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Impact driver with finicky clutch settings


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So I accidentally left my Dewalt 20v max impact driver outdoors, last night. It was under a shelter, so it shouldn't have gotten wetter than just normal Tennessee dew. It was cold, though, too (high 20s or low 30s Fahrenheit). I brought it in this morning, and didn't notice any problems until tonight when I picked it up. It is supposed to be slow on the "1" setting, fast on the "2" setting and even faster on the "3" setting. Right now, though, it is sometimes very fast, sometimes slow (as it should be) on the "1" setting. The "2" setting is slow like the "1" setting should be, and the "3" setting is normal. Tried a different batterrie, and same thing. I know this isn't the best place to post questions about power tools, but I just wanna see if any of y'all have any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

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  • 1 month later...

I bought the 20v impact/drill combo back a couple years ago. One of the best investments i ever made. However the rubber does not like oil very much. I have had mine repaired about 3 times now. Fortumatly i bought it from a MAC tools distributor which means that repairs were free. But for $200 cant beat the deal. I had to replace one battery that cost me $75. You can buy the drill or impact alone with 2 batteries and charger for $100 now. Also the new batteries come with voltage indicators built in. ( i am sure batteries are cheaper now, that was when they first came out.) 

I have since gone to using the MAC version of said tool, about 3x the cost though. But you get more torque, my 3/8 impact will remove lug nuts, and my occupation has me covered in oil constantly and these stand up to the oil. The MAC ones also use the DeWalt batteries. 

I also could not even tell you if the torque setting on mine work. Never moved off of 3. After time you get trigger control where you use the trigger like a dimmer switch to provide the power. The more you squeeze the more power you get. Just like any tool you get a feel of how to work it. 

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On my Dewalt the 1-2-3 slide controls the gear reduction ratio with 1 being the slowest chuck rpm with the trigger fully depressed. The manual says to only change the speed setting when the drill is off and it has a mechanical feel to it when you change speeds so I assume it is a planetary transmission.

The clutch setting is separate and it also changes depending upon the speed you select. For example a clutch setting of 10 is very tight on speed 1 and gets looser as you select higher speed

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There's a semi-obscene youtuber who does "Bored Of Lame Tool Reviews" BOLTR's for short.  He buys a new power tool and does a video disassembling it while calling out the pertinent (and irreverent) details as he sees them.  Seems to know his stuff, for example, that oil induced rubber decomposition issue Billy's writing about is due to a specific compound they're using.  

It's neat to see the innards of power tools I'd be too chicken to disassemble solely for curiosity's sake.  He does reviews of all sorts of stuff ranging widely in price, quality, and industry.  

Mod Alert:  Language alert for all Bored Of Lame Tool Reviews videos that I watched.

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On 12/6/2017 at 7:50 PM, C-1ToolSteel said:

So I accidentally left my Dewalt 20v max impact driver outdoors, last night. It was under a shelter, so it shouldn't have gotten wetter than just normal Tennessee dew. It was cold, though, too (high 20s or low 30s Fahrenheit). I brought it in this morning, and didn't notice any problems until tonight when I picked it up. It is supposed to be slow on the "1" setting, fast on the "2" setting and even faster on the "3" setting. Right now, though, it is sometimes very fast, sometimes slow (as it should be) on the "1" setting. The "2" setting is slow like the "1" setting should be, and the "3" setting is normal. Tried a different batterrie, and same thing. I know this isn't the best place to post questions about power tools, but I just wanna see if any of y'all have any suggestions. Thanks in advance!

A cold country trick that might save you this problem in the future. When something is cold, bringing it in the house to warm up invites condensation through out it. Next time put the electronics, or other moisture sensitive thing in a plastic bag before you bring it in. 

To dry electronics especially out, bury it in rice. Dry rice is hydrophillic in the extreme and will draw moisture fast and completely. Another though trickier one is to put it in a paper bag and bury it in cheap clay kitty litter, bentonite likes water in the extreme. Call it hydromanic. 

