Bring Dead Ni-Cad Batteries Back To Life

Step 7: Zap the hell out of the battery!

To zap a dead Ni-Cad battery back to life, put the Ni-Cad battery into the 'zapping' battery holder and a good alkaline battery into the battery holder on the camera's circuit.

The turn on the charge switch and wait for the neon/LED to glow. When it starts glowing, push the push-button switch and you may hear a loud 'POP'. That is OK for it to pop, it shows the battery has been zap an it is alive! But to be sure the sulfur crystals are really vaporized, zap the Ni-Cad battery one more time...

After zapping the Ni-Cad battery, charge it in its charger to really get it working again.

This works for me very well, I hope it works for you!

If you have any questions, or need help, or found an error, or anything, make a comment!
<sup>I like comments! :-)

Also, could you spare your few seconds on voting this instructable? Please?</sup>

Comments

[codongolev]

if I can track down a disposable camera (I think we have a few from when we cleaned out my grandmother's house), I'm totally doing this to my roomba's battery. it'll save me 25 bucks. (I believe, based on others' stories, that the first battery on the positive side is usually the bad one [they're in series]. however, I'll probably zap all of them just in case.)

[codongolev]

alright, folks. here's what just went down. I was thinking about this instructable, and I really wanted to do it. however, the only disposable cameras in the house were ones that my mom was keeping for some reason, and I'm sure it wasn't for me to take them apart. so I thought about it a while, and I remembered playing around with this AC adapter (that's a pretty old instructable, by the way, so keep in mind if you decide to read it that at the time I was still around middle school/high school freshman age). I thought, "that produces high voltage!" so I tried it. my setup was three nine volts in series to create 27 volts, which was then fed backwards (as per the instructable) through the transformer, then over to the battery. by the way, you can't just connect the nine volts then shock the batteries. to create the high voltage pulse, you have to attach the battery to the transformer, then repeatedly connect and disconnect the batteries so you get a spark. otherwise there will be no flow and you'll be wasting your time.

thought I'd share this, as it was very helpful to me (ran my roomba today for about an hour or so, so I'd say it worked especially seeing as before it couldn't even make the startup noise).

[middlenamefrank]

Nice 'ible, I've been doing this for years to bring NiCad batteries back to life (and no, it doesn't work on other chemistries, like NiMH). Usually I just turn on my 12V power supply, which charges up the output caps, turn off the power supply, then quickly zap the battery with the stored charge in the output caps. 12V is plenty when backed up by nice big caps (like on the output of most power supplies).

Don't think your batteries are going to be "good as new" afterwards though. Yes, you can get some more life out of the battery, but I've found they never have the same capacity afterwards (apparently it does some irreversible damage) and it only works a few times on a battery before it's gone for good. For this reason, I don't like to do it on a battery from a multi-cell pack -- then you just wind up with a weak battery in series with stronger ones, which is doomed to be overworked by the stronger cells and will die very soon anyhow.

[azmatanwar]

Can we use this trick on 12 V car battery??? regards.

[Shaji47]

It is a nice tip..... but an disposable camera is not available in our village. How to make that high voltage circuit? lol, hlep me please....

[Schober]

Can this be done with batteries larger than AA's? Say, something like a 7.2v or 8v r/c battery or would you need to increase the power?

[Lee Wilkerson]

The problem with the higher voltage batteries is the fact that they are comprised of quantities of AAA, AA, C, or D NiCD batteries (A fully charged NiCD cell is 1.2V. Ex: 6 x 1.2=7.2V). That in itself is not the problem - the problem is that those cells all deteriorate at different rates. This means you MUST disassemble the battery packs or at least compromise the packaging to get access to each individual cell. Once you have done so, check each cell with a voltmeter. You will likely find one or two cells in the pack which either have very low or reversed voltage. Those are the ones which you will need to address.

~/Lee

[zack247]

hi, you seem to know what youre talking about...
will this work with nimh batteries? i have 12 of them and if i can do this to them then i can use them again.

so does it work on nimh's?

[Plasmana]

That will burn out the transistor...

[Schober]

Is there another setup that would make it possible to zap a larger battery in a similar manner?

[Plasmana]

This would probably help.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Revive-Nicad-Batteries-by-Zapping-with-a-Welder/

[PCelec]

well wreten i just am afraid of the batery part. i have taken apart a digital camera and never got shocked but when shorting the capacitor scared me so much i don't want to mess with it. do you think that a plasma lightning ball would work thay make like 60-1000v.

[virushacker]

dont use this method on lithium -ion batterys its really dangerous.

