[007] Milwaukee M18 has hidden diagnostic codes
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- Опубликовано: 21 мар 2024
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Don't forget to watch Tools & Stuff video with codes on the new Forge battery: • Milwaukee M18 Batterie...
If you want to send me codes, please use the following example format:
AU 2024-03-22 12Ah J52BDCAF 2019-10-17 0101 365 120 512
[country] [test date] [battery type] [first 8-digits of serial #] [manufacture date] [1st code] [2nd] [3rd] [4th]
There are diagnostic codes in some M18 batteries (roughly, before mid-2015 and after mid-2021). You can see them by holding the button down for a few seconds. This video reverse engineers some of the code, but more data is needed. It is discovered that M18 batteries have a really bad charge counter (you would have to try to make one that's worse).
REFERENCES:
Tools & Stuff (Forge Teardown): • Milwaukee M18 Forge Ba...
Tools & Stuff (M18 diagnostic codes): • Milwaukee M18 Batterie...
Boltah Downunder: • Best Compact Rotary Ha...
Tool Scientist [005]: • [005] How M18 batterie... 
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![[005] How M18 batteries communicate with tools](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/q7spzrIbdKY/mqdefault.jpg)
Tools & Stuff version: ruclips.net/video/0enzs3Ht4f8/видео.html
Agghh. You've just asked me to spend a week spread-sheeting all my Milwaukees.
Hahah yep. He does that
Haha, how many you got?
@@BoltahDownundernothing can stand in the way of science!
Buddy has to have like more then 50 batterys idk im not counting
Got my combo set today. I did this test with both 5 ah batteries that came with it... the first number is the same as yours, 0101, #2 and 3 are both zeros and the 4th number is 256.
So based on my result, both batteries have never been charged.😊
Both batteries initial voltage was 17.5v, the date on the batteries is 2023.02.27 and they came with one bar of charge.
Interesting. We've had a few people with brand new batteries and they've reported the status bit as 0011. Were these codes read after the first charge? The first charge is not counted, by the way.
@@toolscientist I haven't charged them as yet so they are same as I got them.
From they grey dates, these batteries do not produce flash codes:
CA 2024-03-28 XC5.0 G29GDCAC 2016-02-18
CA 2024-03-28 XC5.0 G29GDCAC 2016-02-02
This one didn't have an expect serial number, so I just wrote the whole thing:
CA 2024-03-28 1.5Ah B22HD120904407R 0001 4192 0065 1536
Thanks 🙏 for the knowledge just found out about you through tools and stuff 💚💯🙏👊
@toolscientist owes me one now...
Wonder if we'll find a different method to activate this on the 16-20 batteries.
Maybe its only available via serial through the charge port?
I can believe they want to hide it from the customer or even thay there was a glitch in production, but not for 4+ years and I cant imagine any reason they would disable this function
I assumed they disabled it after redlink plus was introduced as that gives a full serial interface on the J1 and J2 pins. But some of my old batteries that do it have redlink plus, so there goes that theory. As to why they brought it back, my best guess is to help spot counterfeits or to be able to do diagnostics for a customer by video call.
Interesting! I have quite a few so I'll gather the info for you and report back!
Hell yeah mate, awesome stuff. Gather though data and you can get signal through the noise🤘
Got myself a combo set about two weeks ago. Charged the batteries, used them for a bit and went back to storage.
EU 2024-04-05 5Ah G29NDCBC 2023-07-24 0101 13 0 256
EU 2024-04-05 5Ah G29NDCBC 2023-09-11 0101 13 0 256
Diagnostic mode flashes all diodes 3x then flashes them 4x. So the counter starts from 0. Kudos for Milwaukee
Thanks. Looks like all modern 5Ah are 256 for the last code
Very helpful info, subscription earned!
Fantastic video
My XC5.0 from 04 May 2021 does not do it.
But now I'm going to go check all of them.
A modern 6 Ah pack:
US 2024-04-02 6Ah J51FDCHB 2023-05-19 0101 142 4 512
Here are two really old, original 23 Ah M18 batteries without a designation such as "CP1.5", but doing the math they're about 1.28 Ah. There are no date codes whatsoever on these packs. I had two more that were just a little older than these that received heavy use and were recycled just recently. These two were purchased soon after those other two were purchased but have received much less use as you can see from the days vs. charge cycles numbers.
US 2024-04-02 1.3Ah B22BD095 (No date) 0001 4840 29 1056
US 2024-04-02 1.3Ah B22BD095 (No date) 0001 4840 28 1056
I also have two batteries that fall inside your green "Codes" date range but don't report any codes. Both are:
US 2024-04-02 6Ah J51ADCAE 2021-08-22 (no codes)
The rest of mine are within your existing red "no codes" date and I've confirmed they don't report any codes.
1st charge was 1st January 2011. You missed out on oldest battery by 2 months, though ;). You might be able to see the date on the heat stamp near the terminals. It's in YYMMDD format then a letter at the end.
Yeah, green zone is getting complicated. So far the only 2021 battery with codes is a 1.5Ah. The next newest battery with codes is from March 2022
@@toolscientist I've looked, but there's nothing stamped near the terminals; it's completely smooth. These two also don't have the + and - markings that I've seen in photos of batteries that have the heat date stamps.
