I have made a detailed video on this. There's a lot more information on this new video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/r9t8l8xl1LqbqH0.html

The lesson of the clip for me is: the use of the little magnets!

Using magnets to hold the leads is very clever!

Great video, something else you can do to revive the cells is to set your RC charger to NiMh mode which does not have Low Voltage protection and set it at 0.1 amps, this will trickle charge the battery to get it above 3.0V and then you can switch it to LiPo mode :)

This is the simplest method that most videos describe, but I prefer a safer method. This way can make the battery heat up and explode. I use a bench power supply where I can dial in the voltage and the current. I limit the current to about 50 milliamps, and then I gradually raise the voltage to the point where it starts to take current. Sometimes this can be as high as 30 volts. Once it starts to charge, I reduce the voltage to about 4V, and I turn up the current to about 100 mA, and let it charge for a few minutes. At this point I transfer it to a proper charger, because it monitors temperature and controls the current, shutting off when the charging is complete. It's particularly useful for older cameras which have dead batteries which no longer take a charge, and the new battery is either very expensive or hard to find.

Very helpful thank you. I didn't gave any good 18650's so I used 2 AA Alkaline batteries in series and connected them to the dead 18650 in the same way you showed. Worked surprisingly effectively and only took a few seconds to bring the 18650 up to a chargeable voltage.

For Anyone out there, I used this method with a dead AA NiMH rechargeable battery, and it worked as described.

A lot of the RC chargers have a power supply or 'smart charge' mode that will allow you to put any current you want through the leads. Super useful.

I'm so glad i stumbled on this! Didn't know you it was a voltage drainage issue, I left my batteries plugged in my gimbal once discharging so I messed up 2 batteries. I didn't know it was a voltage drainage issue with these types of batteries. I didn't have the right tools like a volt meter but fortunately 2 18650 batteries where charging so I charged one. The working 18650 connected to the dead battery through simple soldering wire i had laying around..When i saw the spark i thought it probably fried it..I got paranoid so i only did it for like 10 seconds or less. Just like jump starting a car it instead the battery came back to at least 1 volt and the charger no longer displayed an error and begun charging the dead battery! this works wonders! You saved me having to spend 20 something dollars on new batteries and having to wait for shipping and cancel a video shoot! Thank you!

Love the magnet idea 😉, that alone is a thumbs up 👍

Your videos are gold...literally...watched your drone vid which gave me the guts to try what i had wondered would work...take my old ecig batteries and replace the weak lipo in it....works great using certain brands of batteries and waaay cheaper and safer than expensive over priced lipos.

I love your accent / voice it is so soothing to listen to in a tutorial like this

That's exactly how I did it and with a very similar charger. It doesn't work long if the battery is too dead but depending on what you need the battery for that's not a big deal. For batteries between 1.5-2.5v they can usually come back to almost perfect health. The older and longer the battery was discharging, the less likely they are to come back to normal.

love the magnet trick - never seen that one before! Thanks!

I tried. It worked. I had 3 expensive and near new 18650 batteries. All VERY flat from a big flashlight. All now charged. I tried 2 different chargers. Thank you.

This worked well! Thank you! I will say I held the multimeter on the old battery after disconnecting from the new one and the voltage was not holding- but is expected from a battery that was left dead for so long.

Worked for me, thank you so much, some of the comments about corroding insides of the batteries have me worried, I will keep a close eye on them, besides that, my charger wouldn't charge them, now it does! A++

Thank you, saved 4 batteries that had been in a flashlight that was left on. My Opus charger would not charge them before I tried this.

I've seen this method mentioned in other places, but I particularly appreciate the description explaining the _reason._ 👍 Far too many people just "give a man a fish" instead of teaching. 🤦

I have watched this video two times now. I have saved around $120 with your technique! Thank you

you are the boss! i had one 18650 that had only 0.18v charge and its now back at 3.7v and working again thanks alot

I just did this and it worked great. I folded a strip of aluminum foil until it was about 1/4" and then tore it in half, I stood the 2 batteries beside each other on one of the foil strips, I laid the other across the top terminals and counted to 20, I put the battery in the charger and it worked! Thanks for the tip!!!

Using the magnet for contact for charging ...... BRILLIANT....somehow I missed that one all these years......ty sir

Thanks for a very clear description of the process as well as the 30 second max charge warning.

