Daniel Julian Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 I have the M18 hackzall. I bought it used on Craigslist and it's worked great for 5 months until today. I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Checked the battery (5.0 aH) and it showed 3 bars. Locked the safety switch on and off a few times, kept pulling trigger, and still nothing. Got home at lunch and changed out the battery with another 5.0 aH, and it works fine. Put the original battery on another M18 tool to see if that battery was truly bad, but it worked fine. Put the original battery back on the hackzall and then it seems to work fine. Ate lunch, came back out to go back to work and checked the hackzall again... Doesn't work (still had original battery back on it). Swapped batteries, it works, put original back on... It works. I went ahead and put battery #2 on it and threw it in the truck. Got home from work, and now it doesn't work again. Put original battery back on, works fine. All that seems to say... When any battery sits on it for extended time it stops working (why???). Swap the battery and its like it "resets" something. Any ideas TIAcrew before I open this thing up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Sounds like an electronic issue... Any chance it's still in warranty? Jimbo Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Julian Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 I doubt it. Bought on Craigslist, so I don't have original purchase receipt (assuming that's required). Not sure how old the tool is either. I'll probably contact Milwaukee and see what they say just for grins. They've been real good on the things I've sent them before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 It's worth a shot, if you don't have a receipt, Milwaukee goes by the date in the serial number Jimbo Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted April 20, 2016 Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 What Jimbo said. I doubt the battery caused the tool to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Julian Posted April 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2016 Just realized if I give it a good shake, it works. I'm betting a loose solder inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 10 minutes ago, Daniel Julian said: Just realized if I give it a good shake, it works. I'm betting a loose solder inside. Could definitely be a cold solder joint. Anything like that should be pretty easy to fix if you feel like opening it up. Could also simply be a loose wire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffmcmillan Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 That could also be degradation of the trigger pot assembly which just happens over a lot of use regardless of how well you take care of it. The trigger assembly should be pretty cheap to replace if that's the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Julian Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Thanks for the good advice. I'll open her up and take a peak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo1310 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 I'd try to warranty 1st. If that fails then open it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 1 minute ago, Mondo1310 said: I'd try to warranty 1st. If that fails then open it up. Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 Yeah, I should have said that...always make sure you check to see if you're under warranty before you open anything. If you're out of warranty, open er up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawkdec Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 if you cant fix it with a hammer, then you have an electrical problem. actually, it does sound like you have something loose in the handle part of the tool. when you swap batteries in and out, your causing "vibration" in the contact area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Julian Posted April 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 So, apparently the most important digit of the serial number is scratched to the point you can't tell what number it is. It's the digit that would say what year. Any idea when the M18 hackzall came out? It has 5 year warranty, so has it even been out for 5 years?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted April 21, 2016 Report Share Posted April 21, 2016 I would assume it's been out a while... Curious how it got scratched out Jimbo Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khariV Posted April 23, 2016 Report Share Posted April 23, 2016 It was released in 2010, so you might have a good chance of it being under warrant if it's not a super early model. Still worth a call to Milwaukee - just leave out the Craigslist part and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnarlyCarl Posted April 24, 2016 Report Share Posted April 24, 2016 Am interested to know how this turns out, if it was borderline warranty time period, i would be easily tempted to looking into it myself, taking care of it quickly, since you have really narrowed it down to something you can replicate and know where to start looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Julian Posted April 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2016 I sent a picture of the serial number to the Milwaukee tech that had contacted me and he said it was still within the warranty time frame, so I printed the mailing label, filled out the simple form, and dropped it off to FedEx. I'll let y'all know how it turns out. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnarlyCarl Posted April 30, 2016 Report Share Posted April 30, 2016 I sent a picture of the serial number to the Milwaukee tech that had contacted me and he said it was still within the warranty time frame, so I printed the mailing label, filled out the simple form, and dropped it off to FedEx. I'll let y'all know how it turns out. Excellent, sounds promising Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted April 30, 2016 Report Share Posted April 30, 2016 Good to hear! Jimbo Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Julian Posted May 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Great news! I just got my Hackzall back from Milwaukee. Only took 10 days to send it in, have it fixed, and sent back. Phenomenal! They replaced a "burnt motor" and "intermittent switch" and looks like they put new body on it. The tool looks brand new (except for the metal shoe). And best of all, it was all covered under warranty and didn't cost me a dime. I couldn't be more pleased; this is why I chose Milwaukee. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnarlyCarl Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 4 hours ago, Daniel Julian said: Great news! I just got my Hackzall back from Milwaukee. Only took 10 days to send it in, have it fixed, and sent back. Phenomenal! They replaced a "burnt motor" and "intermittent switch" and looks like they put new body on it. The tool looks brand new (except for the metal shoe). And best of all, it was all covered under warranty and didn't cost me a dime. I couldn't be more pleased; this is why I chose Milwaukee. I have had similar good service from their warranty, this is great to hear you did too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Fantastic news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordraw Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Chock one up for Milwaukee here. That is a great response for a tool bought second hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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