[Plasmana]

Yeah I know, lol

[mashedpotato13]

Yes, this is a result :

www.metacafe.com/watch/788668/worlds_most_dangerous_battery/

[MrLWJ]

could this  be used to give laptop batts a second life?
those suckers are pricey.

[matstermind]

late reply, but you could try freezing the batteries for 12-14 hours then cool down recharge then discharge several times. it worked for me with one battery, but not with the second, look around the internet for more information

[beehard44]

i woudnt risk it!
li-ion or li-po batteries are very dangerous! but you can rebuild them!
just open it up then order the same type of "cells" that look like batteies, then just replace!
it is somewhere on the net....

[maxpower49]

what if the laptop battries are AA sized and you know they are Ni-Cad

[Hubiewan]

Thanks, man!   Although, can I just remove the flash bulb and wire in a battery holder, using the intact camera as is?  Just a thought.    Hubiewan

[killerbanjo]

Yes you could  :D

[charlessenf-gm]

Great Instructable. I have a couple of these cameras dismantled and this is the best use seen for them yet.

You can use a Wall Wart to power it - but the output needs to be DC Volts and likely < 2.0VDC at that. I would also suspect that the output would need to be filtered abit to be safe.

You can use additional battery holders - to fit C and D cells, for instance - wired in parallel to allow "Zapping" different size cells.

Many Battery-powered Tools that use ni-cad battery packs are actually six or so 1.5vdc "C"-sized cells that can be removed and "Zapped" individually.

I would suggest that your slide switch might be replaced with a Momentary Contact switch so the charging cycle can be better controlled and the battery life extended somewhat.

Nice job.

[mankros_dakren]

 Do you know if this will work for nickel metal hydride batteries? Very well written, simple instructable, as well. I can see why it won.

[mattameo213]

I don't think that it will. NiCD and NiMH batteries break down differently, and NiMH doesn't get the memory effect. I wouldn't suggest trying it. Of course, I could be wrong.

[shortandfluffy]

is there a way of doing that with 24v drill batteries

[instructors]

I believe your looking for this http://www.instructables.com/id/Revive-Nicad-Batteries-by-Zapping-with-a-Welder/

[Capfl2k5]

I really like this. I have a few question about the possibility of modifying the design. Would it be possible to remove the camera capacitor and replace it with a larger one like say out of a central air unit and still use the circuitry from the camera? Also instead of the aa battery that charges the flash use a dc adapter and plug it directly into the wall? And use an assorted number of battery holders and do more than one at a time? I know its a lot of questions but i was wanting to make one that would do this in bulk say 4 or more and or different sizes at one time and put it all in a nice big project enclosure.

[disturbedreaper]

i dont know what kind of capacitor it is so i cant answer that, but if you use a dc plug youll just blow out the tranformers in the camera and even if they suvived (which there is 0 chance of just talking now if you som how could get it to work) you would be dealing with such high voltage and current the battery you want to "zap" might as well be struck by lighning it would literaly explode. just doing som math now if 1.5v is transformed into about 450v than what would the output be if you you put 110v in you would get out 33,000v. youy may be able to put 3v supply to it without breaking the camera board but it would still be to strong for the battery

[Ricochet-Rabbit]

That's not a great result. I was about 10yrs. old when I tried to recharge a regular Alkaline "D"cell from the electrical outlet in my bedroom. I knew it was way to much voltage and I didn't know that there was a difference between dc & ac voltage at that tender age. I figured if I just connected one wire and then quickly swipe the other wire across the battery all would be well. As I picked myself up off the floor on the other side of the room I realized that that could of been a mistake. There was absolutely no sign that he battery had ever existed, I had a terrible burn on my hand, the hydro was out all over the house and the next day my hearing started to return. So folks, the camera flash capacitor method = good, house current = taboo.
By the way, I have since enjoyed 35yrs. in the electrical trade.

[CybergothiChe]

Go Cadada!

[Capfl2k5]

I was thinking about using a 3 volt adapter and dropping the voltage to 1.5 just like the AA. as far as the capacitor goes I was wanting a stronger one to do more than one battery at a time or maybe like drill batteries wich i assume would need alot more voltage to bring back. Nominal voltage for a small camera's photoflash capacitor ranges from 300-330 volts. so if i added a second one in series i would get around 600 volts correct me if im wrong on assuming it needs more voltage to do bigger batteries.

