Most craftsmen of today buy air tools and power tools to increase their productivity and overall efficiency. It is an investment that pays off all the time but sometimes you have to face some glitch. One of those issues is an underperforming power tool that exhibits different signs of power loss. It simply means that either whole power isn’t reaching your tool or your tool is unable to use the full amount of power supplied.
This is one of the reasons why you should be wary when buying discount power tools. However, that is a debate for another time. When this happens, you need to check the complete power route from power plug to the motor inside the tool.
Start from the power cord and check whether there are any cuts or breaks that might be causing trouble. These cuts or breaks can hinder the complete flow of electricity leading to an underperforming tool. Your next logical step would be the switch of power tool but you can skip it in favor of carbon brushes. Reason behind this is that if there is any problem with the switch, most of the times power tool won’t turn on altogether. In this case you are able to switch your power tool on but it doesn’t give the optimal performance.
Check whether your carbon brushes are fine and are making a complete and effective contact with commutator bars of armature. If your carbon brushes are failing in making an effective contact it may result in underperforming tool and/or difficulty in switching the tool on. Also check your power tool for the heat damage which is evident in the form of discoloration, charring or melting. Carbon brushes exposed to overheating because of misuse or overload on the tool don’t make an effective contact with the commutator bars and can damage other parts as well. If this is the case, you should replace the carbon brushes at your earliest.
If the brushes look fine and are making a fine contact then you can take a look at the switch. There is a very small chance of a damaged switch but it’s always good to make sure. If there are any signs of overheating or any other damage, change the switch right away as it’s a cheap replacement part and will do more good than bad for your power tool.
If everything is fine till now then the problem may lie with more serious parts of your power tool i.e. armature and/or field. If the issue is with those two things then you might also notice smoke and/or sparks coming out of your tool and vice versa. However, the issue can exist without those alarming signs as well so you need to check to make sure.
Note that if your carbon brushes are severely damaged then there is a strong chance of armature damage and if that goes unnoticed for a while the damage can expand to field as well. So if the carbon brushes are badly affected, replace them as soon as possible and also check the armature and field for potential damage.
