Just found out- the DC9098 is the newer compact version of the older standard DC9099.  I wonder what the difference between the 2 are as far as Ah, they are both 18v.

Just go to Home Depot between Thanksgiving & Christmas.  Every year at the same time they usually have the 2-pack of 18-volt yellow top XRP NiCd batteries (DC9096-2) for around $120 a pack.  This way, you know you are getting a good new factory product.

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I found this company advertising on eBay, for $50 they'll ship you a 9096 basic battery, and for $80 plus shipping 1 way, they'll rebuild your battery with 3300MAH cells.  I haven't tried them but I'm not inclined to try my own repair of the NiCad batteries.  I'm sure there are a few others out there not so inclined to take that route so maybe this will be interesting.  Though, I know there are a lot of people who would enjoy the low cost fix mentioned above.

Isnt there 2 different versions of the black top ni-cads?  Like a regular/standard DC9099 and then a compact DC9099?  It seems like the newer version is a little shorter then the older one.  Actually I think only the yellow tops are called XRPs (not 100% sure).

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Thats 4 years old!  They usually die anytime after 3 years for me, and I always leave them on the yellow charger.  I had 2 18V XRP yellow tops I left at home (never took to the job site) that were dated in early 2007 and I used them every other weekend around the house, they died the end of last year.  I took them to the local Dewalt store, they have a trade in (battery recycling program) of $10 per your used/old battery when you buy a new battery package (no matter if its 1 or 2 batteries in the new package).  The Dewalt store had a special 2 pack of XRP 18V for $109.  So I bought 2 of the 2 packs and got $20 off for the old batteries.

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I would check the Date Code on the battery and see if it's still under warranty. 2yrs on the Yellow tops, and 1 on the black tops. Take it into your nearest service center and have it checked out.

According to the battery code the batteries were made in 2006.  I think I've used them for three years though, so they are out of warranty. They are the yellow tops.

I have two xrp nicd batteries (18 volt).  I have been expieriencing shortened run times.  Fresh of the charger, they read 19.5-20.5 volts.    They work fair right off the charger (after approx. 45 minutes charging)  I decided to use the "auto tune-up cycle" and left them on the charger for over eight hours straight.  When I took them off they read18.5v and 16.8 volts!  I then went to use them and could not drill a 3/4 hole (irwin speedbor) in  a piece of poplar!  Basically there is no storage time, must be fresh of the charger to use them, and then only moderate performance.  My drill is a dc987. Also, the flex neck flashlight only runs about an hour and a half, around half of the rate 3 hours.  Whats up?

i have Benn using the same yellow tops for 5 years now and still running, i made this video a while back on reconditioning battery's check it out, works 99.9% of the time, can save a lot of money i proved it in the video watch!!!!