Replace Batts or Charger?

[ChrisD]

I am unable to charge my batteries on my cordless drill. I was going to replace the charger but the site said to test batteries first, that if the batts are bad they could damage the charger..... how do I test the batteries, they are currently dead.

PS the light on my charger does not come on..when plugged in.

This is a Ryobi cordless drill

Please help
Thanks
Chris

[UtahAV]

Hi Chris,

You can test your batteries by using a multimeter set to test volts DC. A battery with no charge (current) will still output the advertised voltage. If the battery reads 0 volts then it has an internal problem and may be shorted out. If you put the shorted battery back on a charger it will short the charger out. If you don't have a multimeter you may want to take your batteries to a local power tool repair shop to have them tested. The fact that the light does not turn on on the charger would point to the direction of a bad charger but I would still test the batteries to be safe.

I hope this helps!

-UtahAV
-Mark