I have failed two batteries from the first gray date range, or at least seems to be manufactured in that time because I'm 90% sure they were purchased in December of 2016 around Christmas. They were part of a drill package but I was gifted another drill set not long after which got more use and forgot to include these batteries in the rotation. I went to go use them and they both fail to charge. You can see they were barely used at only 18 and 11 in the charge count. Pressing the button just flashes the first indicator light, placing them on any of my 3 chargers just causes the chargers indicator light to turn red and the first indicator battery to flash slowly. I can edit this post with additional batteries as needed but these appear to be the most interesting.
US 2024-05-03 5Ah G29CD 150729G 1100 2779 0018 3541
US 2024-05-03 5Ah G29CD 150729G 1100 2721 0011 3541
Manufacture date is 2015-07-29. Date of first charge is 2016-09-23 and 2016-11-20. Those are the latest date for a 5Ah, though.
Interesting batteries are around April 2014. Most batteries before April 2014 have the 2nd bit as 0 (so 1000 or 0001), whilst most afterwards have it as 1 (1100 or 0101). So if you've got a bunch of batteries around 2014, it would be helpful to know which ones are have the 2nd bit as zero.
I have a few m18 12.0 with different failures would love to share videos of my diagnostic blinking lights if interested. What would be best way to share those videos with you?
Upload to RUclips. You probably won't be able to post the link, so just post the last part of the URL. For example this video is LEx14uqE3Pw
the codes i got from one of my 5ah batteries was
ca, 2024-03-29, 5Ah, 5INR18/65-2, 48-11-1828, unknown, 0001, 4220, 97, 1082.
5INR18/65-2 is a part number- like entity. The last 3 groups on that line are serial-first-half date-yymmdd serial-second-half
4220 would be a really old battery that sounds like an excellent data point.
Date should be on heat stamp near the terminals. Should be a 2012 battery, so heat stamp will be something like 120701R
Have i two m18 5.0 batteries one made in 9/23/21 and the other in 11/12/21. They both do not do the diagnostic mode. Neither of them have a heat stamp but they both come from home depot
Yeah, newer ones don't have the heat stamp, just the date in the middle of the serial number. Seems like most batteries don't get their codes back until March 2022. The July 2021 is from a 1.5Ah and seems to be an outlier
I have a few batteries that might be interesting data points. The 12Ah and the two 3AhHO packs I bought new recently as a set on sale. Only did an initial charge on them. They have never been on a tool. All three of them have 0011 as the first four-number code.
US 2024-03-27 12Ah J52FDCHC 2023-04-23 0011 0044 0000 0512
US 2024-03-27 6AhHO J51EHTHB 2023-03-03 0101 0218 0002 0512
US 2024-03-27 3AhHO K35DDCHB 2023-05-02 0011 0043 0000 0257
US 2024-03-27 3AhHO K35DDCHB 2023-05-02 0011 0046 0000 0257
Are you sure 6Ah is J51EHTHB? Every other battery I've seen has "DC" in the middle. So yours should be J51E-DC-HB
@@toolscientist just double checked, and yes it is J51EHTHB.
most of my batteries dont have the codes and were bought around 2020 2021 i havent checked them all yet
I was unable to get codes on 4Ah one, however it's from 2022, so a bit after the gray area:
PL 2024-03-22 4Ah E54LDCBB 220810 [NO CODES]
PL 2024-03-22 2Ah E53NDCBC 220804 0101 456 17 256
PL 2024-03-22 5Ah G29NDCBC 220520 0101 426 29 256
Thanks for the video!
Yeah, I had someone else tell me a new 4Ah had no codes. Maybe the 4Ah never regained them.
@@toolscientist Sorry, I've provided the wrong production date for 2Ah, should be 220804
It's like magic!
Hang on, did you figure this code out and release a video about it at the exact same time as me? What are the chances of that!
@@toolscientist Mind blown!
😅
Neat stuff! I wonder if any other manufacturers do this kind of thing better?
I tested my 21 platforms and no other batts did it.
Although Makita makes battery checkers that give better more useful info.
There's definitely diagnostics in Makita LXT and XGT, you just need an expensive adapter to get them. Milwaukee has more diagnostics than what we're seeing here, but those tools are only available to service techs.
Check out this vid by Tools & Stuff showing the Makita battery analyser: ruclips.net/video/uumwieLu8CE/видео.html
@toolscientist The CXT ones do it too. I just haven't forked out for it as it's a separate checker.
190807 3.0AH Australian. No codes. Love your channel.
Can put my hands on three right now, all 5.0 AH RedLithium, Two are 15/12/11, so probably from a kit. One is 18/08/02 ( YYMMDD) All are Australian and none have flashcodes that I can trigger. All three still work. Got a few more somewhere. Will report back perhaps.
Good stuff, that Dec 2015 is a new "oldest without code". Anything 2016-2020 is no-code, but if you find one in that range with a code that'll be very interesting
Could the "charge count" just be to measure the life of the charging connectors? Sure those clamping pins should last more than 20,000 connections, assuming you connect the battery to a tool each time after charging it, but I think that would be another reason as to why it counts the way it does. Also I didn't expect it to have a timer to count the number of days since first charge. Does it stop counting the days if the battery is dead or below a certain voltage?
