A full charge followed by a full discharge can often repair a faulty battery.
All batteries are sealed units and don't contain user-serviceable parts. Rechargeable batteries, such as nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, can last a considerable amount of time and can be recharged up to about 500 times before they need replacing. Regularly discharging and then recharging your NiMH battery fully will ensure you get the most life from it. If you find your battery doesn't retain a full charge or discharges too quickly even though it's not near the end of its serviceable life, it may be possible to repair the fault.
Instructions
1. Charge your NiMH battery in the usual way. Insert the battery into the charger and turn on the charger.
2. Let your NiMH battery charge until the charger tells you the battery is full. Turn off the charger and remove the battery. Place it into an electrical device.
3. Turn on your electrical device. If it's a mechanical device, like a power tool, then let the motor run. If it's a camera, then use the zoom lens and take photos. If it's an application-driven device such as a cell phone, music player or hand-held gaming device, open as many applications as you can. The goal is to let the battery drain fully.
4. Let your device operate until the battery dies.
5. Leave the device turned off for about 30 minutes or so. The battery will regain a little power, just enough to operate your device again for a short time.
6. Turn on your device as before. Let it operate until it stops, then turn it off, or leave it until it turns off automatically.
7. Wait about 10 minutes, then attempt to turn on the device again. You may find that it powers up. If so, let it run until it stops and repeat the process until it doesn't turn on at all.
8. Remove the battery from the device and place it in the charger, then turn on your charger.
9. Let the charger continue to charge the battery until your charger indicates that the battery is full. Turn off the charger and remove the battery from the charger.
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