Power Drill Switch Replacement: A Generalized Guide

Because the nature of switch replacements is tedious and complex, a craftsman can be quickly smacked with a brisk sense of frustration and total confusion if he is not both patient and well-prepared for the project at hand. Despite the complexities of switch replacement though, a little preparedness is usually all it takes to make that old switch a new one. As a good samaritan myself, I thought I'd help enhance the preparedness of my fellow crafts-folk and put down a few general and generally universal guidelines to replacing the switch in your power drill.

First Things First: As always, we'll begin this repair by ensuring the tool is entirely disengaged (and securely laid-down) before carefully cracking into the tool's body; be sure the tool is unplugged or sans battery and, for all intensive purposes, "off." Keep your parts and pieces organized as you dissamble the tool; this will be significantly helpful during reassembly - if you are especially unfamiliar with the tool or with repairs like this one, it is not a bad idea to make notes concerning what goes where.

Disassembly: First, the drill's housing will usually meet and fasten together symmetrically down the length of the tool; Remove the screws or fasteners that secure the housing together and neatly set them aside. Remove the top half of the housing to expose the tool's interior and set this aside as well. From here, some tools will allow you to directly access the switch after splitting the housing, others, however, may require you remove a few other parts first (i.e. the transmission, which after pressing the selector lever will have to be very carefully (with emphasis on "very carefully" please) joggled from its space. Reinstallation of the transmission is a bit trickier than said joggling, but, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it). Should your repair require further part removal, take care to be cautious and organized to avoid any confusion or problems during reassembly.

You may also need to remove the switch's forward/reverse lever before gaining clear access to the switch assembly. Take special notice of its orientation before removing it from the assembly. Once your access to the assembly is uninhibited, carefully remove the screws or fasteners securing it the the tool. This brings us to the switch's wiring; this is the most difficult and certainly the most important step in the repair process so it is vitally important to be both thorough and patient.

Switch Wiring - Study and Diagram: First, perform a good, solid inspection of the switch's wiring and their arrangement. You may consider marking certain wires with markers or tape to avoid any confusion or cross-wiring (which, of course, will overheat the tool and literally destroy the tool's battery or components). Note the wires leading into and out of the switch assembly (i.e. wires leading in from the tool's power source, and leading out toward the tool's motor), note their orientations, their colors, and make precise notes and a diagram of the wiring's exact arrangement as they lead into and out of the switch assembly. Be as thorough and specific as possible as this will help you immensely during reinstallation. Be aware that wiring configuration varies greatly from switch to switch. Note also that VSR switches plug directly into the battery and therefore do not have incoming wires, this, of course, makes the VSR switch replacement much simpler, but, I digress.

Old Switch Removal and New Switch Installation: After you have completely diagrammed the switch assembly, remove the incoming and outgoing wiring from the old switch which you will then remove from the tool. You will need a small pick or "dental-like" tool with a sharp point and a stiff, wire-thickness shaft; use this to pull and push your wires where necessary. Carefully following your diagram, reconnect all wires to the new switch and securely install it in the old one's place. Some technicians remove and replace wires simultaneously by disconnecting one wire from the old switch and immediately reconnecting that wire in the same manner to the new switch. This method, however, does not discount the value of good notes and a good diagram, but might, nonetheless, prove a helpful tip. Next, ensure that all wires are exactly, properly, and securely connected and fastened into place. Some wires will require a bit of soldering at their tip to stiffen and more reliably secure it; ! this is fairly simple and works to provide a generally better connection. Many switches will also have a snapping or "trap-door" mechanism to snap each wire in its place. Before fastening-up the tool housing, make certain there are no straggling or protruding wires that might be pinched or otherwise compromised during reassembly.

Reassembly: Here, you will be thanking your lucky stars that you were so thoughtful and organized from the very first of this procedure. Simply move backwards through the disassembly process, and with a bit of caution and patience you should be put back together in no time. There are a few more steps, however, if you're reinstalling the tool's transmission; first, reinsert the transmission into its place leaving a bit of space between it and the motor housing. From here the transmission must be locked into place with the tool's motor; the drill must be engaged to achieve said locking. Carefully engage the tool (by plugging it in, or reinserting the battery) and very, very gently press the trigger. This should cause the motor to slowly turn until it lines-up with the transmission which should then simply slide into place. Once the trani is secured, disengage the tool and continue reassembly until complete.

Caution and Completion: During both reassembly and disassembly, be especially cautious of the tool's more delicate or plastic components. Also take care to keep the tool's screws and screw holes in good condition as the tool will likely require similar repair procedures in the future. As we all know, stripped screws and screw holes are, essentially, the worst things in the world, be careful to put your screws in straight and to ease them into place. Once everything is back together, give the tool a quick whirl to ensure all came together properly and test each of the tool's features for successful performance. For example, run the tool in forward and reverse, run it at different speeds, adjust its torque, and perhaps even drive a screw or two. This should indicate whether or not the tool has been properly reassembled. If all is well, then you are done and should walk taller for having completed such a task.

Lastly, I'll remind that this guide is general and generally rudimentary, but it should help you achieve a successful drill switch replacement. Good luck, and happy crafting.