They prob do 3-5x as many connections to a tools as they do to a charger, but they don't count tool connections. I'm guessing days since first charge (together with charge count) is used to determine warranty (and for their own internal longevity analysis). I was surprised at first, too, and was worried they'd brick batteries after a certain time. The 13 year old batteries somewhat puts that to rest.
Good thought on the dead battery. I may have to sacrifice a battery to the science gods.
Okay, here ya go:
1 & 2 came with a drill/driver/charger/bag set and 5 & 6 were bought together as a pair (or at least simultaneously). All were bought at Home Depot here in Nova Scotia, Canada. The serial numbers on the older batteries follow a different format. The "heat stamp" is actually a date stamp:
1. M18 RedLithium
CA 2024-04-18 1.5Ah B22LD-189 2013-10-09 0001-3505-0075-2070
Made in Korea/Malaysia, additional processing in China
-------------------------------------
2. M18 RedLithium
CA 2024-04-18 1.5Ah B22LD-189 2013-10-10 0001-3492-0089-2070
Made in Korea/Malaysia, additional processing in China
-------------------------------------
3. M18 RedLithium XC
CA 2024-04-18 2.8Ah B41LD-470 2014-01-24 0001-3510-0063-2134
Made in Korea/Malaysia, additional processing in China
-------------------------------------
4. M18 RedLithium HD9.0
CA 2024-04-18 9.0Ah H18FDCCD 2020-07-30 NO-CODES
Made in Korea, additional processing in China
ONE-KEY Compatible
-------------------------------------
5. M18 RedLithium XC4.0
CA 2024-04-18 4.0Ah E54SDCKC 2021-07-17 NO-CODES
Made in China
ONE-KEY Compatible
-------------------------------------
6. M18 RedLithium XC4.0
CA 2024-04-18 4.0Ah E54SDCKC 2021-07-17 NO-CODES
Made in China
ONE-KEY Compatible
Thanks! Never seen a 2.8Ah. It has the same code (B41LD) as other people's 3Ah
@@toolscientist actually, mine were in Watt*hours so I saw a number consistent on the batteries that I presumed was the amp hour equivalent.. I'll get the data later for you
@@toolscientist ok so here it is - All of my batteries are tagged in WATT*HOURS, not AMP HOURS. I wasn't sure about some of them but I noticed that the "CAT(alog) NUMBER" ended in the same two numbers as the AMP*HOUR RATING based on newer model numbers (XC 4.0) - the "2.8 Ah" battery is called an XC with no number, just XC. If RUclips would allow me to send you a photo, you'd see. Here's the data:
1. M18 RedLithium
27Wh ("1.5Ah")
Cat. No. 48-11-1815
My 5AH M28 Bad Battery from Dec 2016 has the following lights 1st Led1 on once.
2nd 1st Led 2 then 2nd Led 7 and 4th Led 5.
3rd 3rd Led 2 then 4th Led 5.
4th 2nd Led 6 then 4th Led 8.
Heat Stamp KAECE
Hope this helps
Thanks. Heat stamp says October 2015 (first letter is month, excluding "I", 2nd and 3rd letters are year). Date of first charge is Dec 2016 - does that sound right?
Brand new never used. This came with the Logi-Force Knockout kit. Factory charge of 1000, US 2024-04-25 2AH E53NDCBB 2023-11-23 0101 0 0 256. Voltage: 0.0VDC? Makes me wonder if it requires a first charge before it will activate.⚡
I have more out on jobs and will do them later.
Thanks, added. The sequence we've found is that they start at 0011. Putting it in the charger starts the day counter, but leaves charge count as zero. 2nd time in charger will increase charge count to 1. Once you put it in a tool and squeeze the trigger, it switches to 0101. Then when you run it flat it goes to 1100, and then charging it resets it to 0101.
first thing I don't think tools & stuff 6.0 batteries are HO batteries as you have listed in your spread sheet at least I don't see HO on the front like on mine
2x: HO XC6.0 batteries slot #4 code is 0257 on both of them not 0256 slot #1 is the same 0101
ser#'s : J51BDCHB 211203 0238820/0239235
1x: XC5.0 SLOT #4 code is 0256 SLOT #1 is the same 0101
ser#: G29NDCBC 220422 2042837
also I have more batteries with later 2021 dates without working code indicators there all 5.0 batteries 210618/ 210624/ 210820/ 211027
hope this helps
I think T&S's 6Ah is a HO. We just get different labels outside of the Americas. T&S's battery is the only 256 6Ah HO, but it is also the only J51D. Most are J51[ABEF]
Thanks for the data. Your 5Ah is the oldest to have regained codes. I think the 5Ah might have been released after they got rid of codes.
the date code on mine is 2018. holding the button reviles no flashing lights.
So I have a brand new 6.0 Forge battery, and it shows: 2nd Code - 32 days since first charge. 3rd code - no flashes (ie never been charged). Weird part is that I definitely charged the battery when I first received it, as it was only on one bar. So maybe the 3rd code is the amount of times it's been put on the charger after the first full charge?
Pretty confusing.
A couple of people have said that first charge doesn't get counted. Is your 4th code 0002?
@@toolscientist yup, 4th code is 0002. Def seems like all forge batteries come from same factory, or at least have same last code.