Of course it could've just been a cheapO tool.

Frosty The Lucky.

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18 hours ago, rockstar.esq said:

There's a semi-obscene youtuber who does "Bored Of Lame Tool Reviews" BOLTR's for short.  He buys a new power tool and does a video disassembling it while calling out the pertinent (and irreverent) details as he sees them.  Seems to know his stuff, for example, that oil induced rubber decomposition issue Billy's writing about is due to a specific compound they're using.  

It's neat to see the innards of power tools I'd be too chicken to disassemble solely for curiosity's sake.  He does reviews of all sorts of stuff ranging widely in price, quality, and industry.  

Mod Alert:  Language alert for all Bored Of Lame Tool Reviews videos that I watched.

I apologize if my reference to those videos as "semi-obscene" didn't adequately convey that.

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Shoot back in the early 70's I was privileged to watch "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" in both the USA and Franco's Spain.  It was interesting in what each country censored compared to the other country.  I know folks here who cuss as the norm; HOWEVER this site has a strict policy against it. And as the old saying goes "It's His ball, he gets to make the rules!

I cleaned up my language when I had daughters; not a problem with my wife's encouragement (something to the effect of burking me in my sleep if I didn't...)

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We have no desire to suggest what you can and can not say in your shop, home and life. The site guidelines do not keep anyone from discussing blacksmithing or metalworking. 

We have a G rated family forum so everyone can have a comfortable place to visit and learn about the craft.

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Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers with my comment. Was more an observation of what G rated means in different cultures. 

Mainland Europe, nudity would be normal, in most of Britain and Ireland, curse words are as normal as commas. 

Yet as a contrast, knives, guns and other weapons would not be G rated or family friendly. 

Feel free to delete my comments if they offend in any way. 

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I have no issues with bringing new ideas, threads, and etc to the site. It is what keeps the site interesting and informative. Links direct the viewer to source material, and more in depth information. We try to provide language alerts so there are no surprises. 

IForgeIron is visited by over 150 world wide countries each month. That is over 150 sets of standards and rules. No one could keep up with all that, and also keep current on any changes. We depend on the members to alert us to any problems as it would relate to their country so we can take it into consideration.

Being a world wide forum educates us about the craft as well as other countries and cultures.

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JANVKG,

It's not the content that is objectionable.

It is the mode of expression.

In real life I swear like a Marine but I clean up the expletives before posting on this forum. It takes just a little more time. But it is no problem.

Your comments and information are most welcome on the site.

Keep them coming.

Regards,

SLAG.

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This isn't that big a deal guys. The post wasn't pulled or censored, just a more prominent warning added. We all know the rules and rarely have issues, usually only folk who don't read rules or think they don't apply and trolls.

Glenn the big hearted sweety he is tends to over explain things to prevent hard feelings. A mod flagged the post with a language warning without altering or removing it, Rockstar apologized for what problem it was. That should be all the discussion necessary, more even.

Let it go guys, it's not a bandwidth worthy subject. Please note the control I'm exhibiting in not mentioning being "tired of the Lame topic." :o

Frosty The Lucky.

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C-1 I got to thinking about your problem and there's a possibility it's not water related.  A lot of power tools use a magnet mounted to the rotor along with a hall effect sensor mounted to the stator to generate a pulse with each rotation. That signals the speed control to either increase or decrease the voltage going to the motor.  It's a way of making the tool compensate for loading so that it's more effective in use.

Most of them seem to be installed at the rear end of the tool which is also where a lot of cordless tools have ventilation slots.  If you're desperate to get it working, and it's out of warranty, you might consider taking it apart and looking for a bunch of metal chips stuck to the magnet. They would definitely change the speed control signal, which could potentially result in the issue you described.

Another issue to be aware of is that the batteries discharge faster when they're cold.  If you can swap it for a known-good battery, you might be able to identify the culprit.

I hope that helps.

 

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