Shopsmith Forums

I have a B&D firestorm cordless drill. Not expensive, and was a gift. It is 6-7 years old and it works great. About a month ago, the charger quit working, and 1 battery was not charging very well. I found a charger for $20 and moved on working on a house. The bad battery never really charged well and the other one was fine. I plugged the worst battery in and forgot about it, like I had always done. When I went to charge the " good " battery, the new charger was not working and will not work , the bad battery was totally dead. I can get a new charger and batteries, but they will cost about the same as replacing the driver. Before I start that decision making process, I need to know if the bad battery ruin can the charger? Any help will be appreciated!

Geezz, you hope a bad battery wouldn't ruin the charger. But maybe so, I did find an article of someone complaining about the same thing on the internet. But he had no resolution either. Google search: "BAD BATTERY RUIN CHARGER"

But whatever the reason, I think you have to call up Black and Decker and get them to replace it!

It is a major frustration to have batteries or charger go bad. Especially when these things fit a favorite drill. It became useless to try to fix batteries or charger and replacement batteries cost the same as a new drill.

In my frustration, I bit the bullet and took the advice of "Ed in Tampa" and bought a RIDGID 12 volt portable w/ 2 batteries, flashlight and charger. The batteries and charger are guaranteed for life. All you need to do is return the bad battery to HD and they give you a new one. Lithium-ion batteries. Work good!

Check to see if there is a blown fuse inside the charger. I had a DeWalt charger stop working a few years ago. Opened it up, found a blown fuse. Replaced the fuse and it's been working ever since.

Thanks guys, I will see if I can find a fuse, if not I'll buy a new one.