I think the 9999 charge it's when the uP is programmed.
After the First charge or test in factory come 0000. In that bat someting goes wrong.
Yeah, I'm leaning towards it being a glitch or improper initialisation at the factory. My first thought was it was a fault indicator used if the BMS detected extreme temp/voltage/current. But someone posted a 9999 battery that had never been used on a tool. My other idea was faulty chargers or dirty power that made the charger flick on and off rapidly, but so far, people have only had one 9999 battery
Tested one new in box and the first code was 0011
Yeah, we've had a couple of people report that. After first charge it should go to 0101. So 3rd bit is storage mode or similar
@@toolscientist i didnt buy it i was pressing the buttons through the cases in store lol
@@nickp3270 haha, awesome
Just came here to comment that I have a CP 2.0 date coded 210802 that doesn’t run diagnostics🥴🥴
Voided the warranty to open it up and double check that it indeed was OEM and not a fake, all looks correct to me inside🤷🏻♂️
Pretty sure there's no anti-tamper features, so your warranty is still good
ok, so only the 3 oldest of the 6 batteries that i own give codes, but my serial numbers are in a different format with a less obvious date code. Also, I noticed that the three newer ones have a KEYHOLE + WiFi logo on them, which I'm thinking may mean that they have a wireless method to read the codes, but I dunno.. i thought you were saying HEAT CODE but it's a date code on older batteries that's stamped near the terminals
Yeah, older batteries have a not-very-useful serial number. Most batteries from at least 2016 have that One-Key logo. There's definitely no bluetooth in the battery - might just mean that it can communicate with one-key tools. I said "heat stamp" and yes, the heat stamp is a date code. In the Americas it is obvious as heat stamp is YYMMDD then a letter.
@@toolscientist i didn't know anything about one-key until now
Since there have been issues with m18 cell issues causing bms to disable batteries in the past… Im surprised non of the codes don’t represent individual cell status.
Cell balance seems to be more recent, primarily 8Ah and 12Ah (also the discontinued 9Ah and 6Ah XC). These codes seem to be unchanged since 2011. They have more diagnostics than what these flash codes show, but you need a special adapter that only service techs have.
Most of my batteries I own fall into the 2016-2021 no codes manufacturing lot. However, I did have a new battery that had the codes. I will endeavour to check every battery I ever see on site for more codes. Hope this helps.
AU 2024-04-01 5AH G29NDCBC 2023-01-19 0101 0257 0003 0256
2021-05-07
High output cp 3.0 shows no codes
My High Output HD12.0 has a Barrett code status of 0301
The first code is 0301? That's interesting. Can you record it and post a video? You might not be able to post a link (they often get silently removed), so you might have to post the youtube video ID (string of characters at the end of the URL)
Does not work for 08/21/2021
I do actually have a pack I just tested in the latter gray area. It’s an xc6.0 HO #48-11-1865 I believe is the model number but that does not show codes when the fuel gauge is held for 3 to 5 seconds and I held it for up to 15sec that date is 08/21/2021
Interesting. That's in the green zone by 1 month. We've got a Canadian 1.5Ah from Jul 2021 that has codes. I suspect it's going to get complicated as we narrow it down as some models will change before others.
I think I missed the forest. What does the "charge counter" matter? So what if it goes up when it wasn't a real charge? Other than, y'know, us nerds wagging out fingers in disappointment.
Potentially denying warranty. I found an internal Milwaukee document about not warrantying batteries over 1k cycles. Also, just really appalling software design - you would have to try to make a worse charge counter.
@@toolscientist I took a look at what I think is that document, they seem to be talking about V18 batteries.
@@samthenerf they also mention the 48-11-1828 with serial number B41D and earlier, which is the old M18 3Ah XC. From the codes I've been sent from other people, that's around 2013-2014, but could be later. Obviously all those are well out of warranty now, but could have affected people back then.
@@toolscientist - Oh come on, it's not *that* bad of a charger counter. It's like me asking how many women you've slept with, and you answering with the number of women you've ever hit on. I mean, it could be accurate. There's a chance.
@@MattsAwesomeStuff haha, well name a charge counter that's worse. The only way it could be worse is if it just did a RNG every hour and rand > 0.95 does count++. If they're too lazy to do some basic coloumb counting or thresholds with hysteresis, then it's still very easy to implement some basic timers for on and off charger.
Faulty Battery 18V 3AH : US 2024-04-03 3AH B22HD123 211346R 0001 4173 0071 1536 NOT CHARGING. 2ND BATTERY FAULTY NOT CHARGING 18V 9AH : SN H18EDCAD 170507 0005016 NO CODES. BOTH BATTERIES FAILED TO PROVIDE USEFUL SERVICE. 8 OTHER BATTERIES STILL INSERVICE. Thanks for your work!
Thanks! On the 3Ah, is the "211346R" the heat stamp near the terminals?
210607 8ah not displaying
221107 cp3 does show code
Can you post code? Should be something like 0101, 400, 20, 256
Perhaps those high counts of 9,999 has something to do with the thermal safety. Or something else that causes the charger to flash.
