Charging A Drill Battery From Flat ...... Flat As In Flat !!!!

[Gizmonster]

Drill very rarely gets used. I went to use it the other day and there's no life in it whatsoever.
I placed the battery in the charger and switched it on. Usually a red light comes on to indicate that it's charging; however, there's nothing - it's as if the battery isn't there.
Are there any ways to get some life back into the battery ??
It's a Black and Decker BL72V if that helps (it's ancient, I can't even find a spare battery on Ebay for it lol).

[MTbowels]

Having experienced a similar issue with a DeWalt battery, I can offer my experience. All these batteries are made up of a number of small batteries (in my case, 17) similar to a stubby version of an AA battery in shape. They are all soldered together in a cascade using thin foil rather than wire.
Sometimes one of these foils break, breaking the circuit and you can repair the battery by replacing the foil with suitable wire.
However, if you can open the battery and find everything intact, it means that one or more of the cells is internally faulty. Unfortunately, the cells are not replaceable.
You could in theory unsolder each of the cells to test them for voltage on a multimeter, remove the faulty cell and reconnect the batteries. However, there's no guarantee the cells would provide enough voltage for your drill to work.

[stuey]

Since the battery and charger have not been used for a while clean the contact points of the battery and charger by lightly sanding them; also , obviously, make sure that the receptacle that you are plugging the charger into is "live". Worth a try; however it could be just old-age or as MTb suggested.

[stuey]

Also, just because the charging light isn't working does not necessarily mean that the charger isn't: leave the battery plugged in for a couple of hours and see what happens.

[paddywak]

Also it doesn't do batteries any good to be left unused for any length of time, even if you don't need to used the particular piece of kit it pays to discharge and recharge the battery on a regular basis.

[The Builder]

It does sound like a dud battery, Giz. Even my Makita batteries only last a few years.
So many decent DIY drill/drivers around now. I wouldn't bother with trying to find a new battery for that drill.

Here's an example of a good light-use DIY drill, complete with two batteries....

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttc271ddh-12v-ni-cd-cordless-drill-driver/22026

[Gizmonster]

Thanks for the reply peeps.
I've just found the receipt for the drill (it's stapled to the instruction manual), dated 16th December 1995 ..... I think we can safely say I've had my money's worth out of it.
It's been on charge most of the afternoon, so if I get no joy when I go and try it later, I might just treat myself to a new one. That one looks like a cracker in the Builder's link :)

[Gizmonster]

.... looks like I'll be treating myself to a new drill. I've just been out to the garage to test the battery that's been on charge most of the afternoon and it's DEAD - absolutely no life whatsoever ....... oh well R.I.P. :(