How to Ground Shock a BL-5F Battery

Test a cell phone battery before discarding it.

BL-5F batteries power cell phones. If your cell phone is mysteriously quiet and you suspect that it could be something other than a dead battery, you can check the battery by grounding it just as you would do with any other small battery. The ground shock method for testing a battery's viability can be done with a moistened fingertip or even a tongue, since these inexpensive batteries operate on only 3.7 volts.

Instructions

1. Remove the battery from the phone.

2. Hold the battery between your thumb and finger. On the side of the battery, you will see three indentations with small copper or gold posts.

3. Rub your tongue lightly over the posts to ground-shock the battery. If the battery has a charge in it, you will feel a very subtle tingle. It will be extremely light. This means that there is still a charge in the battery.

Tips & Warnings

• If you feel that your battery is bad, just replace it. If your phone still fails to work, the problem is in the phone's electronics.

• Never ground-shock a battery using your tongue if the battery produces more than 9 volts. It can cause burns or shocks.

References

• Amasci: How Can an Electric Current Not Shock You
• Nokia: Nokia BL-5F Videos