Edit: I guess I commented before I watched the rest of the video. But that’s probably the cause if it
😁. I didn't see any increase in mine from thermalling. The guy would have still had to put it on and off the charger 9,000 times whilst thermalled to get there. My best theory is either a flaky supply voltage that dips when the charger ramps up to full charging current and results in an infinite brown-out loop. Other possibility is a battery that wasn't seated properly and nearby vibration made it constantly gain and lose contact. I might do some further testing to see if I can trigger count++ by shorting the terminals.
I have over 100 Milwaukee batteries.
I see I have some homework now.
Don't spend too much time on it. I decoded 14 batteries from a video someone sent me and it took over an hour. Interesting ones will be around that April 2014 mark where the status code seems to change from 0001 (older) to 0101 (newer)
Right on
Qty. 2, 2024-03-22 XC5.0 629GDCAC 2016-10-24, No codes.
I did come across a few that did not have the diagnostics code. You may already have these dates. Here they are if it helps...
US 2021-05-28 5.0 G29JDCBC
US 2021-06-02 5.0 G29JDCBC
US 2021-08-19 5.0 G29JDCJC
Somewhat helpful. Seems only 1.5Ah and 2Ah get codes from July 2021. All others start around March 2022. 5Ah with codes are G29N - interesting that they went from J to N in 6 months.
Do you know anything about the meaning of the serial numbers?
@@toolscientist
I don't. I assume the G29 is manufactured site or maybe even production line. Not sure.
date codes 160111, 160112, and 210504 in gray zones have no flash codes
Both5A 1601 batteries have failed and don't recharge
Older batteries with 5104 days since first charge 2013 still going well 3A no date code.
Factory codes found 1072 and 3051
i have 2 Faulty AU Milwaukee Batteries, i didnt have the charger with me so i did a sneaky 20.4v charge on a Constant Current power supply and now they just blink the first light 8 times quickly as if they were flat but there not. These are both the older style and i didnt know what parts of the Serial you needed i assume just the actual serial on these ones. but i attached the whole code just incase. I also padded the codes out to 4 values each ie 73 to 0073
AU 2024-03-24 4Ah '4932 4300 63 *5 INR 19/65-2 M18 B4 Ser-No:31708' DATE CODE KACCT 1000 3515 0073 2251
AU 2024-03-24 3Ah '4932 3526 68 *5 INR 19/65-2 M18 BX3 Ser-No:38398' DATE CODE DAECRR 1100 2918 0083 3155
Thank you! For the old batteries the serial number isn't useful, I just needed the heat stamp. The format seems to be [MONTH+1][YY]"C"[Factory ID]. So yours should be Oct 2013 and Mar 2015. If you're really keen you can check the injection date codes on the inside of the shell to confirm.
I happen to have the shells off of these atm as I was looking at the cell voltages to see if the error was due to imbalance and because they dont charge on a milwaukee charger anymore. The injection stamps do align with those dates. Its interesting; your assumption on the 'status' set, that both my faulty batteries do not have the 3rd bit set where all yours did. so defiantly could be indicative of the third bit being a health battery and them being notset a fault condition.@@toolscientist
All of my batteries with codes are 2013-2015, and 3 of 4 have the 2nd health/age bit as zero. They still work fine. I have found from connecting wires between charger and battery that if the charger detects too much resistance, you'll get an error. When it does this, you can hear the charger make an electrical hum with the pitch increasing in about 3-4 steps. It'll try 2-3 times before givign the flashing red/green error.
Dang, my M18's are 2017s and don't display the codes
Just buy some new ones - science demands it 😂
i have an american 6.0 with a date code of 210205 that DOES NOT do the flashing codes
Yeah, most batteries didn't get codes again until March 2022.
@@toolscientist it was the only battery I had that was close to the period in question. The rest of my plethora of Milwaukee batteries have them and act as normal. I’ve begun to be more self conscious about throwing batteries on the charger I don’t wanna increase the “cycle” count and lower the resale value later on. Not sure if that’s even something people will check when buying used batteries
Not likely. For most people it will only be about 10% higher than what the true count would be.
@@toolscientist i do have two 5Ah batteries with a date code 220212 with the codes and made in prc, not sure if it is of any help
. . ¿ Wouldn't this be a way to detect a counterfeit battery ????
Yes. As long as they're not in the red/grey zone (currently Aug 2015 - Jul 2021). The counterfeiters have gotten pretty good, though. Wouldn't be hard to copy this, but most wouldn't bother.
@@toolscientist . . ¿ Wouldn't that mean a far more complicated and Expen$ive board ????
@jimkoko every counterfeit board I've seen has a microcontroller. They wouldn't be able to charge without one. Adding these codes would be quite easy for them
@@toolscientist Are the flashes always the same length? It could be that the manufacturer has specified their duration to a precise number of milliseconds. And therefore, the manufacturer of the copy must be precise when implementing them into their own battery.
@user-hb8sq6ce9u could be, but it wouldn't be hard to copy, unless they put some crypto stuff in so that the duration changed slightly in a predicatble but hidden way. The fakes are all about fooling the average consumer - fooling Milwaukee service techs would be very difficult. I'm pretty sure they have a device that can pull diagnostic data from the battery without needing to read codes.
