allow you test the code without downloading anything, it will run in your browser: programiz.com/online-compiler/1dskD2MIwhDXr
If you want to send me codes, please use the following example format: AU 2024-03-22 12Ah J52BDCAF 2019-10-17 0101 365 120 512 [country] [test date] [battery type] [first 8-digits of serial #] [manufacture date] [1st code] [2nd] [3rd] [4th]
There are diagnostic codes in some M18 batteries (roughly, before mid-2015 and after mid-2021). You can see them by holding the button down for a few seconds. This video reverse engineers some of the code, but more data is needed. It is discovered that M18 batteries have a really bad charge counter (you would have to try to make one that's worse).
There is a lot of conflicting information as to whether or not Makita 18V LXT batteries have low-voltage protection. I found that some do, and some don't. I don't have many LXT batteries, so I don't quite have the full picture.
Testing how Milwaukee M18 batteries communicate with M18 tools, and how we can take advantage of that communication to drive high-powered circuits whilst keeping low-voltage and overtemp protection of the BMS.
Milwaukee M18 batteries and chargers communicate via digital signals, which Milwaukee calls Redlink Intelligence. A USB logic analyser, some leads, and a few resistors is all you need to listen in on these signals. I tested 2 chargers and several batteries and listed my best interpretation of what the messages mean and what each byte in the messages means.
There's still a few parts that I'm unsure of or have no idea of their meaning. It'd be great if others can follow my guide and record the signals of their batteries and chargers to see if they can uncover any new information.
This video owes a lot to Buy It Fix It who solved a lot of the basics of the protocol and definitely saved me a lot of time. They don't have a video on this topic, but they've got lots of repair videos on their channel, so go check them out: youtube.com/c/BuyitFixit
Current (amps) and power (watts) testing of Milwaukee M18 18V cordless tools. 15 tools were tested for inrush current, no load power, typical power, heavy use, and then pushed to their limits to find a max power rating.
I've seen lots of people jump start their cars with 18V lithium power tool batteries - and I've also seen all the comments descend into arguments about it being too much voltage for the car and to much current for the power tool battery. I've never seen anyone actually measure them, they all just throw around imaginary numbers to suit them.
In this video, I measure the current through the power tool battery and the voltage of the car battery whilst performing a jump start on my car. The batteries used were Milwaukee M18 5ah and 12ah.[001] Jump-start car with 18V battery: How much current and voltage?Tool Scientist2023-05-21 | Support my work on Patreon to see videos early and see extra information: patreon.com/ToolScientist
I've seen lots of people jump start their cars with 18V lithium power tool batteries - and I've also seen all the comments descend into arguments about it being too much voltage for the car and too much current for the power tool battery. I've never seen anyone actually measure them, they all just throw around imaginary numbers to suit them.
In this video, I measure the current through the power tool battery and the voltage of the car battery whilst performing a jump start on my car. The batteries used were Milwaukee M18 5ah and 12ah.
*USE MY RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS AT YOUR OWN RISK!* *Different cars, car batteries, 18v batteries, and jumper leads will yield different results and may damage your car, battery, and yourself.*
00:00 Abstract 00:13 Background 00:36 Setup - type of car, conditions on the day, battery condition, batteries used 01:44 Results - 5Ah jump 02:57 Results - 12Ah jump 04:19 Results - Trickle charge 05:15 Conclusions - and all the graphs