Using magnets instead of soldering for a short term connection. -Great idea!!

Oh my goodness! I followed your instructions and it WORKED like a charm!!! I have a 14650 Li-Ion inside of a plastic case and protector circuit (known as the LIP-8) for an old Sony Mini Disc. I had purchased that battery as an extra backup and failed to actually charge or use it back in the day. The battery was so dead it would not recognize. You got me going my friend - thank you!!!!

I am terrible when it comes to anything electrical but I bought the cables & alligator clips shown above, followed the directions to the letter and boom! My left-for-dead 18650's are charging in a wall charger ... something they refused to do for 2 weeks! THANK YOU!!!

Thank you for making a video on how to revive / rejuvenate a battery that is dead or no longer active.

Thank you so much! I have an 18650 battery that won't charge so was trying to figure out how to zap it without ruining it. Your video is awesome and the tip about using magnets is brilliant! Now I can fix several different things I have that won't charge.

Thanking you for this trick! But, I did my a face palm when you used the magnets on the clips! I love magnets but never thought of that. An age-old problem solved!

Great tips. The magnet trick to conveniently attach leads is also clever. I didn't have a charged lipo battery, but this also works if you have a variable power supply. I just set mine to 3.2V and connected it in parallel to my battery for 30 seconds, and the battery was ready to charge!

My friend with the best accent ever ! So happy to stumble upon you again. As always great stuff thanks

I never thought of just using another battery to recharge up a battery enough for a recharging, some great advise, thank you, I needed that. Also the magnets are such a great idea as well, I've already purchased some new small magnets just for doing this technique now. Again thanks a lot, Tom.

Not usual for me to leave coments. But you rock dude! You have fixed my battery! Thank you so so so much for the good help! You are the best! Thanks heaps!!!!!

Thanks had a brand new item with inbuilt battery, accidentally left on and ran flat over a couple of weeks. Would not light up the LED panel or charge. Pulled the battery out, kick started as explained in this video, put the battery back in and it is now charging as normal. Don't know yet if I have done permanent damage, but looking good so far. Was a life saver because we could not get another 3.7V the same size as the one built into the item.

Totally worked! Thanks man, awesome vid! Only took a few seconds for the charger to recognize the battery

I discharged my battery to far and the charger wouldn't charge it. I tried your suggestion and it worked. Thanks

Hey great tip on the magnets

Thanks man it works! I had a dead AA very new battery only used it 3 times. Wouldn't charge, when I measure no voltage. I actually used a 9v to give it a jump for only 5 seconds. Then measured 0.8v and now its charging.

An excellent job. You saved me 4 batteries of 6000 mAh. Thanks a lot.

Cool trick, man. Just a tip: if you put electricity thought a magnet, with time, this one will be demagnetized. And the magnets also add resistance to the circuit, so it's better if you don't use magnets while charging your batteries. Peace, bro. 👍

Thanks a lot. Funny cuz the charger and voltage scenario down to the charger indicator lights and color of cell...Got my dead cell up in under 30 seconds!

Great video. I had a battery pack for a VAX vaccume cleaner that would not charge. With the batteries in place I applied 4 volts to each cell ( one at a time ) After removing the 4 volts each cell was nearly 2.9 volts. I plugged it in to the pack in to the charger and the it charge up. fully after a few hours.

🤟 Worked great for restoring my HS510 drone battery! Was about to tear the battery apart but I just did the jumper wire trick for a few seconds from one of the other HS510 drone batteries and it came back to life and is now charging on the Holy Stone charger. Thx for the great vid!

Just woke up my 25r's, we will see if they hold charge. Thanks man👍 There was no way I was sticking something under positive to reset cid button 😢

That was really cool!! I thought you would jump the dead battery with a live one with perhaps twice the voltage!! but you did it a lot safer!! and those magnets!!!

Much love! This totally worked for me. Was at 0.15V, placed in parallel for ~10 sec to 1.8V, which was enough for my charger. Good looking out!

I figured this out myself, too. The electrically conducting magnet trick is the cat's meow. Thank you! Good stuff.

Nice idea with the magnet, will use from now on! Cheers, brow.

The magnet thing is freakin awesome... that helped me more than anything!!!

the charger will not charge the battery because if the voltage is below 2.8v the battery became unsafe, good that you are teaching people how to overpass the safety feature

This worked great for me. Thanks, you saved me a lot of money on batteries i was going to recycle

This is what's called bump charging, i have done this before to my cell's and it does work as long as the cell has not reached it's end life cycle.