USA 6.0AH J51BDCHB 2022-01-14, 0101, 0666, 0031, 0257. USA 3.0AH 21700 CELLS K35BDCAE 2019-11-14 CODES NOT SHOWN. Can you decode the m12 battery's I have one that blinks red, green.... I have noticed that if a battery is fully charged and put away for about a month when I push the status button the first light will blink like its dead but its not, putting on the charger will wake up the battery and show full bars and works like normal, so that's why some show 1100, also If there is one cell that is way low there will be another code I don't remember off hand I will have to find my notes.
Good stuff. Most of the M12s are analogue. If the charger is giving errors, it's because a cell is too low or too high resistance. I only have 2x M12 batteries, but they do seem to have a chip in them with an i2c interface. That chip might be able to lock the battery out. I might have to sacrifice one of my batteries to find out what that chip is and then see if I can talk to it.
I'm going to leave 2 batteries idle and test their codes periodically. One will be fully charged and the other drained to 9V.
@@toolscientistThanks for the response I opened up my m12 and found it was the trace for the thermal was not connecting to the T terminal the thermistor was reading fine at soldier points, so I used a small wire to reconnect, you are right there are no smarts in the m12 battery. Thanks again for your time. keep up the informative videos.
Hey man i finally found one that lights up the 3 led on the first code i uploaded a short for proof if you have any questions feel free to ask
I just saw your vid and commented on it. Thanks so much for that.
Got a battery dated 210427. No diagnostics on it.
Old mate just left the 9999 charge battery on his car charger
Even that's barely plausible. 46 car starts per day is a lot. I'm wondering if there was some nearby vibration that was breaking contact.
I have 5 batteries, all purchased at Home Depot, all of which should be in your last codes window but only two of which actually give codes:
CA 2024-03-28 2Ah E53NDCBB 2021-10-19 0101 0418 0001 0256
CA 2024-03-28 2Ah E53NDCBB 2021-10-25 0101 0418 0001 0256
CA 2024-03-28 4Ah E54SDCKC 2021-07-16 No Codes
CA 2024-03-28 4Ah E54SDCKC 2021-08-29 No Codes
CA 2024-03-28 5Ah G29JDCBC 2023-08-02 No Codes
I popped one on the charger real quick and it incremented the third number:
CA 2024-03-28 2Ah E53NDCBB 2021-10-25 0101 0418 0002 0256
But both 2Ah have been charged at least a couple times I'm sure, for a good while they were my only two batteries. I wonder if the charge count reset at some point?
Thanks! That low charge count is very odd. The first charge sets it to zero, then the 2nd charge makes it 0001. But it sounds like you should have at least 5 or so.
I have at least one that doesn’t have the diagnostic feature
Does it fall in the "grey zone"?
@toolscientist I’ve got two 5ah with date code 21 09 22 and neither flashes any codes
Yeah, it seems most batteries didn't get their codes back until March 2022. The July 2021 is from a 1.5Ah and seems to be an outlier.
I found 2 batteries that do NOT produce the flashing lights, both of which help and hurt your current data.
First is an XC5.0, date code is 210918 (appears to be in your "green" section, however) built in china/parts sourced in other asian countries.
Second is a HO8.0, date code 210427 built in Korea/China
All of the others are 2022-2023 built, have the codes, and begin with the 0-1-0-1 flashes
It's getting somewhat complicated. So far a 1.5Ah is the only 2021 battery with codes. After that it's not until March 2022 in a 6Ah and 12Ah that we see codes again. Not sure if the 1.5Ah is a mistake or an outlier, I'd better check!
@@toolscientist it sounds like something they maybe rolled out into different factories then, over time? Strange.
@hakz1nunke the strangest part is that they removed it, then put it back. It might have needed a PCB revision, so might have taken a while to go through all their old stock
I did double check 1.5Ah from July 2021, and it is correct
@@toolscientistmy first thought was Covid, not realizing it started back in 16. Possibly a series of button presses to activate it? Or just cost savings, which would be likely. Have you been tracking the 4th code against their manufactured areas? I think you're correct that it's a factory code. My Mexican made batteries are 512 and Chinese batteries are either 512 or 2.
@hakz1nunke my first thought was they removed it when redlink intelligence plus was introduced. That gave them a full digital interface to the battery with an adapter, so flash codes were slower and no longer needed. Only reason I can think of adding them back was they found it useful to diagnose stuff over the phone or video call. As for cost, it's all software, so it's free.
Got a brand new original High Output 6.0, section 3 of which shows 9999.
Is the first code 0011 or 0101? Can you give all the other details? (first 8-digits of serial number, build date, the other 3 codes)
Yours is now the 4th to have 9999. Doesn't seem to be any pattern to it. Two are 6Ah HO from 2023 with 4th code of 512, the other is a 1.5Ah from 2014.
@@toolscientist Ok, here's full layout. I've got two 6 HO batteries. 1st is 230316, 2nd is 230317. Bought together. 1st section is 0101 on both, 4th section is 512 on both. 2nd section shows 297 and 294 respectively. 3rd section is 9999 and 5 respectively. So in reality I charged them both 5 times or so. But the 1st battery still shows 9999 no matter what.
Those batteries are very interesting. So far you're only the 2nd person with 256 on a 6Ah HO. Can you give me the first 8 digits of serial number (should be J51DDCHB or similar) and the country where they were purchased (other 256 was in NZ)
I have about 50, I guess I know what I ll be doing this weekend…
Don't go too crazy. They're pretty painful to decode - sometimes 5min/battery if the numbers are high and you need 1-3 loops when you lose count.
