I recently bought my first Milwaukee tools and I've been having trouble with the M18/M12 slow charger. It seems really sensitive about how the batteries are seated. If they're not positioned just right, I get this annoying flashing red and green light. Even the slightest bump or if the charger isn't perfectly level causes the same issue. I often find myself removing and reseating the batteries multiple times before I finally get a solid red light. I'm curious if this might be because Milwaukee doesn't utilize a locking system on their chargers like many other brands do. In my experience with Makita, DeWalt, and Metabo, I've never encountered this problem. It's incredibly frustrating, and I'm wondering if this is a common issue or if I just ended up with a defective charger.
6 Answers
Just wanted to update everyone that I bought the M12 installation driver with its own charger, and I'm running into the same flashing issue regardless of which battery I try. Even though the batteries work, I believe both chargers might be faulty. I really love these tools, but the chargers are driving me nuts!
I also bought an M18 drill and had the exact same problem. The battery doesn’t click securely; it just slides until it stops. Nothing holds it in place, and it’s super frustrating.
I had the same issue. My fix was to insert the batteries with more force, and since then, it’s worked perfectly.
Thanks for the tip! I tried it, and that worked like a charm!
I know this is an older thread, but I returned my charger for this same issue and got a new one, only to find it was just as bad.
I’ve noticed the M12 side of the combo charger feels a bit loose, but the M18 side seems pretty solid. You might have a defective charger or one that just doesn’t have the right tolerances. I think Milwaukee might’ve skipped the locking feature to avoid wear and tear on the batteries. They might just be counting on a snug fit to do the job.
Ah, I should mention that I’m only having issues with the M18 side, as I haven’t used the M12 tools much. Maybe it’s best to exchange it.
I bought a couple of M18 batteries and a charger on eBay, and even though they were 'new-out of retail package', the charger feels cheap. It struggles to charge batteries, unlike the ones I use at work where they charge instantly. I’m wondering if these are knockoffs. Did anyone else have trouble with retail chargers, or are most of you using chargers that came with your tools from actual stores?
All of my chargers were bought with the tools from Home Depot, so they should be the real deal.
I got mine for half price at Home Depot, maybe that's why they were on sale.