This just saved me some serious time. thank you!

Great Idea on using magnets to hold the leads. I hadn't thought of that.

Thanks for this, saved the 18650 battery on my screwdriver!

The magnet to hold the leads made the vid..thx..the battery revival was old knowledge

Thanks bro! Learn something new today!!! Badass

Very nicely done, VuaEco! I like your easy-going tone and the clear explanation. Thanks for sharing :o)

Wow, your magnet trick is super useful! Thank you!

You are on the correct path to solving the problem. A LiPo battery that reads a very low voltage to the point a charger will not accept it for charging is due to developing a high internal resistance because of a chemical reaction that occurred when it was either discharged too low and/or at a rate higher than safe. This can be fixed by applying a voltage higher than the nominal 4.2 Vmax ( and up to about double that) of what a LiPo should be charged to, and by keeping the current as low as possible (~ at 1/10C of what it is rated) so the chemical imbalance is reversed, internal resistance goes back to a normal low level, thus the battery becomes more ..."accepting" to an incoming charge. As an example connect any ...misbehaving LiPo to a wall wart with about 9 - 12 Volts and a current of as low as possible (ie 100 - 300 mA) and monitor the battery voltage level: It will start to rise slowly. The key is to let it rise very SLOWLY , like ~ 0.1 volts per minute. The slower the better, it depends on your patience just keep an eye on the battery temperature, but if you use a low current it will not warm up, guaranteed. Let the battery reach a little over 4.2 volts (not higher than 4.3 V is recommended) and disconnect it from the wall wart while observing your multimeter display. If the battery settles anywhere above 4 V it is still usable (the higher the better) although it is probably no longer as efficient like when being new. If the voltage is slowing dropping most likely it will go all the way back to an unusable level so at least you know the battery has lived its useful life and recycle it properly. Nice video, I hope I was also of some help too!

Just curious; Do you know which battery more closely matches it "C".. !;!

After watching this, I used an old 5v 1amp charger lying around, cut the end, and attached them (one to +/-) on the 18650 battery and plugged it in. After about 15minutes, pulled it off, and...the battery WORKED! Charged as usual! Thanks!

I cannot believe it works😂 I had an awt 18650 that's been dead for a while, did this whole process in literally 30 seconds and the battery charges! You sir, are a legend.😎😎

The reason why charging at unlimited current is a bad idea is that when a lithium cell is discharged too low there is nothing formed on the plates, charging at a low current (sub 100mA) will reform the chemistry on the plates if you charge too fast it will cause uneven forming of the plates and WILL cause dendrites which are shorts inside the cell, that do not happen right away and if it is put in a pack it will short out and cause a major chain reaction

This is amazing, thanks for posting!

I had purchased a new battery after realizing the aftermarket deck I put in my VW Wagon was draining it but was time anyways 2 replace. So it killed the new one. My 20+ year old charger had an issue with power cable eventually fraying so I picked up a new digital smart charger (EverStart Maxx 50A,15A,3A trickle). Hooked it up and pressed recalibrate and nothing. I was confused, passed, and gutted. But then I took a step back and thought to myself alright, so I got to work. I replaced the power cable in the old school direct current charger. Tested it and made sure there where no issues. Threw it on the dead battery for a small period of time and once I got it to a quarter to half way of it being charged I tried the digital and it started charging and doing its job. So yes this is a very, very helpful way to get more life out of batteries like these that are believed to be dead. I have a 10 year old 18650 battery from an old original vape pen which broke in my Tactical flashlight and still to this day I use it almost daily taking the dog out. Lasts as long as it did back then and same current too as every 6months I throw the 18650 that came with the flashlight in and double check so I know how it's doing and to re-topoff the stored one to keep it freshly charged while stored.

It works with my old metal hydride makita batteries too, I use 2 x 9 volt batteries in series to raise the voltage to pacify the charger. 😊👍🏻

I've enjoyed your accent while watching your various battery videos.

I came back here to hear you say cells again. If I could thumb it up again I would.

u just need a high current charger to shock what is inside the battery. And after that u can charge it back to a normal charger. just like ur making a jumper from ur car to a dead battery. thank u sir u refresh my memory. keep going & God bless!