[bryanb333]

the caps are rated at 330v the charger with a single AA will output ~450vdc you can safely put 3vdc in but i would recomend makeing a small heat sink for you transistor i have had a camera flash puting out 1.2kv it died shortly there after.... :(

[fegundez1]

to fix your drill you have to take the batt case apart,there are more than 1 batt inside! No easy way remember do it right and it will work! There are several instructables on the subject search and find cool things! Thats how I learned to do this

[disturbedreaper]

well im new to battier shoking but i belive the only thing using the adapter would do was decrease the time it takes the capacitor to charge bucaue u are putting more amps to it as for multiple batteries it gets confusing and it is alot easier for somthing to go wrong and like blow up a battery or somthing which i would imagine would be a problem. i would make adapters to mutiple types of batteries but i would take the extra five minutes to zap each one corect me if im wrong but ur using a battery with a bunch of cells in it to power like an rc car, airsoft gun or other bateriy "pack" i also have a couple of those which need a zap and im not sure i think i would just zap them 2-3 times and hope that works ill give it a shot and get back to you.

[Capfl2k5]

I like the adapter for different types idea better than my own assorted panel idea. the main purpose for the wall adapter is to charge the flash faster and also to avoid the need to change the AA battery when it dies or remove it when not in use. My main point of confusion tho is on the bigger batteries like the 12 volt drill. Would multipal zaps do or is more voltage needed.

[awang8]

I think camera capacitators are something around 80uF 330v.

[DELETED_Noah feasey-kemp]

(removed by author or community request)

[Plasmana]

No, older cameras have capacitors rated between 140uF to 160uF while newer cameras are rated between 80uF to 120uF. The older cameras are VERY hard to find...

[0_Nvd_0]

 It is better to scavange many capacitors from many cameras and solder them in parallel with the capacitor in the circuit. In this way, we get a really huge effective capacitance that can zap the cell in one go.

[Zolmeister]

Well...... thats not true.... u see i got a lot of cameras and it turns out that almost all of them use different capacitors. i think there all 330v but the uF capacity varies. i have one at 80uF, and another at 160uF.... big difference, and they came with the same type of camera

[mimsmall]

If I remember correctly this rule applies.  Capacitors in parallel add like resistors in series. They need to have the same terminal voltage rating but can be of different capacity value.

[eavendanho]

Nice stuff. Would it work with notebook bateries?

[DELETED_Noah feasey-kemp]

(removed by author or community request)

[Plasmana]

If oyu give it enough power

[Plasmana]

Unfortunately, no...

[albertjol]

hey, does it work if I just just charge an old 400V 470 uf capacitor from an old computer power supply, with rectified mains electricity? (230 V) (should be 230 * sqrt(2) = 325 Volts or something)

[Plasmana]

Yes

[unlisted8495]

Here is my question(s) Will this work on a portable radio battery pack? its ultrasonically welded shut and rated for 7.2 volts. It does have one + and one - tab on the battery.. If it would work, how many times would I need to "zap" it compared to a normal AA battery? (I am using a disposable camera set up) Thanks. Oh, and does anyone have a suggestion on how to "revive" a li-ion battery?

[Plasmana]

It should do.

[donutdarin]

refer to your small circuit math text book and gang together a few of these.

[Madrias357]

Suggestion of reviving Lithium Ion batteries: Buy a new one. I tried reviving an old (Windows 98 era) laptop battery 3 days ago outside. I got my hearing back a day later and Dad's peeved that I turned a trash can into fiery shrapnel sent flying into the neighbor's yard.

[Plasmana]

Agreed, the lithium Ion batteries are sensitive, and that makes them dangerous.

[Plasmana]

Yes, it should work, I would zap it about 4 times.

[dogshan]

How would I test the suitability of a Capacitor. I am very wary of electrical shocks as I understand that a strong shock can cause heart problems, Atrium Flutter. That is what my cardiologist told me.

[Michi-Geforce]

Wow =),

That is so amazing, the right thing i ever needed! I'm so thankfull! I will build one and I'll tell you if it works at me either.

Greez from New York from a exchange Student from Germany ;)

Michael Sikora

[DELETED_Noah feasey-kemp]

(removed by author or community request)

[bradyman3]

found that one out the hard way. me and my friend cut off that little one and put on a massive 200v capicitor and made a spot welder. well luckly i only touched the little one half charged but it smarted. oh jeez.

[mman1506]

its not actually lethal unless you put it through a heart

[Michi-Geforce]

Oh, I see that my batteries are nimh ones, it isn't working with them? =/

[gadget_brain]

NiMH batteries don't suffer from that problem. They can put up with quite a bit more abuse then NiCd. You can leave a NiMH battery uncharged for very long periods then easily recharge them to full power. Also they tolerate partial discharges and then being recharged very well. So if there is something wrong with your NiMH battery it's probably no good.