Interesting batteries to me are ones near the code/no-code dates. Also ones near April 2014 as that seems to be when they go from X0XX to X1XX on the first code.
AU 2024-03-25 6Ah J51ADCAE 2021-02-25 No Codes - Made in China
Iv got a old battery first code is 0001 it’s AACCT
Interesting. First letter is month and 2nd and 3rd letters are year, last 2 letters are always CT. So yours is made Jan 2013.
@@toolscientist I have recorded the full cycle if that’s any help
US 5.0 XC 5.0 210730 no flashing lights, US HO XC 6.0 210909 no flashing lights, US XC 6.0 220110 0101 0621 0020 0257
Thanks. Added to spreadsheet!
LV 22.03.2024. 12ah J52BDCFE 21.11.25. No codes
LV 22.03.2024. 12ah J52BDCFE 21.11.11. No codes
LV 22.03.2024. 12ah J52CDCHC 22.03.22. 0101 592 84 256
LV 22.03.2024. 12ah J52CDCHC 22.03.22. 0101 592 88 256
LV 22.03.2024. 5ah G29JDCBC 18.03.16. No codes
LV 22.03.2024. 5ah G29JDCBC 18.06.29. No codes
LV 22.03.2024. 4ah E54LDCBB 18.05.03. No codes
LV 22.03.2024. 4ah E54LDCBB 18.05.02. No codes
LV 22.03.2024. 5ah G29NDCBC 23.10.20. 0101 2 0 256 -BRAND NEW BATTERY. ONCE CHARGED WHEN GOT THIS WEEK. LOOKS LIKE CHARGING COUNTER DOES NOT COUNT VERY FIRST CHARGE.
Great stuff! Thank you for contributing. We've had one other person mention that. Seems the first charge is an initialisation charge and they don't count it.
4 Batteries tested.
Two in your grey zone on the timeline.
1) XC5.0 No flash codes Etched Code: G29JDCBC 210626
2) XC5.0 No flash codes Etched Code: G29JDCBC 210622
3) XC4.0 E54BD 14985 (older style label with no date code just number in box on label); 13051U (heat stamped code)
3 bars charged; 19.8v
Flash Codes
0001
3878
0670
2250
Battery #3 seems to indicate a "0" for health even though it works, but is old. It may not hold a charge as long, but I haven't timed the discharge. I can if you want.
4) XC5.0 Manufacture Date Code: 220303
1 bar charged; 17.4v
Flash Codes
0101
0541
0015
0256
Only this battery has all the data to use your full requested format:
2024-04-20 4Ah G29NDCBC 2022-03-03 0101 541 15 0256
Great detective work!
Is that last battery a 4Ah or 5Ah? Currently all G29 serial numbers are 5Ah whilst 4Ah are E54.
Also, is the last code definitely 146? You might have missed 2 flashes and it's actually 256. So far all of the new 5Ah have had 256 for the last code.
@@toolscientist You are correct on both accounts. I edited my comment to be correct.
just the batteries i had to hand, all work fine:
US 2024-03-22 1.5AH B22XDCJA 2022-07-08 0101 0081 0001 0256
US 2024-03-22 1.5AH B22VDCBA 2020-12-24 NO CODE
US 2024-03-22 1.5AH B22XDCJA
2022-07-07 0101 0080 0001 0256
Ive also got this 2AH battery that looks quite beat up i got second hand, where the serial number is slightly different? Posting the whole thing here for risk of being tracked by a battery lol
E53AD131 007789T
stamp: 130222T
0001 3042 0329 2186
also have a 4ah with an illegible serial # and no codes, is this printed anywhere else? internally maybe? didnt feeling like tearing it open right now but maybe :3
oops i take it back, figured out the serial with a very very bright flashlight and some solvent
US 2024-03-22 4AH E54KDCAB 2016-03-03 NO CODE
looks like that pushed the no code date 3 days back :)
@@user-pf9pc6pd1sAwesome, thank you!
Yeah, the serial number style changed around 2016. Pre-2016 needs heat stamp for date.
I’ve got a battery taken apart to solder a part that melted apart this is helpful there’s a reset you can do I’ve done it to 2 but can’t figure out this third one
How do you do the reset? It'll be interesting to see if the reset also resets these codes.
@@toolscientist you hold down the button and let it cycle through the blinking then hold it again. That’s worked for 2 out of 3 battery’s ive been working on. There’s a thin strip of metal that acts as a fuse sort of and it melts if to much current flows it disconnects the last cell in the battery.
@@toolscientist I can make a video for you I have a battery tore apart right now
@@toolscientist okay so here’s my thoughts I just tried to charge the battery after I soldered it and after I took it off it starts working so it seems to be that putting it on and taking it back off is the actual reset for the battery
Yeah, I've heard putting it back on the charger resets it. Did you check codes before and after, or did this battery not have codes? I know 1100 means the battery is flat and it won't work on a tool. Putting it in a charger resets this to 0101, then it works in a tool.
In Canada,
HO 6.0 J51BHTHB 221003
0101
0358
0004
2.0 E53ED 016494
0101
3126
0014
3219
I've got a bunch of 12.0 and the new cp3.0 and none have codes. Same with every 8.0 I tried.
