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[on:]

When I use this battery in a remote with another battery the remote won't work. But when I test the voltage output with a multimeter it reads 1.1v. If I stick it in the recharger, it just flashes like the battery is fully charged.
So I thought I would use one of the led's that come in my arduino kit to see if it would light up with this battery. Or at least try to drain it and then recharge it. Well, the led won't light up. I thought maybe I had the cathode on the wrong end of the battery but it won't light up connected either way(- -/ + + or - + / + -).
So I was thinking that the battery is completely dead and tried a working battery. The led didn't light up then either. So I thought that maybe the voltage was low. I put two working batteries together in series and the led still won't light up. I am using copper wires to extend the legs of the led to be long enough to reach each end of the battery.
Could someone tell me why I can't get this led lit up?

[Reply #1 on:]

What colour is the led? Depending on the colour, it may need more than 2.2V before any current flows through it.

Always use a series resistor with a LED.

[Reply #2 on:]

It's the tiny red one. Ahh, ok I didn't imagine it would take so much. I will try a pack of them in series.

[Reply #3 on:]

Somehow I must have burned it out. With 3 AA's it wouldn't light. I tried a different led(green) and it lit up with the pack. With the single battery, it's not lighting.
If the led isn't lighting up, am I able to drain the battery this way if I keep the led hooked to it? Or is it too much resistance that the battery isn't draining at all?

How can I drain this single AA battery? I don't have a device to put it into and leave on.

[Reply #4 on:]

Just use a resistor, 10-20 ohms.

When the voltage on a NiMH cell drops to 0.9-1.0V, it's considered to be fully-discharged.
1.1V is close to being discharged, and full charge is approx 1.4V, so it's funny your charger
won't charge it.