DeWalt battery polarity

[Harry Bloomfield]

I happen to have a mains/ battery DeWalt vacuum cleaner, which makes for a useful small vac, designed to also work from a DeWalt drill battery. It has a compartment into which the battery can be plugged.

I don't have such a battery, the battery socket polarity is not marked, but I know it can run on DC 12 to 18v.

Could someone check such a battery with a meter and tell me which is positive and which the negative terminal please?

_______________ | ..............| | .....___ .....| | ....| = |.....| < terminal = | ... |.. |.....| | ....| = | ....| < terminal = | .....___ .....| | ..............| | ..............| | ..............| | ..............| _______________ Drill Chuck end/ longer side

I have seen a suggestion on the internet, that the terminal nearest the chuck, is the +ve. Anyone confirm that please?

I'm thinking to power it from a 12v lead acid battery, to make it cordless.

[Scott M]

Suck it and see[1]. It's unlikely to have any circuitry in it that will be affected by getting it wrong.

Otherwise just google images for the battery code. Bound to be a high res pic of one that'll let you read the voltage symbols.

[1] Pun intended.

[Harry Bloomfield]

I suspect it will have damageable circuitry inside, at least a high power bridge rectifier.

There are plenty of high res photos about, but none marked with the terminal polarities.

Its a bad text graphic, but here is a link to photo (if it works)..

[John Rumm]

I just measured one of my 14.4V NiCd/NiMh packs. The +ve terminal is the one nearest the middle of the pack, or the lowest one on your diagram above.

[Harry Bloomfield]

John Rumm has brought this to us :

Thanks very much John!