Are you sure 6Ah serial number is correct? 5th digit is always "D". I suspect it should be J51-B-D-CHB. Do you have 4th code for that battery? Should be 256/7/8 or 512
Your 2.0 is pre-2016, so its date code will be on the heat stamp near terminals.
Can you send me the date codes of your batteries without codes?
@toolscientist yes the SN is correct. 4th code is 0257
@@toolscientist no code on
J52adcaf
K35BDCAE
K37ADCAF
K37ADCFE
J52BDCAF
J51ADCAE
K35ADCAE
E53ED 016494 (150109)
E53LDCBB
AU 2024-03-22 3Ah B41HD 2012-07-09 0001 4268 94 1552
Damn, that's an old one. Thank you!
So stupid. Now you can't even have a corless tool that needs and app and a smark phone and now a battery with a "Diagnostics" setting. I'll stick with my DeWalt that you just hook up the bettery and use it.
It's useful if you're buying/selling 2nd hand. Also gives another way to spot fakes.
EU 2024-03-22 5.5Ah High Output K34BDCHB 2023-01-06 0011 0191 0006 0258
The only battery I have with codes. All other 4 and 5Ah with dates from 180609 to 210821 (and one scratched badly) don't show anything. I heard about diagnostic codes earlier and I already checked most batteries in work (4, 5 and 9Ah, most of them 2018-2019) with no luck, there's I think 4 left I'll check (2x 5Ah Berner branded, 5.5 and 12).
EDIT:
Just realized that my second latest battery should be in green zone, but don't have diagnostic:
EU 2024-03-22 4Ah E54LDCBB 2021-08-21 No codes
Awesome, thank you!
I think yours is the 3rd report of a no-code 4Ah in the green zone. Seems that one got forgotten.
Your 5.5 has a 0011 status code, which is quite rare. Does the code change if you put it on a tool and squeeze the trigger? How about if put on a charger?
@@toolscientist It's 0101 after i put it into BPDN drill and squeezed the trigger. It stayed that way after I put it into charger. Earlier I was using it only with FSAG125X grinder and once with JSRDAB+ radio until fully discharged, charged it and didn't use it for 3-4 weeks until now. It's night now so tomorrow I'll check if some heavy grinding will make 0011 again. If not I can leave it in radio until discharged and check again. I cant promise I'll leave it unused for another month ;)
BTW, I bought it 2 month ago, maybe seller (official Milwaukee retailer) recharged it after quite some time on the shelf?
@@djunia4u the only other report we have of 0011 is from a brand new, never used battery. 3rd bit could be a "unused for X days" code. A lot of my old batteries never get used, so I'm surprised they didn't show it on my first test of the codes. Maybe it's only the newer batteries that do this?
5.5Ah? Just seen that what is a 6Ah HO in the rest of the world, is a 5.5Ah HO in Europe? Are they actually different? Or did the batteries just not reach european standards to call it a 6Ah?
For your research Of the four batteries I have with me only one has the code feature.
1.5Ah Red Lithium. 14 09 03 P B22LD 656419
with 2 bars before and after the Battery shows green on charger and 4 bars on the guage but first set of numbers 0 0 0 1 Second Set 3227 days from first charge. Charger cycle count 9999 (This may be accurate as I have shuffled batteries between multiple chargers trying to weed out bad charger or bad battery and it is quite old) 4 set of info numbers is 2070
Batteries without feature
Red Lithium CP 2.0 E53LDCCB 190311 0772170
Red Lithium CP 2.0 E53LDCCB 190311 0771970
Red Lithium CP 2.0 E53LDCCB 201215 3512813
I am curious if the other battery you have data on with a 9999 code also does not change the first set of numbers. like mine.
You need a lot of charges to get to 9999. If you put it on the charger every 5 sec, it would take ~14 hours to get 9999 charges. I'm thinking it's to do with faulty chargers or bad power supplies that make the charger flick on and off a lot, or maybe it's an error mode that's designed to tell Milwaukee service techs that this battery was abused and shouldn't be warrantied.
The other 9999 battery is a January 2023 6Ah HO that only had 215 days since first charge. Owner says they definitely haven't put it on the charger a lot.
Thanks for your help!
@@toolscientist I did have charger or two that would go into flashing mode on a battery but I could put battery on another charger and it would go green. I may still have one if you want it I can mail it to you
@@currentliveoccupantI'm now thinking charger is unlikely. You're the 3rd to have a 9999 battery and so far everyone with a 9999 only has one. If it were the charger, then one of those 3 would have more than one battery with 9999.
@@toolscientist True as I had 4 of those chargers mounted on a wall but would not have put the same battery on same charger each time.
I have a newish forge battery from the us 230731. 1010 156 51 22 are the codes i get the last one is the interesting one if you have any questions feel free to ask
The last code is definitely "22"? So far every other Forge has been "2"
From the grey area
Au 2024-04-23 5Ah G29JDCBC 21-06-21 NO CODE
Yeah, the grey zone seems to be battery dependent. 1.5 & 2Ah got codes mid-late 2021, but most others got them early 2022. 5Ah grey zone currently sits at: 14 Jan 2022 (no codes) to 3 March 2022 (codes)