Worked on a 18650!! Only needed 3 seconds and they became really HOT. Be carefull!! Thanks!!!

I Like your video and I think it's safe..I like the fact that you answer to all comments with a positive response..I already made one explode and it's crazy dangerous not fun at all. I'll never never going to do that again..but I will dispose them the proper way.. ido you have a recommendation for that ?

what you can also do is use a Turnigy or imax b6 charger to raise the voltage to get them to charge. all you have to do it swap it to NiMH mode and charge it for a couple seconds until the voltage on the 18560 is 2.25-3v and then you can swap it back to lithium mode and continue charging like normal. it will work for any lithium cells.

Nice video. I also liked the way you "connect" the battery with magnets ;-)

I like all your battery videos..very informative and straight to the point..subscribed.

I think the magnet s on the alligator clips was the coolest and most handy thing I've seen all day. Did you just glue small magnets to them or are they actually magnetic?

This technique you did with a good discharged only battery. If you try it with a bad quality dead battery, it never ever will bring that back to life. Best regards,

I tried your method on NI-MH batteries and it worked. Thank you very much for sharing this!

Thanks man worked great, I just held wires to the connectors

Yes but, once charged how long do those dead cells last compared to a good battery?

No shit the magnet is both a lightbulb moment and palm to forehead in that order. Thank You for enlightening and keeping me humble friend. Hope you are having a good day.

I like the magnet idea there. Thanks for the tip.

It worked, thank you!I have saved a dead Li-Ion battery.

it may show you a good voltage, but i dont think it could work as a regular battery, it wont give you enough current, and will drop voltage so fast.

Mine sparks when combined in parallel. Also no voltage increases immediately. Checked the dead battery resistance, it has few ohms. Is it end chapted?

You, good sir, have just saved me the cost of a new battery. Thank you!

Oh you have a good power sentry distributor with overvoltage protection! Keep it safe! There are only a few manufacturers are so very good components in it. A good thing!

Almost feel like I’m getting an order of gator nuggets in Pierre Part, Louisiana. It’s everyone else with an accent! 😄👍🏼

I always find myself coming back to your channel to see what your up to and it is always entertaining. I also get more ideas watching your videos. I live in Texas so never thought temperatures below 40 deg f would effect me but recentlyI was visiting the cold northern states and experience temp well below the safe levels for the 18650s so I had to pay attention to the temp inside the RV. I was wondering if you have done any test on charging and discharging 18650's in cold temps? By the way my RV Powerwall build has worked out great... thanks for all your videos.

Legend, just resuscitated an expensive battery pack. Suspected this battery may have been heavily discharged and left flat. All the cells tested (in small bunches) were ~1.2v (not consistent with cell failure). Carefully adding a little charge by jumping a full 18650 in a holder onto the multimeter probes worked great (maybe building a more permanent rig with a push to close switch may be handy if you do lots of this). De how this battery goes now the charger and controller were happy to charge it.

I've done that with dead NIMH cells too and it worked great to give it a "jump start" and only took about 20 seconds.

Buk Lau is that you?

Cool trick with the magnets, I will definitely remember that! Would be cool if you can check the capacity of a cell brought back to life like that and maybe try it with an old dead cell as well. BTW, what accent is that? Sounds cool.

This worked to recharge my Moza Air 2 batteries. Amazing! I didn't realize you could revive a depleted battery.

I took 2 pieces of twisted tin foil and held it across the ends and counted slowly to 15 and it worked. Thanks!!!

Great move using the magnets. Just curious how long will that battery last

You should really have some amount of resistance (like a 3V light bulb) in series between the two batteries to limit charge currently (even though it will take longer), as you likely over currenting the battery for a time with possible damage. Even more so if you try to charge a smaller capacity battery from a bigger charged cell, when it could potentially even cause a fire or battery rupture (in the smaller cell). I have an electronics engineering background and having seen lithium battery fires, I recommend treating lithium batteries with great care!

At first I was skeptical but deeeeym, this works like a charm! Keep in mind though you need to follow what the guy said to charge it for no more than 30secs cuz in my case the battery got warm 20secs mark and I immediately removed it.

You can do this with your turnigy charger as well, just set it to NiMH and keep an eye on the voltage, since all you're really doing is bringing the voltage back up, the best part is chargers like your turnigy will let you trickle a small amount of charge to give it the best chance of revival without too much heat.