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Makita work light draining battery after the switch is off

Updated: October 2026

The lamp was off, the BL1850 stayed clicked on overnight, and in the morning the drill is dead. That is the usual shape of a Makita work light draining battery in this set of third-party heads. The switch position is not the whole circuit. Several listings tell you to take the pack off, and UK reviews add cases where the pack still falls while the lamp is off. This page is only that point. The twelve heads are on the [Makita cordless lamp comparison](/hub/workshop/makita-cordless-lamp). Products Compared used those listings, the review lines, and public Makita and forum notes labelled as such. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The lamp was off, the BL1850 stayed clicked on overnight, and in the morning the drill is dead. That is the usual shape of a Makita work light draining battery in this set of third-party heads.

Our top picks

Dorehouse Dorehouse 41-LED

Best overall

Dorehouse Dorehouse 41-LED
8.8/10about £11.99
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HEXJOSGL HEXJOSGL 16-LED

Best value

HEXJOSGL HEXJOSGL 16-LED
8.7/10about £11.95
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Edtran Edtran 48 W

Alternative

Edtran Edtran 48 W
8.5/10about £19.90
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Off is not always off
  2. 2.A cutoff line is a sentence
  3. 3.The USB port spends the drill pack
  4. 4.A hot or shorted pack is a stop

Off is not always off

A pack left on the shoe is still connected to whatever the board does when you think the lamp is idle. The first-use click test stays on how to use a Makita work light. On the Edtran, a reviewer reports that the lamp discharges the pack even when switched off. A GZYZ review says the pack can be flat within a few days. L1NXIXI and GZYZ already tell you to detach the pack. There is no milliamp figure in these listings. Take the pack off when you stop.

A cutoff line is a sentence

Low voltage protection on a bullet means the seller typed it. It does not mean anyone measured a cutoff voltage or a standby current. Edtran prints the phrase, and a review still says the pack discharges while the lamp is off. The GZYZ 33-LED still has the few-days drain comment beside a protection line. Tumnatt says a leak-proof switch disconnects the circuit when the lamp is off. That is another sentence, not a reason to store the pack on the shoe. The HEXJOSGL 16-LED and the 35-LED do not print a low-voltage phrase. JADUFHU has no review line for what the board does. Absence of the phrase is not proof of a higher drain, and presence is not a Makita-style cutoff.
Dorehouse Dorehouse 41-LED

Testsieger

Dorehouse Dorehouse 41-LED
8.8/10about £11.99
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The USB port spends the drill pack

Every listing here claims a USB or Type-C port. Dorehouse specifies 5 V at 2.1 A, and a UK review says that port took about nine hours to take a phone from 50% to 100% on a full 6 Ah pack. That is your drill pack doing a slow charge. Unplug the lead and remove the pack so the idle board does not finish the job. On-load drain is separate: one HEXJOSGL review estimates about 2 A, and a BUKATTADA review describes about two hours on a 5 Ah pack against a 10-hour claim. Neither figure clears standby, and a larger pack is not permission to leave it clicked on.

A hot or shorted pack is a stop

One GZYZ review reports shorting batteries. That is a stop. Do not put that pack back on the lamp or the drill, and do not open either one. A hot case, a swell, or a smell is the same stop. Makita's service route is for a genuine pack. The lamp is a return or a bin. The DML815's published figure, up to 54 hours on an 18 V 6.0 Ah pack at 160 lumens, is a runtime for a Makita torch that is on, not a standby claim for these floods. Makita states a runtime when it means one. These listings mostly do not. When you stop, the pack comes off, even if the bullet says protected.

Common questions

Why is the pack flat if the switch was off?
Because the pack was still on the shoe. Edtran's reviews include a lamp that discharges while switched off, and a GZYZ review describes a pack going flat over a few days. L1NXIXI and GZYZ tell you on the listing to detach the pack. A forum milliamp note is someone else's lamp. Removal does not depend on guessing which board you have.
Does low voltage protection make it safe to store the pack on the lamp?
No. The phrase is a sentence on Edtran and on GZYZ, and those are the same brands with drain comments in the reviews. Tumnatt's claim that the switch disconnects the circuit is the same kind of sentence. HEXJOSGL does not print the phrase at all. None of these files contains a measured cutoff voltage. Store the pack on the shelf, or on the charger if it needs charge, not clicked into the lamp.
Will the USB port empty a 5 Ah or 6 Ah pack?
It can, if you leave a lead in and you leave the pack on. The only timed USB note here is the Dorehouse review: about nine hours for a phone from 50% to 100% on a full 6 Ah pack. That is one slow charge, not a rating for every port. A 5 Ah pack has less in it than a 6 Ah pack. Unplug when you are done, and take the pack off.
Can a cheap lamp damage the pack, not just empty it?
It can. One GZYZ review reports shorting. Forum comments describe non-Makita lights running a pack down until the charger will not recognise it, which can write off a battery that cost more than the lamp. That is not a result on every ASIN here. A hot, swollen, or smelling pack is not an experiment. Do not click it on again to see if it recovers.
Do both HEXJOSGL listings claim a cutoff?
No. Neither the 16-LED nor the 35-LED prints a low-voltage phrase in the captured bullets. That does not prove they draw more or less than a listing that does print one. The 16-LED file has a reviewer's on-load estimate of about 2 A, which is about the lamp being lit, not about standby. Treat both HEXJOSGL heads like the others: pack off when you stop.
Does a bigger pack make standby safe?
No. A 6 Ah pack takes longer to flatten than a 3 Ah pack if the idle current is the same, and you do not know that current for these heads. A forum note of a day or two is not a timer for a BL1860. More capacity helps while you work. It is not storage. Take the pack off when you stop, including after charging a phone.

Related pages

Best Makita cordless lamp

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Makita cordless lamp

How to use a Makita work light on a charged LXT pack

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated October 2026.

  1. Makita UK: DML805 (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Makita UK: DML812 (retrieved October 2026)
  3. Makita UK: DML815 (retrieved October 2026)
  4. Makita UK: DML814 (retrieved October 2026)
  5. HSE: Site lighting (retrieved October 2026)
  6. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 3 (retrieved October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Power Tool World: Makita DML805 (retrieved October 2026)