18Volt R841150 1/2 Hammer drill VARIABLE Speed lost

[UTILITYMETERREPAIR]

hi all,

i have a 18V 1/2 in X2 Hammer drill that has lost its variable speed. its either stop or full speed. i bought my original drill of the same model number sept 2003 when Home depot was offering the new cordless line with lifetime warranty including batteries. the first drill's Variable speed went out about a year after i bought it, then i took it back to home depot and they gave me a new drill, well that drill has recently failed the same way. it isnt critical as i can still use the drill, but i do like the slow start for certain projects. has anyone else had this problem and is there a fix for it?

otherwise i have the following ridgid tools as of today. in my personal collection i have the 4 pc combo R922...all tools get used very hard and only tool to have a problem was the drill. i also have a 120V random orbit sander R2600 with no problems and it has been used to sand many large projects. i also have the orbital jigsaw R3120 it too has had no problems. OF MY CITY TOOLS collection i have the 120V reciprocating saw and the 1/2 Variable speed drill. both work great and get beat on alot, with no problems. future plans are to buy the RIDGID angle grinder for the work truck at some point.

[allyblak]

OOOHHH!!! YES My seventh drill just went out friday and I have about had enough. I think this is only the fourth drill that has had that exact problem but thats way too many.

[Dawg]

From past experiences the switches will usaully fail because of high amp draw. The varible speed triggers are more senitive to to the spikes in amps when you push the tools until they stall. This is ture in both cordless and corded tools. Yours could be the exception, but most guys I know have the drill in the higher speed (lower torque) when they should be in the lower speed that produces the higher torque needs for most work. Check to see if your drill is in the lower speed, this might be the problem. I have seen this happen many times.
PS. it took me a couple of trips to the service center before I learned the hard way.

[RobertCDF]

I am a custom deck builder and my had my first (of 5) ridgin drills VS stop working a little bit ago. Drill is almost 2 years old. I put that thing through hell. Took it to the service center and they shipped it back within 1 1/2 weeks all fixed. allyblak If you are burning through those things that fast you must be doing something wrong. Apply some common sense to your situation. During heavy use (screwing off a deck) I will deplete 2 of my batteries with one drill. Then I will switch to another drill and let the first drill cool down. Batteries are not the only things that need cool down time.