[ac-dc]

Actually, NiMH doesn't necessarily take more abuse, it's just that by now most NiCd are much older. The typical NiCd can sit partially charged, partially discharged, for many years with no problems and they do in plenty of devices from phones to drills, etc. However, they all die eventually, especially if left overcharging in the dumb trickle chargers.

[carloshdezaraujo]

As long as I am able to repeat this proccess I will be eternally grateful to you for bringing back to life all of this batteries I have around me at home. Thanks again for the instructable.

[Plasmana]

Your welcome!

[DELETED_Noah feasey-kemp]

(removed by author or community request)

[11010010110]

it should any battery higher than 1.2 V is a pack of several 1.2 V batteries. you may want to open the pack and shock each battery on its own if together they dont get enough power

[DELETED_Noah feasey-kemp]

(removed by author or community request)

[11010010110]

the higher voltage or capacity the more power you get. capacitors in series give more V same uF. in parallel same V more uF. charge allways in parallel problem is that if in a series link there are both good and bad cells the good cells will take more than their share of the shock and leave less to the bad cells that actually need it overall its like keep on trying and then try some more. do whatever you feel right. it wont make stuff worse just be sure that there is no electronic circuit built in the battery pack. it wont withstand the shocks

[kc8hps]

(removed by author or community request)

[MrMacman2u]

Please, do NOT use this zap method on Li-ion batteries! To say that it's dangerous to use this method on a lithium cell does not even BEGIN to describe the hazard! They can very easily explode, and I don't mean "pop" I mean -BOOM-! Complete with fireball and casing as shrapnel!

[awang8]

What's worse? Li-Po batteries!!! NEVER EVER TRY THIS ON A LITHIUM POLYMER BATTERY!!! They can, and will, explode. And when I say explode, I mean like a bomb, complete with fire big enough to burn the house down!!

[vitruvian8807]

Yep, made a mistake taking one out from an old PDA, sliced into the battery, and it caught fire instantly. Burned completely.

[awang8]

Did it go like this? You: My PDA battery needs replacing... Battery: Hey dude! Leave me in my PDA or I'm gonna explode! You: As if! Battery: So what're gonna do? Slice me open? You: Yeah, not a bad idea *slices open* Battery: Muahahahaha! *explodes* You: WOW! I got blown up by a battery!

[phil galati]

I have known about this since the 70's when I used to fly radio control plains. It does work. Your process is much nicer and I will try it. Thanks for the great idea Phil Galati

[Plasmana]

Thanks for your nice comment! :-)

[wdelgenio]

I didn't know you could fly an entire plain remotely.

[bricabracwizard]

lol, I thought the same thing!

[DualPhase]

I have two Capacitors: 1) 120,000uF 15v 2) 52,000uF 30V max surge 40v Which would be better to use the higher F (1) or the higher V (2)? Also what would be the best way to charge up the capacitors. Car batter, DC wall adapter... ??? Thanks

[Plasmana]

the 52,000uF 30V would be the most suitable, and you can hook the capacitor directly to the DC wall adapter - but watch out for the capacitor's polarity!

[LightSpeed1]

Thank you for a really practical instructable! Some suggestions: <> Get two used flash cameras and use the battery compartment in the second as the holder for your target AA cell. <> Reassemble the original camera and its case provides a safe box for the project. Just drill a couple of holes to route out the wires. You can thus use the original charge button. <> If there is any chance of the cell exploding, wear safety goggles and gloves. <> To revive a battery with multiple cells, you could zap individual cells within the battery. You will need to disassemble the battery enough to get to the leads in and out of each cell and treat them as with a single cell. Do you know if this works on multiple cell batteries going through all the cells in series at once? That would be easier than disassembly. I think the short duration makes this method safe. The cell has no chance to heat up enough to explode. I would not do this more times than can be done without the cell getting hot to the touch. If it gets hot, stop and let it cool off. Also if the cell case looks bulged, stop. Gas pressure could cause that--potential explosion. As long as the cell looks and feels normal and is cool, you are probably safe.

[kc8hps]

(removed by author or community request)

[Plasmana]

You zapped the lithium-ion batteries?

[prodlad]

Awesome

[Plasmana]

Thanks!

[jaimex07]

Ok every thing it´s ok , but what about if we use an old spark car system , we can get a strong capacitor and the swicht from the points inside the distributor, plus the high energy coil. regards.

[b4polaris]

Nice. Should be able to work with any battery pack, used one similar to zap a 12v pack back to life - but not as compact and elegant so to speak. Very good.